The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

(re-run) It was senior year in high school. I was on my last semester of PE, my least favorite class. I maintained a straight-A average in all other classes. Not PE. It alternated between a B and a C. I was feeling good. We were in our next-to last unit, the physical fitness award. I… Continue reading The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

It’s a Small World

(re-run) Today was a meet-up hike, my third time with Randy as our fearless leader. It was sunny with little to no mud and lots of cows.  About twenty of us, plus four small dogs, walked five miles in two and a half hours. The great part is that the meet-up hikers go to places… Continue reading It’s a Small World

The Day Grandma Got Woke

(re-run) My mom loved to watch Ellen. It’s usually fun and games, with hunky guys and Ellen playing tricks on her guests and staff. She rounded out the hour with lesbian jokes, a musical performance by some obscure band, and Ellen surprising some needy but giving person with $10,000 in cash. Then the death of… Continue reading The Day Grandma Got Woke

Another Brush with Nature

(re-run) My beach town has a state-run conference center in it, with rustic buildings designed by the architect, Julia Morgan. It’s what got me here back in the late 80s and 90s, attending a writer’s conference next to the ocean at Asilomar. Over the years. I’ve seen brown state-issued signs posted for mountain lion sightings.… Continue reading Another Brush with Nature

The Power of Nature

(re-run) Sun, trees, dirt, flowers.  My nose is full of the smell of Eucalyptus. I used to hike twice a month with my senior hiking group called DASH. Then my sis moved in with me so that I could be her care giver. My hiking days stopped except for once last summer when I lucked… Continue reading The Power of Nature

Cut Loose on a Saturday Afternoon

(re-run) “I like the way you dance,” he said that Saturday afternoon. Margo and I had gone to Vino Godfather, a cool little winery in an old Victorian house on Mare Island in Vallejo. The island used to be a naval base, judging from the abandoned barracks on the way to the winery. A good… Continue reading Cut Loose on a Saturday Afternoon

A Good Blog Post if I Can Remember It

(re-run) My son calls Jeopardy the “old people” show. I started watching it five years ago when I took in my older sister to care for her. Now she lives in a home, and my son took her place last year. Actually, that’s not true, because she was in my daughter’s old bedroom, and he’s… Continue reading A Good Blog Post if I Can Remember It

Frostbite Memories

(re-run) Today the sun was shining, the ocean was royal blue and the wind was bitter cold. I had the dog on a choke chain since I couldn’t squeeze the prong collar back together (I’d taken it apart in the wrong place).  I headed down my street past a tree- trimmer truck that has just… Continue reading Frostbite Memories

Belly-up Beetle

(re-run) Curtis drove a 1969 vintage Volkswagen Beetle. George, his wing man, brought the weed. They’d met their dates at a party. Stacy and Camille went to San Leandro High. Curtis and George went to Castro Valley. Curtis liked Camille. George got Stacy. They all partied at a friend of a friend’s house in Oakland… Continue reading Belly-up Beetle

If the Shoe Sticks, Wear It

Dancing as a Medicare senior has its challenges. Where to go? What to wear? Wear a mask?  Last night I found myself at a restaurant/bar called Wise Girl’s, where the owner had remodeled to make room for a stage and more tables. The live band, the Groove Doctors, were there, with two great female leads… Continue reading If the Shoe Sticks, Wear It