When I was young, the one black boy in my elementary school was my classmate. His name was Teddy. This was white-white-white Iowa in the 60’s. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Van Cura, got angry at the class one day for misbehaving and said, “Whoever doesn’t behave will have to play with Teddy at recess.”… Continue reading The Racist and the Ficus Tree
Category: relationships
Joe Average
Emily met Joe on Match. They both liked the Giants. They both lived in Livermore, although he worked in Alameda and had to get up early at 4:00 a.m. for his job. Joe made an exception to stay up late one night so he could meet Emily for dinner. Emily had looked forward to meeting… Continue reading Joe Average
The Widower
They found each other on Match. They had both lost their spouses. Don said he was looking for a good Catholic widow. He was involved with the arch diocese in Oakland. Sue was a recovering Catholic but thought maybe he was a solid guy. She agreed to meet him for coffee. He was good-looking and… Continue reading The Widower
The Third Date Rule?
After Sue became a widow, her adult children were protective of her dating online. They had her send them a profile photo, an address, and phone number for each guy she dated. One of them was an anesthesiologist named Don. Sue’s son’s friend knew Don since he was in the medical field. Sue felt safe… Continue reading The Third Date Rule?
A Tongue Twister
Donna met a guy named George through a group of friends. She was about to have open heart surgery, so she didn’t feel much like flirting. George was average looking but persistent. He kept texting her before and after the surgery. She thought he was into her, but then he insisted that she call him.… Continue reading A Tongue Twister
Mr. No Class
They met online through a singles website (not the swiping one). Tom lived and worked in Napa. Carin lived less than an hour away in the San Francisco East Bay on a horse ranchette with her seven horses. She ran a small upscale hair salon. After much texting and talking, they got together for dinner… Continue reading Mr. No Class
Her Date with a Cad
Against her better judgment Svetlana met up with a man from Match, and he met her expectations of a cad. A cad is a man who is aware of the codes of conduct, which separate a gentleman from a ruffian, but finds himself unable to live up to them. Cads are capable of disguising themselves… Continue reading Her Date with a Cad
Cornhole, some Critters, and a Ghost on her Phone
Yesterday was the annual singles’ club party/picnic at one guy’s lush estate in Hayward. I picked up my girlfriend, and we let the GPS woman’s voice direct us down Five Canyons Road to a bunch of turns until we finally found the place. I’d been there many times before but always as a passenger, never… Continue reading Cornhole, some Critters, and a Ghost on her Phone
If It’s Cloudy It Must Be a Cleaning Day
re-run Weather affects my mood. If I wake up to a sunny bright day, I want to get out, go exercise, go shopping, rake my yard, buy a fountain. If it’s raining, I want to cook some soup, make cookies, and read a book. If it’s cloudy, I want to organize my office, wash the… Continue reading If It’s Cloudy It Must Be a Cleaning Day
Shop Till You Drop
We had already hit two thrift stores and were heading for a third. Then I remembered that Vicky wanted to go to the ones in Carmel. I turned onto Forest Avenue and took the winding highway 68 through the Monterey pines. It would lead to the new roundabout that would send the traffic north to… Continue reading Shop Till You Drop
