(re-run) We all know February only has twenty-eight days or twenty-nine if the calendar year is divisible by the number four. 2019? No. 2020? Yes, it is. Although the month only has four weeks to it, it can seem to be the longest month. Valentine’s Day was two weeks ago, it’s a long way to… Continue reading February is the Longest Month
Category: memoir
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
You Know You’re Getting Old when . . .
(re-run) . . . .you planned on driving an hour to hear live music for two hours, but now you’d rather sit home and watch the news and the PBS country music special. . . . you decided to sort out all of your framing supplies and halfway through, you thought to yourself, what have… Continue reading You Know You’re Getting Old when . . .
The Gun at Grandma’s House
The thing was cold, black, and heavy. Even though I was just a kid, maybe nine or ten, I knew a gun when I saw it. I’d been jumping on Grandma Nellie’s bed. The pillow had fallen on the floor. The gun was under the pillow. I put everything back the way I found it… Continue reading The Gun at Grandma’s House
Best Friends of Days Gone by
On another day of reflection, I’m wondering how I lost track of two dear friends, one from high school, the other from college. I was maid of honor in the bridesmaid line-up at each of their weddings. I’m still wondering how that ever could’ve happened, looking back over the past forty years. I got married,… Continue reading Best Friends of Days Gone by
Flat Feet
(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 Venezuela, where there are seven wide falls and a resort below them called Canaima. I was student-teaching with another Iowa Stater.… Continue reading Flat Feet
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.… Continue reading Hitchhiking Story
The People I Meet When Thrifting
I have a deep need to thrift. I do it at least once a week, even on vacations. I’m not talking consignment stores where people bring in items, hoping to get some money back. I’m talking about stores that take donations and sell things on the cheap because they got them for free. Last week… Continue reading The People I Meet When Thrifting
Spring Cleaning in February
(re-run) It started with a koala bear. A bunch of them. Some musicians were having a fundraiser for Australia, the fires, and the koalas. It was donation at the door. Two and a half hours of music, and I knew three of the performers. We got there early and sat in the third row. Two… Continue reading Spring Cleaning in February
Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever
(re-run) Carol grew up in in Pueblo, Colorado, which was called the little Pittsburg of the West. Her dad was a steelworker. Her mom was a lab tech phlebotomist at the hospital. Whenever one of the kids got sick, her mom would bring home a hypodermic needle in her purse to draw some blood. “To… Continue reading Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 