(re-run) PK lived in Jersey when her friend’s mum was terminally ill in Boston. When her friend called to say her mother had died, PK woke up feeling bad but thought it was the heat. She wanted to go to the funeral and surprise her friend. She loaded up her three-year-old daughter and took off… Continue reading The Appendix, the Funeral, and the Dead Concert
Category: friends
OCD Dreams
(re-run) I often dream about finding a public bathroom to use right before I wake up. It’s because I have to pee. Two nights ago I dreamed I was in a crowded restaurant and when I went into the bathroom, there were tables in there with groups of women seated around them. I stood at… Continue reading OCD Dreams
Grizzly Bear!
(re-run) An Amazon robot punctured a can of Bear Mace, sending 80 employees to the hospital before Christmas. It reminded me of this true account told to me at a holiday party. In 2008 you take your wife, Liza, and your teen-aged kids to Alaska. You stay near the Princess Lodge in a fishing cabin… Continue reading Grizzly Bear!
Bringing a Friend on a First Worst
Frankie put an ad in the singles’ section of her town newspaper. Burt answered the ad. They talked on the phone several times, once for with three hours. He told Frankie that he made plastic limbs as movie props. They were both in their late 20’s. When Burt told her he lived with his mom,… Continue reading Bringing a Friend on a First Worst
I Need More Friends
“Fireflies are the confetti of angels.” That is some great writing. If you haven’t seen the new show, Bless This Mess, it is hilarious. There is no laugh track, Barbara. No live audience, either, Old Dave. Maybe it’s because the show is set in Nebraska, where I used to teach. I lived in a farmhouse… Continue reading I Need More Friends
The Bed by the Window
(re-run from twelve and a half months ago) Another day, and it’s another dinner with Sis in the rehab wing. Her regular table mates at dinner, Rhonda and Cecily, are the most alert residents in the dining room. One is in her 90’s, the other over 100. Cecily smiles when I wave hello. Rhonda looks… Continue reading The Bed by the Window
F is for Frantic
I have exactly seventy-five minutes to write this post, get dressed for the wedding rehearsal dinner, kick the contractor out of my house, and get to the church on time. Isn’t the last part a song? Well, it didn’t happen. It’s the next morning. This blog post is now about friends, fun, fish, fighting (more… Continue reading F is for Frantic
B is for Boots
A spring wedding means pastel colors and floral prints, right? But what if it’s still raining on the wedding day? And what if you have to walk up to the altar, turn to face the crowd, and then need to read a poem without tripping or falling over? For me, that means wearing the shoes… Continue reading B is for Boots
First Date Red Flags
Okay, you said yes to the guy who asked you out two years ago and you turned him down. Now he has shown up at a dancing venue in Concord on the same day you wondered whatever happened to him. You see, he lives in San Francisco and you live in Suburbia. Then you agree… Continue reading First Date Red Flags
The Pilot and the Petite Percussionist
He played the trumpet in community college. She played percussion. He was a sophomore; she was a freshman. He was short, she was shorter. He saw her get out of the car every day, with her boyfriend? No, it was just her brother, Jack. George was a pilot. She liked pilots. “Do you want to… Continue reading The Pilot and the Petite Percussionist
