(re-run) 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… Continue reading Pennies from Heaven
Category: firsts
Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?
(re-run) She ran a personal ad in the Contra Costa Times: Single white female looking for single Asian man. Her two previous boyfriends had been Asian. James called and left a message with his phone number on a Friday night. The next morning Pam checked her phone messages. She liked his voice as she listened… Continue reading Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?
Date with a Cad
(re-run) Against her better judgment Svetlana met up with a man from Match and….drum roll….he met her expectations of the Cad. A cad is a man who is aware of the codes of conduct, which separate a gentleman from a ruffian, but finds himself unable to live up to them. Cads are capable of disguising themselves as… Continue reading Date with a Cad
At Face Value
(re-run) Mark was a good-looking bartender at an upscale restaurant, and 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… Continue reading At Face Value
At Face Value
(re-run) Mark was a good-looking bartender at an upscale restaurant, and 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… Continue reading At Face Value
Marathon Man
(re-run) She’d tried them all — Match, eharmony, Our Time, Chemistry, Zoosk, Okay Cupid, and Coffee Meets Bagel. She’d had her share of weirdos and had learned to use a fake name, fake town, and a fake place of work. She had been stalked in the past. Now she knew how to do it and… Continue reading Marathon Man
Prom with an Older Woman
(re-run) Alan was a sophomore when he got asked to junior prom by an older girl. He rented a tux from his date’s father, Mr. Cohen, at the local men’s shop in Monterey. Alan’s dad had to play chauffeur in his 1962 Chevy Bel Air, since Alan didn’t have his driver’s license yet. When they… Continue reading Prom with an Older Woman
Having his Cake
(re-run) We sat at the bar at Il Vecchio’s next to the guy with the shaved head. My girlfriend chatted him up while we waited for a table. We decided to have dinner at the bar. Adam was cute enough but not too tall. He seemed interested in my petite girlfriend, so at the end… Continue reading Having his Cake
Desperado
Another first date during my time in Omaha, Nebraska, was with a tall, thin but attractive man who was a few years older and reminded me of James Taylor. Kevin took me to the standard dinner and a movie and then wanted to show me his house. It was a summer night, and after the… Continue reading Desperado
Spin the Bottle
Andy and Tony were thirteen. Shari and Candace were twelve. The four of them played together all the time. Shari was always at Andy’s bedroom window or backdoor, waiting for the next adventure. The foursome had played touch football and were tired of that game. Someone had heard of Spin the Bottle. Shari wanted to… Continue reading Spin the Bottle
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 