(re-run) When my youngest was three, I ventured out in to the real world and rented a space in a handmade and vintage store. I did pretty well, but there were problems including accounting and theft. In my affluent town, shoppers unpinned the price tags and switched them around. I quit the craft store and… Continue reading Antiques Dealer School
Category: memoir
Skin Check
(re-run) “Good job!” the physician’s assistant said when I complained about my uneven fake tan. “It’s been a lifestyle change for me, staying out of the sun,” I said. “I’m proud of you,” Miss Tan said. She looked at the four spots I was worried about, froze off the two on my back, biopsied one… Continue reading Skin Check
Hot Lipstick and a Missed Wedding
(re-run) This morning (Sunday) I ran out to get the San Francisco Chronicle, bought fruit, and then dropped off a library book, mailed a letter, and parked in front of CVS, waiting for the pharmacy to open. Why not run errands later, you ask? Because the Chronicle sells out fairly early, so I settled in… Continue reading Hot Lipstick and a Missed Wedding
The Blond-tourage
(re-run) Every woman over fifty gets the same advice from her hairdresser — to lighten up her hair. As our skin fades and our looks do, too, we need brighter lipstick, sparkly-er clothing and blonder locks to stay looking as young as we can. My apologies to women of color; this may not apply to… Continue reading The Blond-tourage
Bad Luck Comes in Threes
(re-run) The first bad luck, or maybe good luck depending on how you look at it, was me finding out that the colorless bump above my eyelid turned out to be nodular basal cell carcinoma. The Mohs surgery went well, and I’ll be able to change the bandage and take a shower by the time… Continue reading Bad Luck Comes in Threes
I’m Glad I Asked
(re-run) The other day I went to the dermatologist for the second time in two months. The physician’s assistant from the first appointment gave me a full body skin check since I’ve had melanoma. When I pointed out the strange colorless bump above my eye, she said, “I don’t do eyes. Go see the other… Continue reading I’m Glad I Asked
Wiener Dog Versus Rat
(re-run) Long ago, when I had three school-aged children off at their respective schools, I sat at my desk writing during the quiet of the day, when I heard the Dachshund barking. He was somewhere in our spacious half-acre back yard. I ignored it at first, but when the barking didn’t subside, I decided I’d… Continue reading Wiener Dog Versus Rat
Easy Rider
(re-run) – Today we shopped at a different Trader Joe’s and the clerk told me, when I said she looked familiar, that she had a Midwestern face, and I said I did, too, and she asked where I was from and I said Iowa, and she said, Me, too, and she’s from Adel, and I’m… Continue reading Easy Rider
Lost, Then Found
My cousin died at a young age. She was an artist and had given everyone in the family a piece of art she did, a preying mantis. An insect, and a creepy one at that. She gave it to me in 1979. Somehow, somewhere, I ditched the bug. Then she died, and I regretted giving… Continue reading Lost, Then Found
The Day I Found my Voice
(re-run) When you’re in the dog house, you are in trouble. You’ve done something bad. As a child, I was never in the dog house because we didn’t have one. We didn’t even have a dog. My mother had her own strain of weird expressions that she said to us kids on a regular basis,… Continue reading The Day I Found my Voice
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 