(re-run) I 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
Category: memoir
My Fake-Coffee Half Hour
(re-run) It’s funny how a person’s perception of what is good changes with the circumstances. I used to look forward to my can of Diet Coke every day until I reached my mid-forties. Then the stuff was too hard on my stomach, and I gave it up. I used to look forward to my cup… Continue reading My Fake-Coffee Half Hour
Learning To Trust in a World of Betrayal
Back in the 80s when I was a young school teacher in a small town, things were black and white. People were church-going farmers, and you’d better not be sleeping with your boyfriend when he came to town and stayed overnight. We learned to park our company’s vehicles behind the barn. My classroom was the… Continue reading Learning To Trust in a World of Betrayal
Memories of Hall and Oates CD
I drove down the highway, Abandoned Luncheonette playing on the CD player (my car is 9 years old). I was belting the words, watching out for weavers, the cars that go in and out of traffic, scaring the wits out of those of us going at a steady speed in a single lane. It occurred… Continue reading Memories of Hall and Oates CD
The Bathroom Post
(re-run) Nobody talks about it, except those red bears on the toilet paper commercial. Everybody poops. Or they at least try to. Older folks often have trouble in this department because the body is less efficient, and everything slows down, especially the digestive system. My days of eating nachos for lunch are over, my friends.… Continue reading The Bathroom Post
My Three-quarter Bike Ride
(re-run) I suggested the bike ride. My adult children don’t spend enough time outdoors or get enough exercise, but they do like to ride the Iron Horse trail, an easy, shady railroad right of way that connects towns up and down the I- 680 corridor. I knew I had them when I suggested lunch at… Continue reading My Three-quarter Bike Ride
Weekend Away
For me, it’s 120 miles from door to door. I can usually get there in two hours over five highways and get back in two and a half hours, unless it’s Sunday morning and everyone (light traffic) is going 75 mph. Even with the planned detour for road construction, I still made it in two… Continue reading Weekend Away
Mountain Lion
(re-run) A mountain lion attack was reported on the news last night. A 24-year-old woman’s dog saved her life in Trinity Forest in Northern California. The mountain lion attacked the woman first, but her Belgian Malinois shepherd named Eva jumped in and is now in serious condition. Cub season is now until October. The lion… Continue reading Mountain Lion
Daisy’s Night Run, a Skunk, and an Anniversary
(re-run) With hot weather in the Bay Area, it seemed like a good time to run down to the beach, plus the handy woman was available to come at the same time with her daughter. We had trees to plant, foxtails to pull, and a flat roof filled with pine needles to clean. The dogs… Continue reading Daisy’s Night Run, a Skunk, and an Anniversary
Dating in your Sixties
(re-run) There are many reasons why dating in your 60s is hard – wrinkles, scars, bad breath, missing teeth, surprise farting, family issues, and the biggest one – different politics. Politico announced yesterday that the Supreme Court is gearing up to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark case in 1973 regarding a woman’s right to… Continue reading Dating in your Sixties