Door Number One or Door Number Two?

(re-run)\ It was all because of a blizzard. Well, sort of. I wanted to go to Minnesota to see the boyfriend I’d broken up with five months before while we were in Europe. We had bought Eurail passes and had made our way across the continent, sleeping on trains, in tents, and youth hostels, even… Continue reading Door Number One or Door Number Two?

Afternoon Delight

(re-run) If you were in eighth grade and you had a weekly afternoon paper route delivering the Detroit News in Saginaw, Michigan, and you rode your red Schwinn with the basket to do your route and then rode it again on collection day, what would your fantasy be? If you were Chet, it would be… Continue reading Afternoon Delight

My Angry Toe, a Soleful Tale

For three weeks my right pinky toe has been red, swollen and angry. I tried soaking it in Epsom salts.  I tried changing up my shoes. Finally I made an appointment with my podiatrist, actually the replacement podiatrist since mine had retired and sold his practice to a woman half my age. I’d seen her… Continue reading My Angry Toe, a Soleful Tale

Rocky Mountain Low

(re-run) He was the good-looking cousin of my best friend. Tall, tan, and bearded, with a killer smile, it was love at first sight. Marcus had moved from Minnesota to Colorado to be near his sister. He asked if I wanted to come out and go backpacking with him. I said yes but that my… Continue reading Rocky Mountain Low

Waitresses Make the Best Tippers

(re-run) After moving to Omaha and teaching for a couple of years across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, I grew tired of driving a car that smelled like a mildewed basement. My poor Chevy Monza had suffered through a Nebraska flood back at the farmhouse, and the car stank. I couldn’t afford a… Continue reading Waitresses Make the Best Tippers

My Fake-Coffee Half Hour

(re-run) It’s funny how a person’s perception of what is good changes with the circumstances. I used to look forward to my can of Diet Coke every day until I reached my mid-forties. Then the stuff was too hard on my stomach, and I gave it up. I used to look forward to my cup… Continue reading My Fake-Coffee Half Hour

The Bonus Daisy Post

(re-run from 2018) Normally I write about my rescue dog on a monthly basis, on her adoption anniversary date, the 26th of October. Consider this a bonus post, since she has been making news these past two days. Every morning I get into the hot tub with my cup of black tea, and Daisy perches… Continue reading The Bonus Daisy Post

The Grass is Always Greener

(re-run) I had a meeting tonight with two girlfriends in solid hard-core relationships. One is married, the other is living with her guy. My relationship is with two roommates who fight a lot over squeaky toys and over who gets to go out the door first. They are roommates of the furry kind. So imagine… Continue reading The Grass is Always Greener

Must Love Dogs

(re-run) John had a date with a woman named Sally. She had just rescued a dog and named it Muffin. John wanted to go skim boarding at the beach, and he asked Sally to come with him. Of course she had to bring Muffin, her Golden Retriever. When they got to San Gregorio beach a… Continue reading Must Love Dogs