(re=run) Two of my friends who don’t know one another went at it on Facebook over an Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez quote, which said that powerful women get picked on because they are powerful women. The guy friend stated that gender has nothing to do with it. The gal friend argued that it has everything to do… Continue reading Gender Wars on Facebook
Category: best
Interfacing with Nature
(re-run) I live in a town that backs up to a gorgeous mountain in the middle of an otherwise-flat part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Bicyclists come from all over to climb Mt. Diablo and then get their joy ride on the way down the winding road. The hiking here is phenomenal, and the… Continue reading Interfacing with Nature
Judging from the Trends
(re-run) I was asked to judge a picture book contest. I’m a picture book author of 29 books and also a mom of past picture-book fans. Picture books are books with both words and art, usually 28 to 64 pages, and usually for young children. The gift book people have figured out how to put… Continue reading Judging from the Trends
Date with a Cad
(re-run) Against her better judgment Svetlana met up with a man from Match.com and….drum roll….he met her expectations of the Cad. A cad is a man who is aware of the codes of conduct, which separate a gentleman from a ruffian, but finds himself unable to live up to them. Cads are capable of disguising themselves as… Continue reading Date with a Cad
The Dogs Have Met their Match
(re-run) When you are of a certain age, and your two young dogs wear you out on a regular basis, it can be a delight to have a ten-year-old girl for the weekend while her mom works for you. The dogs have finally met their match. The ten-year-old wakes up at dawn to go to… Continue reading The Dogs Have Met their Match
My Past Life as a Cat Burglar
(re-run) I was fifteen hundred miles away from home. It was the summer of 1975. I had my sample case with me from Southwestern Books. I’d worn my hot pants to stay cool. I had already rung three dozen doorbells. Selling books door to door wasn’t always a cake walk. It was lunchtime. I had… Continue reading My Past Life as a Cat Burglar
First Dog, Lost Dog
After moving to farm country to teach high school Spanish, I watched my roommate Kristy come home one day with a German Shephard puppy. “Meet Shane!” she said. She hadn’t asked me. She hadn’t asked the landlord. When she did ask him, his response was, “Not in the house.” Kristy made Shane a bed of… Continue reading First Dog, Lost Dog
A Good Dog Neighbor
(re-run) Yesterday my son and I had lunch at the local sandwich shop. He brought his little dog, half Chihuahua, half terrier. I fed Violet scraps of lettuce under the table while we ate. She thinks she’s a vegetarian. Afterward, we followed the usual routine and came back to my house, where Violet could run… Continue reading A Good Dog Neighbor
At Face Value
(re-run) Mark was a good-looking bartender, full of confidence, at an upscale restaurant. He’d say his face was his moneymaker and that you need to use what your mama gave you. Mark went onto Bumble to find a date. He waited until a woman messaged him (that’s how Bumble works). Her photo showed a good-looking… Continue reading At Face Value
Date with an Older Man
(re-run) I said yes. To a date. With a much older man. My girlfriend met him and didn’t approve. But she also said she wouldn’t dance with any guy she wouldn’t want to kiss. I dance with everyone – men, women, kids – many of whom I would never put my lips on. Does dancing… Continue reading Date with an Older Man
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 