(re-run) My girlfriend, who shall remain nameless, lest someone recognize her on this page (okay, it’s Suanne), has a three-time rescue dog like mine. Hers also started out as a voluntary surrender puppy after his owner first lost a home in the Redding fire. Or possibly he was at the Redding shelter and got shipped… Continue reading Pavlov’s Perfume
Category: memoir
FOMO, YOLO, and YOYO
(re-run) You know summer has begun when you are constantly checking your email and calendar to make sure you’re not missing out on some live music that evening. Every town has its own series of music in the park. If you are willing to drive, you can hear it six evenings a week for free,… Continue reading FOMO, YOLO, and YOYO
Love in the Time of COVID – 19
(re-run) The gray stripe on my scalp was getting wider. It had been 14 weeks since I’d seen Janice at my last hair appointment. I took a photo of my hair and texted it to her. “I miss you!” I said. Janice texted back and said that she’d been sneaking people in the back door… Continue reading Love in the Time of COVID – 19
Water-ski Fail
(re-run) It’s funny how writing a daily blog can jog memories of long ago. Today, while taking a hot bath, I remembered this one. It was1984. My Omaha girlfriends were four younger women, one of them a sorority sister from Iowa State. Joan’s parents had a place at Lake Okoboji, and she invited us to… Continue reading Water-ski Fail
My Perfect High School OCD Job
(re-run( After babysitting for every rug rat in my neighborhood and getting short-changed by a few of their parents (the going rate was 50 cents an hour), I moved into real jobs with time cards and pay stubs. The first one was as a window clerk at Mc Donald’s. I was fast. I could take… Continue reading My Perfect High School OCD Job
The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence
(re-run) I’m a bird lover. I feed the song birds and the finches. I have an ongoing water supply in the form of a fountain in my back yard. I’ve planted native plants for the hummingbirds. When I hike, I am thrilled to find a hawk feather to add to my hat. Twenty-odd years ago,… Continue reading The Red-tailed Hawk and the Toddler Fence
Ready To Pop
I had a memory pop into my head this morning. I was nine months pregnant at the grocery store, in line waiting for the checker to finishing ringing up my groceries. I might’ve had a pre-schooler with me. The bag boy looked at my protruding belly and said, “You look like you’re ready to pop.… Continue reading Ready To Pop
The Good Karma Post
Sunday morning, I was in my beach town, so I ran down to the post office to buy a Sunday Chronicle out of the newspaper dispenser machine thingie. Another guy was parking at the same time, and we walked up together. “I’ll bet we want the same paper,” I said. “The Chronicle,” the guy said.… Continue reading The Good Karma Post
Worst Weekend Getaway Ever
(re-run) While student teaching in Venezuela, I 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 like you belong,” Linda said.… Continue reading Worst Weekend Getaway Ever
One Night, Seventeen Babies
When our daughter came out, covered in dark hair just like her dad, the nurse slapped an i.d. tag on her tiny little foot. For some reason I reached over to read it.
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 