(re-run) Every dance bar in Omaha ended the night with its signature song. One bar closed with Last Dance by Donna Summer, another used Shout from the Blues Brothers movie (by the Isley Brothers) as its sign-off song. But my fave dance bar closed with the song New York, New York. It seemed an odd… Continue reading Dance with Me, Young Jeremy
Category: memoir
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
Musical Cleaning Day (waiting for plumber)
(re-run) The plumber said he’d be here by mid-morning, but it wasn’t looking good. I worked on a review for a new children’s book coming out next month. I watched some Dry Bar Comedy while I digested my breakfast. That is no longer a multi-tasking feature of my aging body. Reflux. It’s best to let… Continue reading Musical Cleaning Day (waiting for plumber)
Theft of your Intellectual Property
(re-run) If you are a writer, then what you write belongs to you as your intellectual property. Be careful of critique groups and the people with whom you share your work. You must have an iron-clad agreement that your work is your work, and no one else is allowed to use it. This is a… Continue reading Theft of your Intellectual Property
Saying Good-bye to My Grocery Store
My grocery store of 39 years is closing on July 17th. There is hardly anything left to buy. After my July 3rd party, I stopped in to get the ingredients for my famous cheesy green beans: five cans of green beans, a block of Swiss cheese, a tub of sour cream, and a can of… Continue reading Saying Good-bye to My Grocery Store
Judging from the Trends
(re-run) I was asked to judge a picture book contest. I’m a picture book author of 29 books and also a mom of past picture-book fans. Picture books are books with both words and art, usually 28 to 64 pages, and usually for young children. The gift book people have figured out how to put… Continue reading Judging from the Trends
The Big Pooper, Two Bucks, and Sky Poopers
I just got back from three nights in my beach town since I am getting a new roof and I had to check up on the job and pay some money, too. My one-hundred-year-old house has a fancy pattern of swirls in the stucco, which is causing an issue with the aluminum cap on the… Continue reading The Big Pooper, Two Bucks, and Sky Poopers
Pushing Back
(re-run) Another Friday night, another summer concert, this time a Beach Boys cover band close to home. I loaded up my little red wagon and drove to Livorna Park in Alamo. The band wouldn’t start until 6:30, but I left home at 5:00 so that I could park close by and get a spot in… Continue reading Pushing Back
Two Seniors’ Shared Senior Moment
(re-run) He was right in front of us, a club member who had dated another club member for sixteen years until the break-up. We both knew who she was. But what was her name? “Liz,” he says. “No, that’s not it.” We talked about my ex-boyfriend club member, the Gong show, him being shirtless onstage,… Continue reading Two Seniors’ Shared Senior Moment
Uncle Frank and the Jar of Coins
(re-run) I grew up with three uncles: one in Colorado, another on the other side of the state, and one near my home town in Des Moines, Iowa. Uncle Frank was older than the other uncles, but since his daughter, Nina, was my age, I hardly noticed. He was married to my grandma’s younger sister. … Continue reading Uncle Frank and the Jar of Coins
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 