The band room was a freezer. “Vamos a sentarnos en el pasillo, clase.” “What?” “We’ll sit in the hallway today.” It was zero degrees outside. The school district wanted a Spanish class but had no classroom for me. I’d complained a zillion times – when the band teacher held private tuba lessons in his office,… Continue reading Too Tired to Boogie
Category: firsts
Head in the Clouds Harry
They met at the Appalachian Mountain club, an organization for sporting events in Boston. He was athletic looking with a nice smile. Harry asked Margo to go on a short hike with him in New Hampshire. She agreed to drive separately and meet him at the trailhead since she had a dinner to attend that… Continue reading Head in the Clouds Harry
Prom with an Older Woman
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 go… Continue reading Prom with an Older Woman
It’s Not Rocket Science
The woman who works for me, eleven years my junior and twice as strong, told me that when her hot tub broke, she told a man at her community pool in Hayward that she needed a rocket scientist to figure out what was wrong with it. “I’m a rocket scientist,” the guy said. A good… Continue reading It’s Not Rocket Science
Late-night Loser
We decided to meet at Bing Crosby’s restaurant in Walnut Creek. I took a seat at the bar, and asked for water. After all, I’d had two glasses of wine already, waiting for him to get off work at the TV station and drive all the way to Walnut Creek. I listened to the jazz… Continue reading Late-night Loser
Five Minutes in Philly
She was tall and blond. He was taller and had reddish hair. They were both at Rite Aid in Valley Forge. Matthew had come in for his hair gel, LA Look. He needed the gel to maintain the spike in his hairstyle. He saw her in the hair care aisle. “I have trouble finding hair… Continue reading Five Minutes in Philly
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
Flyboy Fail
Offutt Airforce Base is just outside of Omaha. You could spot an air force guy anywhere in town because of his close haircut, back in the day of long-haired hippie dudes. A clean-cut guy in a uniform worked for a lot of women, and I was no exception. We met at a dance bar, and… Continue reading Flyboy Fail
Secret Agent Man
He was a familiar face from the dancing circuit. He told me he’d been thinking about me, and that we should dance. As in, no one else could dance with me the entire night. The next night we met and danced again. The day after that we had our first date and danced again. Fifteen… Continue reading Secret Agent Man
Dance with Me, Young Jeremy
Each dance bar in Omaha ended the night with its signature song. One bar closed with Last Dance by Donna Summer, another used Shout from the Blues Brothers movie (by the Isley Brothers) as its sign-off song. But my fave dance bar closed with the song New York, New York. It seemed an odd choice… Continue reading Dance with Me, Young Jeremy
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 