She ran a personal ad in the Contra Costa Times: Single white female looking for single Asian man. Her two previous boyfriends had been Asian. James called and left a message with his phone number on a Friday night. The next morning Pam checked her phone messages. She liked his voice as she listened to… Continue reading Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?
Category: memoir
Be Careful What You Wish For
I’ve lived in my little house for seven years and four months. The neighborhood is about 48 years old, and the trees that are here are huge. My pie-shaped lot is wide and shallow in the back. Las Trampas Ridge is due west, beyond the freeway, but I could not see it because of the… Continue reading Be Careful What You Wish For
Cat Burglar
I was in Fremont, California. It was the summer of 1975. I had my sample case with me. I’d worn my hot pants to stay cool. I had already rung three dozen doorbells. Selling books door to door wasn’t always a cake walk. It was lunchtime. I had one more doorbell to ring before I’d… Continue reading Cat Burglar
My Autumn Travels
I am in India, then Hawaii, then Europe, then Mexico. I have seen monkeys and camels, but no tigers. I have seen the Taj Mahal. I am having the dead skin on my feet bitten by little fishes. Then I am touring a castle in Germany or visiting a beach town in Italy. I can… Continue reading My Autumn Travels
Asparagus, Anyone?
The farmhouse was next to the highway, close enough for me to hear the train come by every night, and far enough away from the tracks to get used to sleeping through it. No houses could be seen from any window — just trees, sky, and lots of cornfields. It was a peaceful place, sometimes… Continue reading Asparagus, Anyone?
Mountain Lion
The latest mountain lion attack got me to thinking about how we humans hike, bike, and enter into mountain lion territory and should know what to do in the event that we run into one. The newspaper article today tells about the two mountain bikers in Washington this past weekend that encountered a mountain lion.… Continue reading Mountain Lion
Worker Woes in Monterey
I went down to my little beach house to see how the trees came out after the tree trimmers did their work and how the new fences turned out after the fence company built them. I hadn’t been there in person because of my dogs. I trusted that the companies I hired would do a… Continue reading Worker Woes in Monterey
Rescue Dog, Month # 10
We’ve been to three Manners classes so far, and Daisy is the class flunky. Every other dog (both younger and bigger) can do a down stay and a sit stay. Daisy can sit, and that’s about it. I have learned to ask her to sit before she eats and before her walk. She used to… Continue reading Rescue Dog, Month # 10
It’s a Jungle Out There
I saw a coyote yesterday during my strength and training class at the senior center. There are so many people in the drop-in class that I have to stand right in front of the glass doors, with a view of the hills filled with wild turkeys, birds, and now Wiley Coyote. My back hurts more… Continue reading It’s a Jungle Out There
Playing Hooky
Last night I skipped my dog’s Manners class. I paid for it back in August after two of my children said that the rescue dog could use some manners. I went to the first class, second class, and third class. Yesterday I’d had it with my week thus far. Too many things were going wrong.… Continue reading Playing Hooky
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 