(re-run from 2020) The summer concerts have ended, except for one. The sleeveless cotton dresses are packed away, along with pairs of shorts and sandals. It’s jeans and long sleeves now, with the occasional hot afternoon where I strip down to my undershirt. Fall has arrived, not so much with leaves changing colors. We don’t… Continue reading You Know It’s Fall when . . .
Category: California
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 as told to me at a holiday party by a friend’s daughter’s boyfriend’s father figure. His name is Bob. In 2008 you take your wife, Liza, and your teen-aged kids… Continue reading Grizzly Bear!
Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
(re-run) When I was in high school and bought some of my clothes at the DAV (Disabled American Vets) thrift store, they called me quirky. When I made a cool pair of bell bottom jeans out of my dad’s old work pants, they called me quirky, but they also asked me where I got them.… Continue reading Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
My Home-town Report
Last night at chorus rehearsal, I had to say something about my hometown, since I missed the retreat due to COVID. He called on me last, so I had some time to figure out what I was going to say. What I said was, “I’m from Urbandale, Iowa, a suburb of Des Moines.” Soprano Rebecca… Continue reading My Home-town Report
Monday, Monday
(re-run) The neighbors have a new puppy. I can hear it squeaking at their back door. The windows are open, a hot night for October in California. My stitched-up leg is on the foot stool. The pain has lessened. After all, it is day 5. Only 9 more to go before the stitches come out.… Continue reading Monday, Monday
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
Let it Rain
(re-run from 2019) If you live in California, it’s the time of year that you pray for rain. With no precipitation since May, the hills are bone dry, so brown they are white. I hiked the hills yesterday. Not one green sprout of anything could be found anywhere. The trees are green, but that is… Continue reading Let it Rain
Laugh More, Worry Less
(re-run) The state is on fire, again. It seems that three of the last four years have been off the charts for wild fires. 2017 – Napa and Santa Rosa burned. Santa Barbara County, too. 2018 – Paradise, the town, was wiped off the map. 2019 – Because of heavier winter rainfall, the fires weren’t… Continue reading Laugh More, Worry Less
A Giants Date
(re-run) Tom, the contractor, was a Giants fan. He found a similar-minded woman on Match.com. Tom’s friend had given him the tickets, field level seats at the third baseline, near the players’ wives. Tom asked his date to meet him at his place so they could drive over to the stadium in San Francisco together.… Continue reading A Giants Date
Street Dance
(re-run) After hiking six miles with the senior group called DASH, which does not dash at all, but rather hikes slowly through the woods with plenty of stops for bathroom breaks, snack breaks, or count-up-and-regroup breaks, I was too pooped to go out dancing. But my friends were going, it was close (just one town… Continue reading Street Dance
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 