(re-run) When I was thirteen, I hung out at my neighbor Bonnie’s house, just one block away from mine, but it was different world. Both her parents worked full time, so we teens could be there with no parental supervision. We were supervised, though, by the family’s Great Danes. I remember three dogs, but there… Continue reading A Great Dane Story
Category: memoir
It’s the Little Things
A morning sunrise, skies streaked pink and blue. A warm dog cuddled under the afghan throw as I read a book. A hot cup of fake mocha coffee and a Madeleine cookie. A bunch of texts from an adult child 3000 miles away. A photo of my smiling grandson in his high chair. The lure… Continue reading It’s the Little Things
How Thrifting Improved my Day
(re-run) Okay, I admit it. I’m a thrift store junkie. When I go to my fave beach town, I make sure to stop at every thrift store at least once. That makes for six stops, nine if I venture down to Carmel. This trip I stayed in my town. I wandered into Second Chance and… Continue reading How Thrifting Improved my Day
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
