(re-run) I was the one that suggested the bike ride. My adult children don’t spend enough time outdoors or get enough exercise. They do like to ride the Iron Horse trail, an easy, shady railroad right of way that connects towns up and down the I- 680 corridor. I knew I had them when I… Continue reading My Three-quarter Bike Ride
Category: memoir
Pyracantha and the Path to School
(rre-run) When my kids were 14, 11 and 6, we moved into a house that bordered the school district’s property. The middle school sat to the right of our backyard, and the high school sat to the left. Only a chain-length fence and a hedge of Photinia separated its property from ours. I called the… Continue reading Pyracantha and the Path to School
The Logic of Science
When someone I know argued that scientists keep changing their minds about COVID, I had to remind her that they were changing their opinions based on the latest, up-to-date data. “One week they say one thing, and the next week they say something else,” she argued. “That’s because they have new data in front of… Continue reading The Logic of Science
The Sprinkler Man and the Glass Coffee Table
When my two oldest children were 5 and 2, we moved from one house in town to another. We didn’t gain any square footage, but the new house had a huge yard, front and back, and forty trees in a better neighborhood. The house had been vacant for months. The sprinklers weren’t working in the… Continue reading The Sprinkler Man and the Glass Coffee Table
The Darwin Awards
(re-run) The world is insane. A snowstorm is predicted for the East Coast. It’s Mother’s Day weekend. The local news station reported that scientists may take llama antibodies for Covid-19 and give them to humans to see if it would help with immunity. Does that mean the humans might start spitting when they are angry?… Continue reading The Darwin Awards
That Dang Daisy Dog
(re-run) This morning I packed the car to return from Monterey. The dogs get excited, so they actually get into the car first so that I can shut the doors and not worry about them. My little beach house shares a driveway with a family with a big boxer named Titus. He is sometimes loose… Continue reading That Dang Daisy Dog
The Blond-tourage
(re-run) Every woman over fifty gets the same advice from her hairdresser — lighten up your 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 you.… Continue reading The Blond-tourage
Domino Effect
My youngest just left for grad school on the East Coast. She had moved back home for ten months to ride out the winter months of the pandemic. In April her dad up and sold his big house (where she always stayed) and moved out of state. Suddenly I had a twin bed in the… Continue reading Domino Effect
Chihuahua Vs. Foxtail
Foxtail weeds are dangerous for dogs. That’s why they make a mesh face and ear guard for dogs that venture into the open space on hikes. My adult child had taken the Chihuahua terrier mix on hikes daily since April. He never had a problem, until the other evening . . . Suddenly he burst… Continue reading Chihuahua Vs. Foxtail
The Burden of Being an Empath
Yesterday several TV stations reported the death of a six-year-old girl while on a free-fall ride built into a mine shaft in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. She fell 110 feet to her death. There was no age or height restriction for the ride. She was with her parents and older sibling. Something went terribly wrong. My… Continue reading The Burden of Being an Empath
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 