Iowa – Page 11 – FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER!

Pontoon Boat Disaster

November 15, 2021November 15, 2021 Posted in boat, childhood, Clear Lake, coffee, Iowa, lightning, OCD, pontoon boat, rental cottages, stomach, stomach issues, storms, summer, swimmingLeave a comment

(re-run) My parents didn’t swim. When we went on vacation at Clear Lake, 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 my dad didn’t wear… Continue reading Pontoon Boat Disaster

Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

November 1, 2021November 1, 2021 Posted in 4th of July, alcohol, babysitting, cheesecake, Des Moines, drinking, driver's license, February, house party, Iowa, memoir, raisins, teens, vodka, winterLeave a comment

(re-run) It’s an American teenager’s rite of passage to get sick the first time they drink. I was no exception. Aside from tasting different liqueurs on babysitting jobs after the kids went to bed, I had only tasted my dad’s beer, Schlitz. No thank you. I was not a fan of fizzy bitter fermentation. So… Continue reading Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

Pennies from Heaven

September 28, 2021September 27, 2021 Posted in college, drugs, Eric Clapton, firsts, head shop, high school, humor, Iowa, J.J. Cale, memoir, music, relationships, smokingLeave a comment

(re-run) When I was sixteen, I saved up my babysitting money and went downtown to Cottage Grove Avenue in Des Moines, where there was a head shop filled with incense, hanging beads, roach clips, black light posters and tie dye. Although I wasn’t a pothead (I didn’t smoke cigarettes either), I enjoyed the ambience of… Continue reading Pennies from Heaven

Pontoon Boat Disaster

September 17, 2021September 16, 2021 Posted in boat, childhood, Clear Lake, coffee, Iowa, lightning, OCD, pontoon boat, rental cottages, stomach, stomach issues, storms, summer, swimmingLeave a comment

Lola Meets Ricardo

August 30, 2021August 29, 2021 Posted in beer, college, fires, Iowa, marriage, military, sister, speech, women's studiesLeave a comment

Lola met her forever husband on the first day of college at the University of Iowa. She had signed up for a speech and composition class with an emphasis on women’s studies. When she got to the classroom, there was a note on the door that the class had been moved to another building. A… Continue reading Lola Meets Ricardo

The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

August 27, 2021August 26, 2021 Posted in classmates, college, high school, Iowa, Iowa State University, locker room, memoir, physical fitness, physical fitness award, softball, teacher, windowLeave a comment

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 already… Continue reading The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

My Two Gophers

August 25, 2021 Posted in beach, birdfeeder, birds, California, contractor, Coronavirus, Covid 19, cows, gophers, Iowa, memoir, squirrelsLeave a comment

(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

Government Cheese and Pinto Beans

August 25, 2021August 24, 2021 Posted in beans, dad, government, hospital, Iowa, memoir, mental health, moccasins, mom, secret, therapyLeave a comment

I was nine or ten when my 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 block… Continue reading Government Cheese and Pinto Beans

A Mouse in the Bed

August 24, 2021August 23, 2021 Posted in childhood, grandma, Iowa, memoir, memory, mom, mouse, storms, trees, validation, voleLeave a comment

(re-run) When my oldest was in 4th or 5th grade, she told me one morning that there was a mouse in her bed. “There’s no mouse in your bed!” I said. “There is,” she said. “I felt it crawling over my leg.” She went off to school, and I told my mother, who was visiting… Continue reading A Mouse in the Bed

Feeling Better

August 6, 2021August 6, 2021 Posted in animals, birdfeeder, birds, Depression, dogs, exercise, food, Iowa, medications, melanoma, memoir, mood, nature, sunshine, ZumbaLeave a comment

I have some down days every year, but mostly I don’t. I know I’m lucky. I have also aligned my life to feel better. Coincidentally, a relative’s therapist told her the five things she needs every day to get out of her funk. Nature – I grew up outside in Iowa. As kids we played… Continue reading Feeling Better