Pushing Back

(re-run) Another Friday night, another summer concert, this time a Beach Boys cover band close to home. I loaded up my little red wagon and drove to Livorna Park in Alamo. The band wouldn’t start until 6:30, but I left home at 5:00 so that I could park close by and get a spot in… Continue reading Pushing Back

Chemistry is Everything

(re-run) Sharon was a Sigma Kappa at Cal Berkeley, in her junior year. As she stood outside her sorority house, chatting with the house mom, a guy that she knew from Kappa Sigma crossed the street. “Hey Sharon, do you want to go to a pinning party with me tonight?” “Okay,” Sharon said, even though… Continue reading Chemistry is Everything

The Not So Trivial Trivia of Paul McCartney

Years ago, Philip Norman published his book, Paul McCartney: The Life. I checked it out from the library for my Sis in large print. The book is twenty-nine pages short of 1200! Sis took one look at the book and said, “It’s too heavy.” I had it in the return pile but then decided to… Continue reading The Not So Trivial Trivia of Paul McCartney

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

Why Are Birthdays Such a Big Deal?

(re=run) If you’re like me, you remember some of your birthdays, the really good ones and the really bad ones. The older you get, the more focused they become as the other ones fall away. Why are birthdays such a big deal?  Everyone has one every year, and we each share the date with millions… Continue reading Why Are Birthdays Such a Big Deal?

Dance with Me, Young Jeremy

(re-run) Every 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… Continue reading Dance with Me, Young Jeremy

Bicycles, Pedicures, and the Carpool Lane

(re-run) When your daughter comes to town for the week, your routine gets a shake-up. Instead of going out to find your fun, you find that it centers around your offspring, at least two of them. There are lunches, dinners, and more lunches. There are shopping trips and tubs of important papers to sort, that… Continue reading Bicycles, Pedicures, and the Carpool Lane

The Longest Day of my Life

(re-run) Today is the anniversary of the longest day of my life. Fourteen years ago, the movers showed up at 7:00 a.m. I had expected them at 8:00. They had a medium-sized truck. There was no way everything would fit. I had the Suburban and the Subaru, but they were already packed to the gills.… Continue reading The Longest Day of my Life

Moon Over Lafayette

Trudy worked at an engineering firm. Joe was the visiting copy machine repair man, or as her office mates called him, the Xerox guy. One day Trudy had to make copies. Joe was at the machine, repairing away. “Oh,” she said. “No copies for me!” “Hey there,” Joe said. “We should catch dinner sometime.” “Okay.”… Continue reading Moon Over Lafayette