My oldest daughter moved to Boston the day after Christmas but forgot to change her address on her Amazon account. She just bought a new phone, some ear buds, a Pixel stand, and another electronic thing. She just had a birthday and asked me to drive to Berkeley to get her four packages from… Continue reading Berkeley Memories
Category: college
Cat Burglar
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
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
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
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
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
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
Loneliest Study Abroad Ever
After three months in South America and six weeks of student teaching Catholic high school girls, I headed to Burgos, Spain, with 30 students and a handful of professors from Iowa State and the University of Iowa. It would be my way of earning the final credits of my dual degree. Linda, a high school… Continue reading Loneliest Study Abroad Ever
Memphis Sugar Mama
After Robert’s family came to America, Robert went to college in Memphis. He met an older woman, Devon, in a liquor store. She had on a mink jacket and asked him out right there amongst the bottles of high-end scotches. She looked good for her age. She drove a Cadillac since her daddy had the… Continue reading Memphis Sugar Mama
Peace Corps Fail
It was in the spring of my first year of teaching when the call came. I was at Greenwood Elementary in Greenwood, Nebraska. I had applied to the Peace Corps the year before. They had just seen my application. They wanted to fly me to Chicago for an interview that weekend. They gave me 24… Continue reading Peace Corps Fail
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 