(re-run) After hiking six miles with the senior group called DASH, which does not dash at all, but rather hikes slowly through the woods with plenty of stops for bathroom breaks, snack breaks, or count-up-and-regroup breaks, I was too pooped to go out dancing. But my friends were going, it was close (just one town… Continue reading Street Dance
Category: hiking
Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?
(re-run) She ran a personal ad in the Contra Costa Times: Single white female looking for single Asian man. Her two previous boyfriends had been Asian. James called and left a message with his phone number on a Friday night. The next morning Pam checked her phone messages. She liked his voice as she listened… Continue reading Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?
The Dancing Tribe
(re-run) Different town. Different band. Same faces. We are the tribe of dancers, mostly in our fifties, sixties, and seventies, following rock and roll music wherever it goes. We might not know each other’s names, but we smile and wave. It’s been two years since some of us have seen each other. Last summer all… Continue reading The Dancing Tribe
Sorry About That
(re-run) Aileen, in her early 50s, had a date that neither she, nor the guy, will ever forget. They met online. He suggested a hike out to the Black Diamond Mines in Antioch. She agreed, although she wasn’t much of a hiker. During the hike and while climbing in and out of the mine tunnels,… Continue reading Sorry About That
The Power of Nature
(re-run) Sun, trees, dirt, flowers. My nose is full of the smell of Eucalyptus. I used to hike twice a month with my senior hiking group called DASH. Then my sis moved in with me so that I could be her care giver. My hiking days stopped except for once last summer when I lucked… Continue reading The Power of Nature
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
Watch Out for the Green Pepper
I can’t eat green pepper. I can’t eat a lot of things. The older I get, the more things I need a certain way to keep me happy. When I was four years into a past relationship, I knew it was in trouble when the boyfriend started adding green pepper to everything he served me.… Continue reading Watch Out for the Green Pepper
Maybe, Maybe Not
(re-run) Sabrina had a master’s degree and a professional job. She went online to meet a guy with an equal education. She tried a site called Elite Singles. She found Curtis, and they talked on the phone a few times. They decided to get together for a meet and greet. Curtis had been a teacher.… Continue reading Maybe, Maybe Not
Interfacing with Nature
(re-run) I live in a town that backs up to a gorgeous mountain in the middle of an otherwise-flat part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Bicyclists come from all over to climb Mt. Diablo and then get their joy ride on the way down the winding road. The hiking here is phenomenal, and the… Continue reading Interfacing with Nature
