You think you know someone. You’ve sat across from your brother in law at countless holiday meals. You raised your kids together, although far enough away that you only saw them four or five times a year. You know George loves Monterey, but you didn’t know the whole story. You knew he’d been in the… Continue reading Don’t Get a Sun Burn
Category: humor
The Dog Crate Disaster
When my pup was just over a year old, the Ghost Ship Fire happened in Oakland. 36 people died in a warehouse that had been converted into artist co-op with an illegal dance club on the second floor. When the fire started, the young people dancing upstairs were trapped, and they died. Tragedy. Every night… Continue reading The Dog Crate Disaster
Worst Dog Sitting Ever
When I was a newlywed, living in San Diego, my next door neighbor, Doreen, befriended me. She noticed I was home alone a lot, since my teaching job ended at 3:00, and my new husband didn’t come home from work until 7:00 or so. Doreen invited me over for food and chit chat. Once, she… Continue reading Worst Dog Sitting Ever
Loneliest Study Abroad Ever
After three months in South America and six weeks of student teaching Catholic high school girls, I headed to Burgos, Spain, with 30 students and a handful of professors from Iowa State and the University of Iowa. It would be my way of earning the final credits of my dual degree. Linda, a high school… Continue reading Loneliest Study Abroad Ever
A Lasting Love
Maurice was a sophomore at Riordan Catholic High School for boys in San Francisco. He played tenor sax in the marching band. His buddy Dave played trumpet and was dating a girl named Sheila from Mercy Catholic High School for girls. He suggested that Maurice date one of her six sisters, Colleen. The foursome went… Continue reading A Lasting Love
A Chance of a Ghost
This is not a Halloween story. No words written in blood on the hallway walls, no moaning spirits or flickering lights, or candles blowing themselves out. Just a feeling of not being alone. Ghosts, if you will, leftover energy from those who came before us. As a child I was called the sensitive one. I… Continue reading A Chance of a Ghost
Queen Victoria, The Cat
Renee, an artist, already had three cats. She wasn’t looking for another. So when her daughter-in-law called and said, “Mom, you need to adopt this kitten,” Renee was thinking, No way, Renee. But then she heard the kitty’s story, and she had to reconsider. Renee’s son Brian and his wife were moving to Tennessee from… Continue reading Queen Victoria, The Cat
Prom with an Older Woman
Alan was a sophomore when he got asked to junior prom by an older girl. He rented a tux from his date’s father, Mr. Cohen, who owned the local men’s shop in Monterey. Alan’s dad had to play chauffeur in his 1962 Chevy Bel Air, since Alan didn’t have his driver’s license yet. When they… Continue reading Prom with an Older Woman
Jeff Bezos Rules the World
Macy’s, Sears, J. Crew, Radio Shack, J.C. Penney, Kmart, Payless Shoe Source, Toys R Us, closed or closing stores in 2018. Borders, Barnes and Noble, and indie bookstores everywhere are closing. Mom and Pop shops are no more. What Ebay and Etsy did to antique stores, Amazon is doing to all the rest of the… Continue reading Jeff Bezos Rules the World
Getting Zen During a Hospital Exam
I got called back after my mammogram this week. They wanted to do an ultrasound on the right breast. I went in Tuesday, but they were so backed up that I left without being seen. Two days later I got right in and was lying there, looking up at the ceiling, my first thought being… Continue reading Getting Zen During a Hospital Exam
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 