Category: Iowa

How my Bug Collection Changed a Generation

Posted in best, entymology, firsts, humor, insects, Iowa, junior high school, last, memoir, middle school, Midwestern, mouse, nature, parenting, relationships, science, scientist, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) When my new science teacher announced on the first day of 7th grade that no one would get an A in his class if they didn’t make an insect collection, I was like, “NOOOOOOOO! I hate bugs!” My mother hated bugs. Her mother hated bugs. They hated mice, snakes, and dog poop, too. I… Continue reading How my Bug Collection Changed a Generation

Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever

Posted in Beatles, best, Colorado, crush, fame, friends, humor, Iowa, junior high school, memoir, music, phlebotomist, relationships, sister, TVLeave a comment

(re-run) Carol grew up in in Pueblo, Colorado, which was called the little Pittsburg of the West. Her dad was a steelworker. Her mom was a lab tech phlebotomist at the hospital. Whenever one of the kids got sick, her mom would bring home a hypodermic needle in her purse to draw some blood. “To… Continue reading Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever

Shake, Rattle and Roll

Posted in animal rescue, California, caregiver, doctor, dogs, earthquake, fires, holidays, humor, Iowa, memoir, mudslides, nature, relationships, San Francisco, tornadoLeave a comment

(re-run in honor of the 35th anniversary of the Loma Prieta quake in 1989) Twenty earthquakes happened under my town yesterday. The biggest one was under the posh community of Diablo, three miles from here. They are calling it a swarm of quakes. The quakes are just big enough to get your attention or wake… Continue reading Shake, Rattle and Roll

Just for the Halibut

Posted in back ache, California, cancer, Christmas, Facebook, father, Father's Day, funeral, hospital, Iowa, memoir, punster, Spain, Spanish, student teaching, teaching, VenezuelaLeave a comment

(re-run) Father’s Day has come and gone. I saw many black and white photos of men on Facebook, people my age honoring their deceased dads. I didn’t have a good photo of Dad to post, just silly ones or childhood ones. It never occurred to me 34 years ago that I would someday want a… Continue reading Just for the Halibut

The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

Posted in classmates, college, high school, Iowa, Iowa State University, locker room, memoir, physical fitness, physical fitness award, softball, teacher, windowLeave a comment

(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

Pontoon Boat Disaster

Posted in boat, childhood, Clear Lake, coffee, Iowa, lightning, memoir, OCD, pontoon boat, rental cottages, stomach, stomach issues, storms, summer, swimming, swimming poolLeave a comment

(re-run) My parents didn’t know how to swim. When we went on vacation at Clear Lake, Iowa, and Dad wanted to take us out in a rented pontoon boat. My mom objected.  Dad won in the end, and the five kids put on our life jackets. I think my mom did, too. I am sure… Continue reading Pontoon Boat Disaster

Government Cheese and Pinto Beans

Posted in beans, dad, government, hospital, Iowa, January, memoir, mental health, moccasins, mom, secret, therapyLeave a comment

(re-run) I was nine or ten when our mom took me and my younger siblings downtown to a place to get some free food for poor people.  Our dad was out of work for six weeks. My mother was humiliated. We waited in line until it was our turn. As the worker handed Mom her… Continue reading Government Cheese and Pinto Beans

Frostbite Memories

Posted in beach, California, college, December, dog walks, dogs, frostbite, gardening, Iowa, memoir, Monterey Bay, old lady card, tourists, tree trimmer, trees, wind, winter breakLeave a comment

Today the sun was shining, the ocean was royal blue and the wind was bitter cold. I had the dog on a choke chain since I couldn’t squeeze the prong collar back together (I’d taken it apart in the wrong place).  I headed down my street past a tree- trimmer truck that has just pulled… Continue reading Frostbite Memories

Writing It Down

Posted in blog, boy, dancing, exercise, female issues, gender, gender roles, high school, humor, Iowa, memoir, relationshipsLeave a comment

(re-run) Yesterday, as I drove up the freeway to BART, where I would meet two girlfriends and one of their daughters to go to the city to see Hamilton again, I was composing my blog post, out loud, in the slow lane. I was on a roll, phrasing each sentence to perfection as other drivers… Continue reading Writing It Down

Typical Tuesday

Posted in being woke, California, empathy, Florida, fox, immigrants, Iowa, M&M's, mass shootings, mudslides, news, newspaper, Oscars, Razzies, Texas, wokenessLeave a comment

(re-run) Today’s entire front page is about the two mass shootings over the past three days, one in Southern California, and the other one fifty miles from my house.  We can continue to believe that it won’t affect any of us, that mass shootings happen to other people.  It’s getting to the point where we… Continue reading Typical Tuesday