He played the trumpet in community college. She played percussion. He was a sophomore; she was a freshman. He was short, she was shorter. He saw her get out of the car every day, with her boyfriend? No, it was just her brother, Jack. George was a pilot. She liked pilots. “Do you want to… Continue reading The Pilot and the Petite Percussionist
Category: California
Need an App for That
Yesterday I went to the play Hamilton in San Francisco. I left my house at 9:45 a.m. and returned home at 7:15 p.m. That’s nine and a half hours that I was gone. I carpooled with a friend to BART, then joined up with two other women, and after a twenty minute BART delay we… Continue reading Need an App for That
What’s your Super Power?
We all have one. Some of us have common sense. Some of us can pack a bag like nobody’s business. Some of us have perfect pitch. I have one friend who says, “Give me a fridge filled with leftovers, and I can whip up a delicious meal.” There’s an eight year old girl in Benbow… Continue reading What’s your Super Power?
The Bad Ass Eight Year Old and her Sis
Two little girls got lost in the woods in Humboldt County on Friday. They followed a deer trail into the woods that afternoon and then couldn’t find their way home. 200 people spent Saturday looking for them with no luck. Finally, on Sunday morning two volunteer firefighters followed their rain-boot tracks and found them cold… Continue reading The Bad Ass Eight Year Old and her Sis
The Uses for a Ten Year Old
The nine year old in my life has joined the Tweener set. She is a double digit girl now, on her way to teenager-hood. She is doing division now in math, although those pesky times tables continue to bother her. 7 x 9 is her nemesis. So is 9 x 7, 63 divided by 9,… Continue reading The Uses for a Ten Year Old
Border Collies 2, Geese 0
(in honor of Tru, who died last week at the age of sixteen) She named you Tru. You are a member of the smartest dog breed on the planet, one that performs in sheep-herding trials, one that needs to work every day because you are so intelligent. You are happy to get into a golf… Continue reading Border Collies 2, Geese 0
The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence
I am a bird lover. I feed the song birds and the finches. I have an ongoing water supply in the form of a fountain in my back yard. I’ve planted native plants for the hummingbirds. When I hike, I am thrilled to find a hawk feather to add to my hat. Twenty-odd years ago,… Continue reading The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence
Pavlov’s Perfume
My girlfriend, who shall remain nameless, lest someone recognize her on this page, has a three-time rescue dog like me. Hers also started out as a voluntary surrender puppy after his owner first lost a home in the Redding fire. Or possibly he was at the Redding shelter and got shipped out to make room… Continue reading Pavlov’s Perfume
How to Train your Dog so He Won’t Bite You
Yesterday at the natural stone store where I went to look at their granite, the guy that helped me mentioned that his friend’s German Shepherd puppy kept biting his owner. Puppies do that because they are exploring their world. They are babies using everything as their personal teething rings. When my lab mix Pepper was… Continue reading How to Train your Dog so He Won’t Bite You
The Robin and the Chrome Bowl
(re-run) Every morning, as I sit at my kitchen table putting up my blog post and sipping on strong tea, a robin comes near the back porch to meet its reflection in an upside-down chrome dog bowl. The robin does a little dance in front of the bowl. The reflection does a dance back to… Continue reading The Robin and the Chrome Bowl
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 