(re-run) The day after Christmas I bought myself a belated gift. I got an adult dog to be a buddy to my exuberant two year old dog. I’d been to the Martinez animal services shelter the week before, since they had so many dogs (140) and were giving them away. It was cold and damp… Continue reading Naming the Rescue Dog
Category: memoir
The Escape Artist
When my son was born, he came out angry, two weeks early and mad as hell. “He looks like a prosecutor,” the nurses said. Fast forward two years. He wouldn’t hold my hand while walking to and from the car. He wouldn’t hold my hand in parking lots. He was always running away inside of… Continue reading The Escape Artist
The Thrill of the Deal
(re-run from 2021) Before the pandemic, I would go to a thrift store every week. I had thrift-store withdrawals in late March, but what could I do? They were shut down for the pandemic. Then in May, when many of them reopened, I was one of the hundreds of people looking for a place to… Continue reading The Thrill of the Deal
Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
(re-run) My mother, bless her heart, had to keep five children in line, mostly by herself. She did it by keeping everyone in his or her place, as in, “No, you can’t do that!” I just found out that my younger sister also wanted to play clarinet in the band, like I did. But I… Continue reading Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
One Week Until Daylight Savings, Two Weeks Until Spring
(re-run) There’s a blizzard going on in Tahoe right now, a late winter dump of snow. We had rain for three days, thunder and lightning in the middle of the night. Daisy Dog hid under the bed. Looking outside the window, I see gray skies and leafless trees, except for the pines. One ornamental plum… Continue reading One Week Until Daylight Savings, Two Weeks Until Spring
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
Worst Roommate Ever
(re-run) By the time I graduated college, I’d had somewhere close to 37 roommates: the first two in the triple room my freshman year, the next two in another triple when I changed dorms after one quarter, my solo roommate all of sophomore year, then the string of roomies after I moved into the sorority… Continue reading Worst Roommate Ever
February is the Longest Month
(re-run from 2019) We all know February only has twenty-eight days or twenty-nine if the calendar year is divisible by the number four. 2019? No. 2020? Yes, it is. Although the month only has four weeks to it, it can seem to be the longest month. Valentine’s Day was two weeks ago, it’s a long… Continue reading February is the Longest Month
Cleaning Day and Armoire Memories
I inherited some Navajo stuff from my mom. My uncle had married a Navajo professor he met while teaching at Shiprock College (now Dine College). They adopted a Native American baby when I was twenty-two. Then my cousin’s wife’s aunt started advertising her Navajo rugs on Facebook, and soon I had four of those, plus a… Continue reading Cleaning Day and Armoire Memories
Please Ms. Postman
I was the only female in the place. Ninety-nine guys in their blue and gray uniforms watched me walk up to my case. I had on jeans, a summer top, and closed-toe shoes. It was going to be a hot one out there. It was 6:00 a.m. I’d gotten up at 4:45, eaten breakfast, thrown… Continue reading Please Ms. Postman
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 