Drinking, Dancing and Driving

(re-run from 2019) I am a happy version of a designated driver. Instead of abstaining completely, I drink two glasses of wine per dancing event.  I drink early and then stop.  I do this for two reasons. #1 — I am a lightweight with alcohol. #2 — I need to drive friends that drink more… Continue reading Drinking, Dancing and Driving

Dancing as Stress Therapy

(re-run from 2020) Someone in an introvert group on Facebook said he didn’t dance because it looks so dumb. Yes, it can look dumb, especially if you’re not doing it, just watching. I’m an old school dancer – shake what the good Lord gave you.  I’ve been rocking out to music for half a century.… Continue reading Dancing as Stress Therapy

Best Laid Plans

(re-run) It was a Sunday. I was supposed to be going to a birthday party in Antioch, forty minutes away. But the day had become a comedy of errors. I had sweet-talked my son into installing my new printer and had lured him over with the promise of pizza for lunch. It took him longer… Continue reading Best Laid Plans

It’s a Jungle Out There

(re-run) I saw a coyote yesterday during my strength and training class at the senior center. There are so many people in the drop-in class that I have to stand right in front of the glass doors, with a view of the hills filled with wild turkeys, birds, and now Wiley Coyote. My back hurts… Continue reading It’s a Jungle Out There

The Blond-tourage

(re-run) Every woman over fifty gets the same advice from her hairdresser — lighten up your hair. As our skin fades and our looks do, too, we need brighter lipstick, sparkly-er clothing and blonder locks to stay looking as young as we can. My apologies to women of color; this may not apply to you.… Continue reading The Blond-tourage

The Pilot and the Petite Percussionist

(re-run) 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… Continue reading The Pilot and the Petite Percussionist

Antique Dolls Get a Bad Rap

Fifteen years ago, my second cousin died an untimely death. She left me all of her dolls that had passsed down on two sides of the family until they ended with her. She had no children, no one to pass the dolls to. I’ve been dragging around my childhood dolls for half a century. When… Continue reading Antique Dolls Get a Bad Rap

A Funeral, an Appendix, and a Dead Concert

(re-run) PK lived in Jersey when her childhood friend’s mum was terminally ill in Boston.  Her friend called to say her mother had died, and PK woke up, wanting to go to the funeral and surprise her friend.  She felt bad but thought it was the heat.  She loaded up her three-year-old daughter and took… Continue reading A Funeral, an Appendix, and a Dead Concert

The Blond-tourage

(re-run) Every woman over fifty gets the same advice from her hairdresser — lighten up your hair. As our skin fades and our looks do, too, we need brighter lipstick, sparkly-er clothing and blonder locks to stay looking as young as we can. My apologies to women of color; this may not apply to you.… Continue reading The Blond-tourage