Wasabi on a First Date

(re-run) They had the same hair dresser.  She was coming in as he was going out. He asked for her phone number. She gave it to her hairdresser to give to him. There aren’t too many eligible men in their seventies, especially one that still had his hair! Garth took Gladys to a nice Japanese… Continue reading Wasabi on a First Date

Buffalo Bill Meets Annie Oakley

(re-run) Aaron met Katie on Plenty of Fish. She didn’t message him back for months. For their first date, he took her duck hunting. She brought her own gun. He brought a boat and the friend who owned it. The trio didn’t’ talk much because they had to be quiet to get a duck. It… Continue reading Buffalo Bill Meets Annie Oakley

The Neighbors, the Loose Pitbull, and the Daily Pooper

We bought a house on a street that was a long court with two courts coming off of it. We were up at the top, and it was a great and safe place for my kids to walk our greyhound mix dog. Until it wasn’t. “That was a short walk,” I said when they trooped… Continue reading The Neighbors, the Loose Pitbull, and the Daily Pooper

Late-night Loser

(re-run) We decided to meet at Bing Crosby’s. I took a seat at the bar, and asked for water. After all, I’d had two glasses of wine already, waiting for him to get off work at the TV station and to drive all the way to Walnut Creek from Marin County. I listened to the… Continue reading Late-night Loser

Must Love Dogs

(re-run) John had a date with a woman named Sally. She had just rescued a dog and named it Muffin. John wanted to go skim boarding at the beach, and he asked Sally to come with him. Of course she had to bring Muffin, her Golden Retriever. When they got to San Gregorio beach a… Continue reading Must Love Dogs

Wiener Dog Versus Rat

(re-run) Long ago, when I had three school-aged children off at their respective schools, I sat at my desk writing during the quiet of the day, when I heard the Dachshund barking. He was somewhere in our spacious back yard. I ignored it at first, but when the barking didn’t subside, I decided I’d better… Continue reading Wiener Dog Versus Rat

Help your Mood, Pull some Weeds

(re-run) Yesterday I made the short trip to my little downtown, got some cash from the ATM, picked up two newspapers, and headed back home. On the way into town, I saw two city workers spraying Roundup on the weeds in the median strip. They were still at it, in the very same place, on… Continue reading Help your Mood, Pull some Weeds

Pyracantha and the Path to School

When my kids were 14, 11 and 6, we moved into a house that bordered the school district’s property. The middle school sat to the right of our backyard, and the high school sat to the left. Only a chain-length fence and a hedge of photinia separated its property from ours. I called the school… Continue reading Pyracantha and the Path to School

A Lasting Love

Maurice was a sophomore at Riordan Catholic High School for boys in San Francisco. He played tenor sax in the marching band. His buddy Dave was dating a girl named Sheila from Mercy Catholic High School for girls, and he suggested that Maurice date her older sister, Colleen. The foursome went to the football game,… Continue reading A Lasting Love

Worst Mom Ever

As a mother, choose your words and actions carefully, for eighteen years! Mom to three grown children, I still hear about the horrible things I said and the awful things I did to them as children. Oldest daughter with her dad’s dark heavy eyebrows: me, to her as a teen, “You might want to pluck… Continue reading Worst Mom Ever