Two Dates, Two Dolls

(in honor of my parents) He was tall and lanky. She was short with a great smile. They were the leads in the school play at Des Moines Tech high school in 1947. They flirted on and off stage. They even had a kissing scene. Joanne knew Bill was the one. Bill asked her out.… Continue reading Two Dates, Two Dolls

Self-fulfilling Prophecy

(re-run) It was a few days before the kids would come – 7th and 8th graders. I left my job as a high school Spanish teacher and would now be teaching English to middle schoolers.  It was a way to get out of a podunk town in Nebraska and into a big city in Iowa… Continue reading Self-fulfilling Prophecy

Total Eclipse of the Date

(re-run) The last solar eclipse over the continental U.S. was on Monday, February 26, 1979.  Claudette worked in the x-ray department at Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa.  She and her co-workers took some x-ray film and went outside to look at the sun through the film. They were not in the path of totality… Continue reading Total Eclipse of the Date

Escape

(re-run) Long before dating sites and the personal computer were invented, Scott answered a personal ad in the Contra Costa Times. Remember newspapers? They were ink-on-paper affairs that folded in half, but not shiny like a magazine (a magazine was a booklet of ads, stories, and photographs with a theme that was published weekly or… Continue reading Escape

A Good First Date

Harold was friends with Jack. Jack worked with Mary. Jack thought Harold and Mary should meet. “Come to the company luncheon with me,” Jack said.  “And it you don’t like Mary, you can meet Alice.” Harold went online and checked out the two women’s Facebook pages. He liked Mary’s page more than Alice’s page. But… Continue reading A Good First Date

He Wouldn’t Take Non for an Answer

(re-run) Harry was an American soldier. He had survived D-Day. The war had just ended in Europe. He helped free the town of Reims, France, where she lived. She was so beautiful that when he met her on the street, he asked to/walked her/followed her home. She thanked him but wasn’t interested. “What is your… Continue reading He Wouldn’t Take Non for an Answer

Weirdest First Date or Most Purrfect?

(re-run) Mary met him on Match.com. Luke had dark hair and eyes and was pale but cute. He drove a Mustang, and Mary loved Mustangs. She was a bit older, but they were both deep into their twenties. He was earning his PhD at Cal and was a teaching assistant, so that meant he was… Continue reading Weirdest First Date or Most Purrfect?