When I was twenty-eight I bought my first house, in Omaha, on 50th Avenue, south of Leavenworth. It was a cute little two bedroom, one bath with a full basement and big fenced-in backyard. Since I wanted to get a dog, it seemed perfect. I had a budget, and this house was in my price… Continue reading Worst Neighbors Ever
Category: memoir
Lady Tenor in a Sea of Men
My chorus just did two back-to-back performances this past weekend. There are 120 of us this semester, with only thirty men. The men sing the bass and tenor parts, and five of us women sing the higher tenor part with the men. Why, you ask? Because we five gals have a lower range than the… Continue reading Lady Tenor in a Sea of Men
Mountain Lion
The latest mountain lion attack got me to thinking about how we humans hike, bike, and enter into cougar country 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. The… Continue reading Mountain Lion
Sneaking into the Pool
While student teaching in Venezuela, we 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. Christy… Continue reading Sneaking into the Pool
The White Album
The last time I saw the Beatles cover band in the Santa Cruz mountains hippie town of Felton, I noticed that most of the crowd was coupled off, and most of the couples didn’t dance. They were too old, being die-hard Beatles fans for fifty years. It was a shame. The floor is real wood.… Continue reading The White Album
Royals
Today’s the day (technically tomorrow), when a prince marries an American! A celebrity! A person of mixed race! The world has gone gaga for a royal wedding. I am not that much into all things British, but I do like the family Windsor. After all, Prince William married my distant cousin, Kate. Yes, my maiden… Continue reading Royals
Do Nerds Laugh?
Yesterday, at my bi-monthly massage at the chiropractor’s, Curtis the masseur asked me lots of questions to help the fifty-five minute session go by. I was chatting away as he rubbed the kinks out of my neck, shoulder and lower back, telling him this and that, until he came around to the big question, “What… Continue reading Do Nerds Laugh?
Worst Dog Sitting Ever
When I was a newlywed, living in San Diego, my next door neighbor, Doreen, befriended me. She noticed I was home alone a lot, since my teaching job ended at 3:00, and my new husband didn’t come home from work until 7:00 or so. Doreen invited me over for food and chit chat. Once, she… Continue reading Worst Dog Sitting Ever
Loneliest Study Abroad Ever
After three months in South America and six weeks of student teaching Catholic high school girls, I headed to Burgos, Spain, with 30 students and a handful of professors from Iowa State and the University of Iowa. It would be my way of earning the final credits of my dual degree. Linda, a high school… Continue reading Loneliest Study Abroad Ever
A Chance of a Ghost
This is not a Halloween story. No words written in blood on the hallway walls, no moaning spirits or flickering lights, or candles blowing themselves out. Just a feeling of not being alone. Ghosts, if you will, leftover energy from those who came before us. As a child I was called the sensitive one. I… Continue reading A Chance of a Ghost
