At Face Value

(re-run) Mark was a good-looking bartender at an upscale restaurant, full of confidence. He’d say his face was his moneymaker and that you need to use what your mama gave you. Mark went onto Bumble to find a date. He waited until a woman messaged him (that’s how Bumble works). Her photo showed a good-looking… Continue reading At Face Value

A Grungy Sponge Story

If a person had a rental unit near the beach and let her friends use it as a discounted rate, and one of those friends liked to clean everything with one grungy sponge, and then she left it under the kitchen sink, can you guess what would happen after that? The next friend came down… Continue reading A Grungy Sponge Story

Romance Coast to Coast

(re-run) Nicky went back to Connecticut to see his mother.“You’ve got to meet this cute Italian girl working in my office,” a friend said.“I’m only here for a week,” said Nicky.“My wife is in night class with a cute Italian girl,” another friend said. “You two should meet.”“I’m only here for a week,” Nicky said,… Continue reading Romance Coast to Coast

Jerky Jokester

(re-run) Elena lived in San Francisco. She went to the Cingular store to get a phone line. Fidel saw her and helped her get one set up. She filled out the paperwork and then changed her mind. He put the paperwork into the shredder but then asked her for her phone number. “If you want… Continue reading Jerky Jokester

Spinning a Spider Story

(re-run) My strength and toning instructor loves to tell us trivia while we work out. Last week she said spiders are the most active between 6 and 8 p.m. and that the female spiders go out looking for food at that time. The males follow. Isn’t that just like a male anyway, to wait until… Continue reading Spinning a Spider Story

Big Jack, Little Jack

Teaching high school didn’t open up many dating possibilities at work, unless you count the weird science teacher with the orange stick-up hair and the pocket protector, or the short English teacher who did impersonations as well as anyone on Saturday Night Live. One night, as I was complaining that I couldn’t find any good… Continue reading Big Jack, Little Jack

Waitresses Make the Best Tippers

(re-run) After moving to Omaha and teaching for a couple of years across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, I grew tired of driving a car that smelled like a mildewed basement. My Chevy Monza (first car ever) had suffered through a Nebraska flood back at the farmhouse, and the car stank. I couldn’t… Continue reading Waitresses Make the Best Tippers

Scariest Student Ever

(re-run) During my ten years of teaching public school, I had many a student that caused me grief.  The 8th grader transfer student who called me a bitch in front of the whole class on his first day.  The brilliant 7th grade boy who lit matches in the hallway and dropped them on… Continue reading Scariest Student Ever