I went to my favorite beach town for 24 hours to get away from it all. The weather was foggy, the weeds in my yard were thick, and my two dogs were fighting. But three thrift stores in Carmel had their end-of-the-month half-off sales yesterday, so who cared about the weather, the weeds and the… Continue reading Must Be a Small Town
Category: California
Second Time Around
Suzanne needed a date for her Alpha Delta Phi sorority party that was being held off campus at one of the sister’s parents’ house. She invited a guy from her old high school, Mark. When they got there, Mark knew the physician dad, because they’d been on ski patrol together one winter in Tahoe. Mark… Continue reading Second Time Around
The Elusive Dot … Dot … Dot
It takes seven artisans to make a glass of wine — from the grape growers to the vintners to the coopers, etc. Or so the pitch goes at the small winery in Fairfield. And to draw a crowd, they bring in live music on weekend afternoons. Brent met a woman online and invited her there… Continue reading The Elusive Dot … Dot … Dot
The Racist and the Ficus Tree
When I was young, the one black boy in my elementary school was my classmate. His name was Teddy. This was white-white-white Iowa in the 60’s. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Van Cura, got angry at the class one day for misbehaving and said, “Whoever doesn’t behave will have to play with Teddy at recess.”… Continue reading The Racist and the Ficus Tree
The Widower
They found each other on Match. They had both lost their spouses. Don said he was looking for a good Catholic widow. He was involved with the arch diocese in Oakland. Sue was a recovering Catholic but thought maybe he was a solid guy. She agreed to meet him for coffee. He was good-looking and… Continue reading The Widower
A Tongue Twister
Donna met a guy named George through a group of friends. She was about to have open heart surgery, so she didn’t feel much like flirting. George was average looking but persistent. He kept texting her before and after the surgery. She thought he was into her, but then he insisted that she call him.… Continue reading A Tongue Twister
Best Tomato-planting Advice Ever
One morning, at a local garage sale, I stumbled upon the Alamo Garden Club selling plants in one of the member’s driveways. I picked up five tomato plants since the price was right. “Do you know how to plant them?” the man seated next to the cashier asked. “Yes,” I said. “I grow them every… Continue reading Best Tomato-planting Advice Ever
Mr. No Class
They met online through a singles website (not the swiping one). Tom lived and worked in Napa. Carin lived less than an hour away in the San Francisco East Bay on a horse ranchette with her seven horses. She ran a small upscale hair salon. After much texting and talking, they got together for dinner… Continue reading Mr. No Class
Her Date with a Cad
Against her better judgment Svetlana met up with a man from Match, and he met her expectations of a 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… Continue reading Her Date with a Cad
Cornhole, some Critters, and a Ghost on her Phone
Yesterday was the annual singles’ club party/picnic at one guy’s lush estate in Hayward. I picked up my girlfriend, and we let the GPS woman’s voice direct us down Five Canyons Road to a bunch of turns until we finally found the place. I’d been there many times before but always as a passenger, never… Continue reading Cornhole, some Critters, and a Ghost on her Phone
