Category: firsts

Bricks, Ricks, & Cardboard

Posted in blind date, college, dating, firsts, humor, Iowa, memoir, Midwestern, relationships, restaurant, Rocky Mountains, worstsLeave a comment

(re-run) The college mixer was hosted by the men of Lorch House in Friley Hall, in the heart of the Iowa State University campus. Tappan House, the top two floors of Barton Hall, was invited. Yes, I am old. Yes, dorm floors are co-ed now. This was in the days of the dinosaurs, girl dinosaurs… Continue reading Bricks, Ricks, & Cardboard

Weirdest First Date or Most Purrfect?

Posted in beach, Berkeley, Cal, California, cats, dating, firsts, grad school, Match.comLeave a comment

(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

Posted in coupons, dogs, firsts, humor, memoir, memory, MS, names, neurologist, sexiest, sexiest manLeave a comment

(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

Posted in best, California, firsts, grandma, grandpa, hiking, humor, Incas, last, Machu Picchu, memoir, nature, outdoors, Peru, relationships, son, Study abroad, teaching, travel, vacationLeave a comment

(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

Posted in best, Caracas, Cuzco, Ecuador, firsts, flirting, friends, girl friends, hiking, hotel, humor, Iowa, Machu Picchu, memoir, Peru, relationships, roommate, student teaching, teaching, travel, vacation, VenezuelaLeave a comment

(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

Orphan Thanksgiving and the Babe Mobile

Posted in cars, college, Connecticut, dating, firsts, humor, marriage, marriage proposal, military, navy, relationships, roommateLeave a comment

Bruce was a lieutenant in the navy, and he lived with four bachelor roommates. They’d been out to sea for six months and were back for six months. A guy could save up a lot of money in six months, so Bruce was able to buy a silver Jaguar xke convertible. He nicknamed it his… Continue reading Orphan Thanksgiving and the Babe Mobile

Best T-shirts Ever

Posted in best, border wall, California, college, firsts, Hispanic, humor, Latino, logos, memoir, t shirt, thrift store, U.S. CensusLeave a comment

(re-run) A student at Sonoma High School wants to collect enough t-shirts with college logos to give a class of first generation fifth graders. Why? So they will start thinking about going to college. This is a cool idea. A writer friend, who also happens to be Latina, shared the student’s post on her Facebook… Continue reading Best T-shirts Ever