It was 9:30 in the morning, California time. I was doing my usual clean-up after sending our three young children off to school. The oldest was almost 15, the middle one 12, and the youngest just 7. The new Dachshund puppy needed to go outside, but with hawks around, I needed to go with him.… Continue reading 9-11
Category: memoir
Surprise in the Porch Stove
I just got home from the beach with temps up to 70 degrees. “Why am I coming back?” I asked myself as the car’s outside temp rose to 82, then 88 then 92 as I pulled off the freeway in San Ramon. When I got home, the dogs went ballistic as they always do. We’re… Continue reading Surprise in the Porch Stove
Sneaking into the Pool
(re-run) While student teaching in Venezuela, my roommate and partner in crime learned how to have fun with not much money. One of the American teachers had stolen a couple of striped beach towels from an upscale hotel, and she had been sneaking into the hotel pool for years. “Just carry the towel and act… Continue reading Sneaking into the Pool
Daisy the Rescue Dog, Month # 9
Today is Daisy’s ninth month with me and my younger dog, Pepper. Two females is never the best idea for dog-mates. I thought Pepper would retain her Alpha position because she is bigger. But Jack Russells are born with attitude to spare, and Daisy has managed to boss both of us around. I’ve never had… Continue reading Daisy the Rescue Dog, Month # 9
A Mouse in the Bed
(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
Peace Corps Fail
(re-run) It was in the spring of my first year of teaching when the call came. I was at Greenwood Elementary in Greenwood, Nebraska. I had applied to the Peace Corps the year before. They had just seen my application. They wanted to fly me to Chicago for an interview that weekend. They gave me… Continue reading Peace Corps Fail
God’s Favor
There’s the old joke about the man who is stranded in a flood. First, a guy in a canoe comes by and offers to help him. “God will provide for me,” he says as he turns down the canoe ride. Then a second guy comes by in a row boat and offers a ride. “God… Continue reading God’s Favor
First Date with a Stoner
(re-run) You said yes to the guy who asked you out two years ago and you turned him down. Now he has shown up at a dancing venue in Concord on the same day you wondered whatever happened to him. You see, he lives in San Francisco and you live in Suburbia. Then you agree… Continue reading First Date with a Stoner
Grandma’s Basement
(re-run) My grandfather and his dad built a house into the side of a hill. The main floor had three small bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and stairs to the kitchen below. The kitchen looked out over the hill down to the creek and had windows and a back door with a screen door.… Continue reading Grandma’s Basement
Keeping Up with the Culture
Yesterday my son told me what click bait means. I am woefully out of the loop on many things computer. But I think I have a good handle on pop culture, for the most part. The first time I heard an eighth grade student say awesome, it sounded out of place. But that was 35… Continue reading Keeping Up with the Culture
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 