After three months in South America and six weeks of student teaching Catholic high school girls, I headed to Burgos, Spain, with 30 students and a handful of professors from Iowa State and the University of Iowa. It would be my way of earning the final credits of my dual degree. Linda, a high school… Continue reading Loneliest Study Abroad Ever
Category: relationships
Flyboy Fail
Offutt Airforce Base is just outside of Omaha. You could spot an air force guy anywhere in town because of his close haircut, back in the day of long-haired hippie dudes. A clean-cut guy in a uniform worked for a lot of women, and I was no exception. We met at a dance bar, and… Continue reading Flyboy Fail
Secret Agent Man
He was a familiar face from the dancing circuit. He told me he’d been thinking about me, and that we should dance. As in, no one else could dance with me the entire night. The next night we met and danced again. The day after that we had our first date and danced again. Fifteen… Continue reading Secret Agent Man
Dance with Me, Young Jeremy
Each dance bar in Omaha ended the night with its signature song. One bar closed with Last Dance by Donna Summer, another used Shout from the Blues Brothers movie (by the Isley Brothers) as its sign-off song. But my fave dance bar closed with the song New York, New York. It seemed an odd choice… Continue reading Dance with Me, Young Jeremy
The Date That Never Happened
David Rivers was a sophomore at Pinole High School when he invited his fellow classmate, Violet, to his school dance. She said yes, and he told her he’d pick her up at 7:00. When David got to Violet’s house, she wasn’t ready. Violet’s father led David to the question couch, where he grilled him for… Continue reading The Date That Never Happened
Grizzly Bear!
In 2008 you take your wife, Liza, and your teenaged kids to Alaska. You stay near the Princess Lodge in a fishing cabin on the Kenai Peninsula. It’s the third week of July, so it doesn’t get completely dark until around midnight. After dinner you suggest a hike in the woods along the Kenai River… Continue reading Grizzly Bear!
Fair Weather Boyfriend
My first boyfriend after my separation and eventual divorce was happy to go house hunting with me. When I actually bought one, he promised to help me move. He had a pick-up truck lined up from his buddy for the breakable stuff, and everything was a go. The realtor called the day before moving day… Continue reading Fair Weather Boyfriend
Stupid Is as Stupid Does
Lesley was a college freshman at University of the Pacific in Stockton, when a big football player type guy asked her on a date. Lesley had already met his roommate, so she thought she was safe with Chad and said yes. Chad took Lesley to a party, but when his roommate came up to say… Continue reading Stupid Is as Stupid Does
Almost Toast
Marlene and her friend Beth came out to California from New Hampshire after college to work for Bank of America. They were roommates, and each made a new friend at work. Each new friend brought another friend to the party (plus one more) until they were a group of seven recent college graduates, living in… Continue reading Almost Toast
Baby It’s Cold Outside
My large chorus has performed Baby, It’s Cold Outside twice in the past week. A classic holiday tune, it has been called rapey by Millennials online. As in, the guy wants to date-rape his gal with the swell-looking hair. Baby It’s Cold Outside was written in the 1940’s as a romantic song of seduction. But… Continue reading Baby It’s Cold Outside
