The Chicken Church and Other Tableside Travels

(re-run) I used to travel, back in my twenties before marriage, before kids. Now I stay home with an older sister (who would otherwise be in a nursing home), one normal dog, and one little weirdo dog. But I still get to travel. My friends are in Austria, Indonesia, Hawaii, Tahoe, and Guatemala, as we… Continue reading The Chicken Church and Other Tableside Travels

The Way to a Man’s Heart is Salad?

(re-run) Bruce was a lieutenant in the navy, and he lived with four bachelor roommates. They’d been out to sea for six months and were back for six months. A guy could save up a lot of money in six months, so Bruce was able to buy a silver Jaguar XKE convertible. He nicknamed it… Continue reading The Way to a Man’s Heart is Salad?

Parking Lot Pick-up

Edith and her friend, Laura, were bored. It was Saturday night, and they’d been at their all-girls’ school, Holy Names, for a whole week. It was time to find some guys, to find a party. They pulled into Berkeley and headed for Fraternity Row. Laura spotted someone she had dated before and rolled down the… Continue reading Parking Lot Pick-up

Grizzly Bear!

(re-run) An Amazon robot punctured a can of Bear Mace, sending 80 employees to the hospital before Christmas. It reminded me of this true account told to me at a holiday party. In 2008 you take your wife, Liza, and your teen-aged kids to Alaska. You stay near the Princess Lodge in a fishing cabin… Continue reading Grizzly Bear!

Grizzly Bear!

(re-run) An Amazon robot punctured a can of Bear Mace, sending 80 employees to the hospital before Christmas. It reminded me of this true account told to me at a holiday party. In 2008 you take your wife, Liza, and your teen-aged kids to Alaska. You stay near the Princess Lodge in a fishing cabin… Continue reading Grizzly Bear!

Stigma Attached to Helping the Homeless

I have twenty bags of stuff for the homeless people in Hayward. The news reported last week that there are 500 people on the streets there, way up from last year. I asked my chorus to donate. Thank God all 130 of them didn’t do it. My car is full. At a chorus program-stuffing party… Continue reading Stigma Attached to Helping the Homeless

Un-Decorating to Decorate

I write this as my neurotic rescue dog paws me on the arm. She wants her morning apple. I am waiting for the Omeprazole to kick in. Then I remember that I have a massage scheduled this morning, so no breakfast for me! I get up from the laptop and find a bruised banana from… Continue reading Un-Decorating to Decorate

Cut Loose on a Saturday Afternoon

(re-run) “I like the way you dance,” he said to me last Saturday afternoon. Margo and I had gone to Vino Godfather, a cool little winery in an old Victorian house on Mare Island in Vallejo. The island used to be a naval base, judging from the abandoned barracks on the way to the winery.… Continue reading Cut Loose on a Saturday Afternoon

A Good Little Shopper

If you think this post is going to be about how I scour the racks at Nordstrom’s for the best deals of the season, it’s not. If you think it’s about how I maximize double coupons at the grocery store, I don’t. What it is about is how I can find the deals for myself… Continue reading A Good Little Shopper

Piglet in a Box

(re-run) Carin was working, cutting her stepsister’s hair at the salon her mom owned.  Her cell phone vibrated. She never took calls during work.  All of her friends and family knew that.  It vibrated again, a second call from the same number. She picked up.  It was her ex boyfriend, Rob. Rob was two ex-boyfriends… Continue reading Piglet in a Box