(re-run from 2021) When I was a young adult, this expression was a warning to us to straighten up and fly right – to stay out of trouble. It was said to young men more than it was said to young women, but it meant that things would come our way if we followed the… Continue reading Keep Your Nose Clean
Category: memoir
How to Get your Dog to Come to You
(re-run) On a recent meet-up hike, there were four small dogs with 15 or more people. One person was saying how hard it was to get his one-year-old dog to come to him. I remembered back to one of the many dog training sessions I’ve attended in my life – training Tess, the spaniel/heeler, Penny,… Continue reading How to Get your Dog to Come to You
Interfacing with Nature
(re-run) I live in a town that backs up to a gorgeous mountain in the middle of an otherwise-flat part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Bicyclists come from all over to climb Mt. Diablo and then get their joy ride on the way down the winding road. The hiking here is phenomenal, and the… Continue reading Interfacing with Nature
Off the Grid
(re-run) The power went out. I was in the middle of a movie when everything shut off. Soon my neighbors were texting me, asking me to report the outage to PG& E. The more the better, they said. A few minutes after that, I received a robocall. The outage was affecting 5000 customers. The power… Continue reading Off the Grid
Arguing on Facebook About Immigrants
(partial exchange – my daughter says why bother, Mom?) Doug I know I know some of them are good people, but they need to do it the right way the human traffickers and drug dealers so you’re saying that’s OK Enter You sent somewhere in your family tree there are immigrants or you wouldn’t be… Continue reading Arguing on Facebook About Immigrants
Under Pressure
My driver’s side back tire kept losing pressure. The tire pressure light would come on, I’d find a gas station, put in my $2.00 worth of quarters and get air for all my tires. Up, down, up, down, up down up down. Then back around to put the little caps back on the tires. The… Continue reading Under Pressure
Designer Dogs
(re-run) As I watched the end of the Oscars with my dog cozied up in the chair with me and my sister asking when she could go to bed, I thought back on the man I met two nights before, the one who wanted to get a Doodle Dane, a cross breed between a Great… Continue reading Designer Dogs
Oopsy Daisy: Month 3 with the Rescue Dog
(re-run from 2018) Month number three with the rescue dog has revealed more reasons why she was surrendered. When it’s cold and rainy, Daisy prefers to pee indoors, especially in a dark room when no one is watching. Daisy is agile enough to jump on and walk across the table, as in, where we eat.… Continue reading Oopsy Daisy: Month 3 with the Rescue Dog
Hitchhiking Story
(re-run) When I was 20, I sold books door to door that summer in Ohio for Southwestern Company. The regional boss told me at our Sunday meeting to spend a day working with one of his ace sellers. The problem was, I didn’t have a car to get to the town where he worked. The… Continue reading Hitchhiking Story
Morning During a Heat Wave
(re-run) The temps will soar to 105 degrees in my town today. Yesterday was 102. Tomorrow will be 100. I woke up in an air-conditioned house at 6:30 a.m. No open windows. I opened one to see what was what. Cool air streamed inside. The thermostat was set at 72, and AC wasn’t running, so… Continue reading Morning During a Heat Wave
