I just realized the other day that the Beatles have been in my life for 57 of my 65 years. My older sis was a fan when they first played for America on the Ed Sullivan show. I was 8, going on 9. Little did I know that our bedroom would soon be filled with… Continue reading The Beatles and Me
Category: Nebraska
Waitresses Make the Best Tippers
(re-run) After moving to Omaha and teaching for a couple of years across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, I grew tired of driving a car that smelled like a mildewed basement. My poor Chevy Monza had suffered through a Nebraska flood back at the farmhouse, and the car stank. I couldn’t afford a… Continue reading Waitresses Make the Best Tippers
Worst Neighbors Ever
(re-run) When I was twenty-eight I bought my first house, in Omaha, on 50th Avenue, south of Leavenworth. It was a cute little two bedroom, one bath with a full basement and big fenced-in backyard. Since I wanted to get a dog, it seemed perfect. I had a budget, and this house was in my… Continue reading Worst Neighbors Ever
A Corny Tale
(re-run) It all started with a post on Facebook, showing how your average American doesn’t know how to shuck corn. If you are from Iowa in the 60’s, then you know how. We weren’t well off. As a matter of fact, people would give us bags of food, like homegrown apples, tomatoes, or corn. Our… Continue reading A Corny Tale
Desperado
(re-run) Another first date during my time in Omaha, Nebraska, was with a tall, thin but attractive man who was a few years older and reminded me of James Taylor. Kevin took me to the standard dinner and a movie and then wanted to show me his house. It was a summer night, and after… Continue reading Desperado
Teddy Bear with Back Hair
(re-run) When I lived in Omaha for eight years in my twenties, I dated almost all the eligible men I met in my age range, at least once — shorter guys, smokers, non-dancers, younger guys, poorer guys (I was a school teacher!) and guys with facial hair. But I NEVER dated a guy with back… Continue reading Teddy Bear with Back Hair
Antiracist (Racist?) Memory
I just picked up a book to read. It had a long preface, so I paged past it. Then there was a foreword, another preface, and then an introduction. Seriously? Chapter One didn’t start until page 25. I set that book down and picked up another one. The introduction ended on page 11, and the… Continue reading Antiracist (Racist?) Memory
Trading Up in Omaha
Alice got a teaching job in Council Bluffs, Iowa. She decided to live across the Missouri River in Omaha in an old Victorian that had been converted into apartments. A military guy from Maryland moved in upstairs. She ran into him in the hallway after a bike ride one evening when he was coming back… Continue reading Trading Up in Omaha
Waitresses Make the Best Tippers
(re-run) After moving to Omaha and teaching for a couple of years across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, I grew tired of driving a car that smelled like a mildewed basement. My poor Chevy Monza had suffered through a Nebraska flood back at the farmhouse, and the car stank. I couldn’t afford a… Continue reading Waitresses Make the Best Tippers
This Little Piggy
(re-run) Right after college, I moved to a town with 2000 people and a bunch of pigs — real ones, the kind that grunt and poop and lift the gate latch with their noses. I saw something run past the window of my rented farmhouse. At first I thought it was a deer until I… Continue reading This Little Piggy
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 