Category: college

Cat Burglar

Posted in California, cats, college, dogs, door to door salesperson, humor, memoir, police officer, relationships, Southwestern Company, worstLeave a comment

I was in Fremont, California. It was the summer of 1975.  I had my sample case with me. I’d worn my hot pants to stay cool. I had already rung three dozen doorbells. Selling books door to door wasn’t always a cake walk.  It was lunchtime. I had one more doorbell to ring before I’d… Continue reading Cat Burglar

What Roe v. Wade Means to Me

Posted in abortion, babysitting, boyfriend, church, college, high school, junior high school, pregnancy test, rape, Roe v. Wade, Uncategorized, women's rights1 Comment

If you are a guy, chances are you won’t want to read this. Same as if you are a pro-lifer. But let me tell you, I got upfront and personal with what it was like in America before abortions were legal in all fifty states. No, I didn’t have an abortion. But my friend in… Continue reading What Roe v. Wade Means to Me

Dear Racist

Posted in attitude, college, dating, dumping someone, ethnicity, firsts, Hispanic, humor, picnic, prejudice, racist, relationships, religion, Seattle, Washington, worst1 Comment

Laurie had graduated college and had boomeranged back home to Seattle. She met a cute guy with horn-rimmed glasses. He invited her on a picnic at the beach. She said yes. “Have fun,” her mom said when Greg came to the house. Greg drove to a sandy spot with a view of the city. They… Continue reading Dear Racist

Don’t Let the Bugs Bug You

Posted in best, California, childhood, children, college, entomologist, entymology, flying, insects, Iowa, junior high school, memoir, nature, outdoors, relationships, science, scientist, Venezuela, worstLeave a comment

When my new science teacher announced on the first day of 7th grade that no one would get an A in his class if they didn’t make an insect collection, I was like, “NOOOOOOOO! I hate bugs!” My mother hated bugs. Her mother hated bugs. They hated mice, snakes, and dog poop, too. I walked… Continue reading Don’t Let the Bugs Bug You

Pennies from Heaven

Posted in college, drugs, Eric Clapton, firsts, head shop, high school, humor, Iowa, J.J. Cale, memoir, music, relationships, smokingLeave a comment

When I was sixteen, I saved up my babysitting money and went downtown to Cottage Grove Avenue in Des Moines, where there was a head shop filled with incense, hanging beads, roach clips, black light posters and tie dye. Although I wasn’t a pothead (I didn’t smoke cigarettes either), I enjoyed the ambience of the… Continue reading Pennies from Heaven

Worst Professor Ever

Posted in Chicano, college, grad school, Hispanic, humor, Iowa State University, La Raza, Latino, memoir, Midwestern, Nebraska, professor, racist, relationships, research paper, University of Nebraska at Omaha, UNO, worstLeave a comment

She taught the research class at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. I needed the course to earn my master’s degree. It would be easy. I’d written dozens of research papers at Iowa State. She said we could choose any topic. All we had to do was take a position, defend it with an intro,… Continue reading Worst Professor Ever