(re-run) As I was outside watering this morning, preparing my drought-resistant plants for an onslaught of high temperatures for the holiday weekend and beyond, I discovered acorns all over the back yard. As I picked up the acorns and the dog poo of a medium dog and a small dog and some neighborhood cats as… Continue reading Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!
Category: family
Chinese Fire Drills and Other Politically Incorrect Things from my Past
(re-run) Back in high school in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, we did whatever we could to stir up some fun and sometimes some trouble. It was a simple existence: go to school, do homework, think about and look for boys. With no cell phones or social media to organize anything, kids spent a… Continue reading Chinese Fire Drills and Other Politically Incorrect Things from my Past
A Funeral, an Appendix, and a Dead Concert
(re-run) PK lived in Jersey when her childhood friend’s mum was terminally ill in Boston. Her friend called to say her mother had died, and PK woke up, wanting to go to the funeral and surprise her friend. She felt bad but thought it was the heat. She loaded up her three-year-old daughter and took… Continue reading A Funeral, an Appendix, and a Dead Concert
A Date with Jesus
(re-run) Gina was from a big Italian family, So was Vito; they were the same age. The families were good friends, and when they were both fifteen, Gina was in love with Vito. But they never dated, and once Gina left for Berkeley to go to school at Cal, she didn’t see Vito for several… Continue reading A Date with Jesus
Show Me the Numbers!
(re-run) At a recent wedding rehearsal dinner, I sat across from a well-off, pension-receiving white guy who started a conversation about immigration. Sorry for him that he did not know he was sitting across from a Spanish teacher/book author who has studied and followed Hispanic cultures for most of my life. And I’m old. To… Continue reading Show Me the Numbers!
Worst/Best Dog Trainer Ever
(re-run) When Wiener, the ten-pound family Dachshund, was two, he started pooping in the upstairs hallway. This was not okay with me. I found a dog trainer named Sheila who came to the house and worked with the entire family. That first session was an eye opener. Sheila hooked Wiener’s collar to a leash, and… Continue reading Worst/Best Dog Trainer Ever
Snow Day
Many of my Medicare friends are moving or contemplating moving to retirement communities. A big one close to my town is called Rossmoor. It’s a huge gated community built back in the sixties and contains 6700 residential units surrounded by open space. At least one resident in each unit must be at least fifty-five years… Continue reading Snow Day
No Christmas Tree for Me
(re-run from 2018) Eight Christmases in this house and only two trees. Both were living, and they got planted in my yard. Guess what? My yard is full. That’s what happens when you get rid of your grass, fire your gardener, and watch volunteer trees grow on their own, self-planting trees with a little help… Continue reading No Christmas Tree for Me
A is for Air
If a bluebird ski day is one without a cloud in the sky, then a dog-bird (bird-dog?) day is one where you can open all of your windows and air the doggy smell right out of your (my) house. All that stale winter air that has been recycling through my closed-up house during rain storm… Continue reading A is for Air
Bomb Shelter Blues
(re-run) My childhood house on 69th Street in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, had a big bump in the backyard. It’s where my grandfather built a fall-out shelter that connected to our basement. It was during the Cold War, and thoughts of atomic bombs being dropped on us was enough to motivate him to… Continue reading Bomb Shelter Blues
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 