Prom Be Gone

(re-run) It was supposed to be junior prom at Stoughton High, but it got cancelled (thirteen years before the movie Footloose). Patsy wasn’t going steady with anyone, so she wasn’t too upset. At the last minute the school arranged a dance in the high school gym, but with no decorations, no court (no prom queen),… Continue reading Prom Be Gone

Pop-up Prom Shop

It’s that time of year again when high school kids are heading to junior prom or senior ball.  That involves big money for a dress, shoes, purse, hair, and nails if you’re female and a tux, tie, cummerbund, shoes and shirt if you’re a male.  At least that’s the way it was when I was… Continue reading Pop-up Prom Shop

Love of her Life

(re-run) Connie was only fourteen when she went to her first dinner dance at the country club. Brad was two years older, already driving, and as handsome as could be. Connie had been smitten since the day they met at school. She had been at her locker. He had come by and said hello. She’d… Continue reading Love of her Life

Belly-up Beetle

(re-run) Curtis drove a 1969 vintage Volkswagen Beetle. George, his wing man, brought the weed. They’d met their dates at a party. Stacy and Camille went to San Leandro High. Curtis and George went to Castro Valley. Curtis liked Camille. George got Stacy. They all partied at a friend of a friend’s house in Oakland… Continue reading Belly-up Beetle

Love of her Life

(re-run) Connie was only fourteen when she went to her first dinner dance at the country club. Brad was two years older, already driving, and as handsome as could be. Connie had been smitten since the day they met at school. She had been at her locker. He had come by and said hello. She’d… Continue reading Love of her Life

Love of her Life

(re-run) Connie was only fourteen when she went to her first dinner dance at the country club. Brad was two years older, already driving, and as handsome as could be. Connie had been smitten since the day they met at school. She had been at her locker. He had come by and said hello. She’d… Continue reading Love of her Life

The Neighbors, the Pit Bull, and the Daily Pooper

(re-run) We bought a house on a street that was a long court with two courts coming off of it. We were up at the top, and it was a great and safe place for my kids to walk Penny, our greyhound-mix dog. Until it wasn’t. “That was a short walk,” I said when they… Continue reading The Neighbors, the Pit Bull, and the Daily Pooper

The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

(re-run) It was senior year in high school. I was on my last semester of PE, my least favorite class. I maintained a straight-A average in all other classes. Not PE. It alternated between a B and a C. I was feeling good. We were in our next-to last unit, the physical fitness award. I… Continue reading The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

Belly-up Beetle

(re-run) Curtis drove a 1969 vintage Volkswagen Beetle. George, his wing man, brought the weed. They’d met their dates at a party. Stacy and Camille went to San Leandro High. Curtis and George went to Castro Valley. Curtis liked Camille. George got Stacy. They all partied at a friend of a friend’s house in Oakland… Continue reading Belly-up Beetle

Home Alone in the Shower

(re-run) If you’ve never seen Alfred Hitchcock’s horror movie, Psycho, Janet Leigh gets killed while taking a shower.  It’s a creep fest, and she won awards for her convincing screams. Flash back to the 70’s, when I was a teenager and home alone, taking a shower in the new basement bathroom. It was a crude… Continue reading Home Alone in the Shower