Category: memoir

The Shame of my Generation

Posted in autism, climate change, Dustin Hoffman, empathy, generation, Greta Thunberg, gun control, guns, homeless, memoir, Parkland, plastic, teens, water bottle1 Comment

(re-run) I am ashamed of some of my friends. Let’s just say we are in the senior citizen range, from fifty-five and up. Way up. Some of them are in their eighties. They are making fun of youth marching in the streets for climate change. They are attacking Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager who started… Continue reading The Shame of my Generation

The Story of my Picker

Posted in antique, antique store, antiques dealer, drugs, memoir, pick-up truck, picker, refund, restaurant, shoplifting, store, teensLeave a comment

When I had a shop, it attracted lots of individuals who wanted to sell me antiques. Some of them had good stuff. Others had junk. Many wanted too much for their inherited mementos. One old guy brought me cracked and chipped tea cups and got mad when I wouldn’t buy them at any price. A… Continue reading The Story of my Picker

Bomb Shelter Blues

Posted in bomb shelter, Camp Fire Girl, Cold War, fall-out shelter, family, grandpa, memoir, OCD, radiationLeave a comment

Our house on 69th Street in Urbandale, Iowa, had a big bump in the backyard. It’s where my grandfather built a fall-out shelter that connected to our basement. It was during the Cold War, and thoughts of atomic bombs being dropped on us was enough to motivate him to save his daughter and five of… Continue reading Bomb Shelter Blues

The Danger of Family Secrets

Posted in alcoholic, band, college, drugs, family, family secrets, grandma, grandpa, grandparents, honesty, medications, memoir, piano, police officer, relationships, secret, tap dancing, wedding anniversary, World War IILeave a comment

To this day my mother says, “It was a different time. That’s what families did in those days.” She is talking about family secrets. Mine had a whole bunch of them. My dead Uncle David, with his farm painting on the living room wall of my grandparents’ house, was a mystery to me.  He’d died… Continue reading The Danger of Family Secrets

Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

Posted in church, divorce, family, Jesus, memoir, memory, religion, Sunday, volunteerLeave a comment

As I was outside watering this morning, preparing my drought-resistant plants for an onslaught of high temperatures for the holiday weekend and beyond, I discovered acorns all over the back yard. As I picked up the acorns and the dog poo of a medium dog and a small dog and some neighborhood cats as well,… Continue reading Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!

My Fake-Coffee Half Hour

Posted in blog, blog posts, coffee, Diet Coke, Facebook, GERD, humor, memoir, names, relationships, Spanish, Spanish class, stomach, stomach issues, wineLeave a comment

(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

Flat Feet

Posted in Brazil, Canaima, chiropractor, flat feet, Korean War, memoir, skiing, South America, Spanish, travel, vacation, waterfallsLeave a comment

(re-run) I turned on my laptop the other day, and the ever-changing screen showed a photo of waterfalls, big wide ones somewhere in Brazil. I’ve never been to Brazil, but I have been to Canaima, Venezuela, where there are seven wide falls and a resort below them. I was student-teaching with another Iowa Stater. We… Continue reading Flat Feet

Shop Till You Drop

Posted in best, California, Carmel, cars, dressing room, firsts, friends, girl friends, lunch, memoir, relationships, restaurant, thrift store, vintageLeave a comment

(re-run) We had already hit two thrift stores and were heading for a third. Then I remembered that Vickie wanted to go to the ones in Carmel. I turned onto Forest Avenue and took the winding highway 68 through the Monterey pines. It would lead to the new roundabout that would send the traffic north… Continue reading Shop Till You Drop

Doing the Swedish Death Purge

Posted in aging, Döstädning, death purge, evacuation, fires, memoir, moving, pandemic, purge, schedule, SwedenLeave a comment

A friend of mine is Swedish, and she told me about Döstädning. I have no idea how to say it, but it means death purge for those turning sixty. The idea is simple – clean out your house before you die so that your kids don’t have to do it. But saying it and doing… Continue reading Doing the Swedish Death Purge