(re-run from 2022) Yesterday I went to a local library to hear two members of a Beatles cover band do one hour of lovely harmonies while they sang song after song. All the old people in the audience sang along. There were chairs for us, and the young people with small children, who didn’t think… Continue reading The Gift of Music
Category: Iowa
Be Careful Who You Hike With
(re-run) First of all, the title should be Be Careful with Whom You Hike, but I figured only English teachers would read the post if I did it that way. An old bf asked me to go on a hike with him. I said yes a little too quickly. Looking back, Bob (not his real… Continue reading Be Careful Who You Hike With
Three Banks, the Post Office, and a Picasso
(re-run) t’s that dreaded time of year again. April is next week and so many things are due to be paid: Estimated Federal taxes Estimated State taxes Property taxes Accountant’s bill IRA contribution I am considered self-employed, so no taxes are withheld from my pension or royalty payments. That means that four times a year,… Continue reading Three Banks, the Post Office, and a Picasso
Another One Bites the Dust
I had only been a teacher for a few years when I was asked to teach an interest class during lunchtime. I agreed to teach aerobics, since I loved doing them, and why not? I was young, strong, and didn’t look half bad in an 80s leotard, complete with leg warmers and a sweat band… Continue reading Another One Bites the Dust
Highway Dog
(re-run) I’m in my little beach town, up the road a bit from Carmel. At the end of each month, the block of thrift stores in the Barnyard Shopping Center near Carmel Valley put their merchandise at 50% off for a day or two. Yellow Brick Road was on its second day of sale yesterday,… Continue reading Highway Dog
Bricks, Ricks, & Cardboard
(re-run) The college mixer was hosted by the men of Lorch House in Friley Hall, in the heart of the Iowa State University campus. Tappan House, the top two floors of Barton Hall, was invited. Yes, I am old. Yes, dorm floors are co-ed now. This was in the days of the dinosaurs, girl dinosaurs… Continue reading Bricks, Ricks, & Cardboard
My Two Gophers
(re-run) Now before you tell me that gophers are solitary creatures and that I only have one gopher, let me explain that I have a little beach house with a gopher and my regular house with a gopher. I am an Iowa girl, living in California. So both houses were bought because of the property… Continue reading My Two Gophers
Stuffing the Bug
My first job was as a waitress at the Iowa State Fair for ten days. I was 14, the summer before 9th grade. My friends and I worked the lunch shift, then had a couple of hours off before the supper shift. A girl named Virginia (a friend of a friend) from another school got… Continue reading Stuffing the Bug
How my Bug Collection Changed a Generation
(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
(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
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 