(re-run from 2018) When a person buys a new or used car, and it gives the new owner nothing but problems in its first year, in many states, after three attempts to repair it, the owner can return the vehicle. Consumers everywhere are protected by the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, the Federal Lemon Law which applies… Continue reading We Need a Lemon Law, Mr. Trump
Category: firsts
The Contractor and the Jet Setter
(re-run) Tom, the contractor, set up his umpteenth date on Match.com. The woman he matched with was from the same affluent town, was the same height as he was, and was ready to meet him at Bridges, the hot spot downtown with the best happy hour. But when Ellen walked in, she had on three… Continue reading The Contractor and the Jet Setter
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
Mr. Huggable
(re-run) His name was Mr. Huggable on Plenty of Fish. Her name was Charming Classic. She didn’t know yet that first dates are better as a coffee meet and greet, not a full-blown lunch. They agreed to meet at El Charro, a nice Mexican restaurant in Lafayette. It was set for 1:00 in the restaurant… Continue reading Mr. Huggable
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?
Memories Light the Corners of my Mind
(re-run) I used to be good at remembering people’s names and remembering to use coupons before they expired. Now I am lucky if I can find the coupon when I am at the store. Today, at CVS, I checked out and was given a long receipt with $6.00 of extra bucks on it. My… Continue reading Memories Light the Corners of my Mind
More Machu Picchu
(part two) Christy and I finished our breakfast at the hotel up at the top and looked into the fog. The buses wouldn’t start arriving until noon. “Let’s hike up the big mountain,” she said. “Okay,” I said. My lost and found tennis shoes were too small, but I had cut out the toes so… Continue reading More Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu Before It Was a Thing
(re-run) It was 1977. I was finishing up ten weeks of student teaching in an American oil school in Caracas, Venezuela. My roommate, Christy, wanted to travel for two weeks before we went home to the states. She wanted to visit Machu Picchu in Peru. I’d never heard of it. “It’s the lost city of… Continue reading Machu Picchu Before It Was a Thing
The Cat Lady
(re-run) She seemed normal enough. James met her on the softball diamond — he was playing, shortstop, she played second base. It was a singles club event for Labor Day. He wasn’t an actual member but showed up on the holidays. Beth was sort of cute, her body pretty good for fifty plus. He was… Continue reading The Cat Lady
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 