(re-run) You know summer has begun when you are constantly checking your email and calendar to make sure you’re not missing out on some live music that evening. Every town has its own series of music in the park. If you are willing to drive, you can hear it six evenings a week for free,… Continue reading FOMO, YOLO, and YOYO
Category: music
Pennies from Heaven
(re-run) When I was sixteen, I saved my babysitting money and went downtown to Cottage Grove Avenue in Des Moines, where there was a head shop filled with incense, hanging beads, roach clips, black light posters and tie dye. Although I wasn’t a pothead (I didn’t smoke cigarettes either), I enjoyed the ambience of the… Continue reading Pennies from Heaven
There’s That Song!
I like to make different playlists on YouTube. Sometimes I want my meditation playlist with mellow songs. Other times I like my post-colonoscopy list, which is all my favorite songs ever. I also have a Michael Jackson playlist and a summertime playlist. I’ve been looking for a certain song for my whole adult life, really.… Continue reading There’s That Song!
Cut Loose on a Saturday Afternoon
(re-run) “I like the way you dance,” he said to me 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.… Continue reading Cut Loose on a Saturday Afternoon
Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever
(re-run) Carol grew up in in Pueblo, Colorado. They called it 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
Spring Cleaning in February
(re-run, pre-pandemic) 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 a 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… Continue reading Spring Cleaning in February
It’s Never Too Late
(re-run) Three weeks ago, I made a summer playlist. Does that seem silly? The last day of summer is the day after tomorrow. I included songs with summer in the title, like Hot Fun in the Summertime by Sly and the Family Stone, Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft, Summer in the City by the… Continue reading It’s Never Too Late
A Lasting Love
(re-run) Maurice was a sophomore at Riordan Catholic High School for boys in San Francisco. He played tenor sax in the marching band. His buddy, Dave, was dating a girl named Sheila from Mercy Catholic High School for girls, and he suggested that Maurice date her older sister, Colleen. The foursome went to the football… Continue reading A Lasting Love
Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?
(re-run) She ran a personal ad in the Contra Costa Times: Single white female looking for single Asian man. Her two previous boyfriends had been Asian. James called and left a message with his phone number on a Friday night. The next morning Pam checked her phone messages. She liked his voice as she listened… Continue reading Do You Want a Cookie, Little Girl?
Keeping Musicians Going During the Pandemic
(re-run) I am a dancer, a singer, and a music lover. When all the summer outdoor concerts were canceled in 2020, I grieved for weeks. Then I decided that my goal during the pandemic would be to fund the musicians, so that they wouldn’t quit playing and get a real job. Many musicians quickly learned… Continue reading Keeping Musicians Going During the Pandemic
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 