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 Racist and the Ficus Tree

When I was young, the one black boy in my elementary school was my classmate. His name was Teddy. This was white-white-white Iowa in the 60’s.  My first grade teacher, Mrs. Van Cura, got angry at the class one day for misbehaving and said, “Whoever doesn’t behave will have to play with Teddy at recess.”… Continue reading The Racist and the Ficus Tree

The Thrift Store Angel

I pulled into the donation line and saw the racks and racks of bagged clothing and rolling containers of all the other stuff. It had been a good day for donations at Saver’s Thrift store. When it was my turn, I got out of the car to open up the back of my SUV. “Wow!”… Continue reading The Thrift Store Angel

My Fake-Coffee Half Hour

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 of… Continue reading My Fake-Coffee Half Hour

A Giants Date

(re-run) Tom the contractor was a Giants fan. He found a similar-minded woman on Match. Tom’s friend had given him the tickets, field level seats at the third baseline, near the players’ wives.   Tom asked his date to meet him at his place so they could drive over to the stadium in San Francisco together.… Continue reading A Giants Date

Must Love Dogs

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 park… Continue reading Must Love Dogs

Date with a Widower

They found each other on Match. They had both lost their spouses. Don said he was looking for a good Catholic widow. He was involved with the arch diocese in Oakland.  Sue was a recovering Catholic but thought maybe he was a solid guy. She agreed to meet him for coffee. He was good-looking and… Continue reading Date with a Widower

A Great Dane Story

When I was almost thirteen, I hung out at my neighbor Bonnie’s house, just one block away from mine, but it was different world.  Both her parents worked full time, so we teens could hang there with no parental supervision. We were supervised, though, by the family’s Great Danes. I remember three dogs, but there… Continue reading A Great Dane Story

Worst Mom Ever

(re-run) As a mother, choose your words and actions carefully, for eighteen years! Mom to three grown children, I still hear about the horrible things I said and the awful things I did to them as children. Oldest daughter with her dad’s dark heavy eyebrows: me, to her as a teen, “You might want to… Continue reading Worst Mom Ever

Get Some Facetime

As I stepped into the waiting room at my chiropractor’s office, three women and one guy were looking down at their cell phones, sitting in a symmetrical pattern amongst the u-shaped chairs. Feeling giddy from my fifty-five minute massage I said,” Well, this looks like a blog post to me! You’re all on your phones!”… Continue reading Get Some Facetime