(re-run) If you’re an orderly person like Monk on the TV show of the same name, this column is not for you. You crave things in place, all the time. Otherwise, you get agitated. The other side of the coin is the person who is so busy creating that he/she doesn’t notice the mess. When… Continue reading Creative People Make Messes
Category: relationships
To Flirt or Not to Flirt
(re-run) They found each other on Match.com. 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… Continue reading To Flirt or Not to Flirt
Writing It Down
(re-run) Yesterday, as I drove up the freeway to BART, where I would meet two girlfriends and one of their daughters to go to the city to see Hamilton again, I was composing my blog post, out loud, in the slow lane. I was on a roll, phrasing each sentence to perfection as other drivers… Continue reading Writing It Down
Six – Love
(re-run) Alan went into a disco bar in San Jose on a November night. He asked Donna, the woman with an amazing tan, to dance. Had she been to Hawaii? Mexico? The Bahamas? Alan didn’t ask her but admired her bronzed skin. The topic of tennis came up. Alan loved to play. So did Donna.… Continue reading Six – Love
Phantom of the Halloween Party
(re-run) Roberto put on the white mask and black cape and headed to WPLJ’s in Walnut Creek for his singles’ club annual Halloween party. Available middle-aged women milled around the bar in their skimpy alter-ego outfits. There were: Slutty witches Slutty fairy tale characters Slutty mermaids Slutty nurses and slutty vampires. Oh, which one to… Continue reading Phantom of the Halloween Party
Wake-up Call
(written five years ago) The 30th anniversary of the big quake (and my first quake) is today. It was 6.9 on the Richter Scale, the Loma Prieta earthquake, centered near Santa Cruz. The floor started rolling, and there was noise and lights swinging. It lasted for 15 long seconds. By the time I grabbed the… Continue reading Wake-up Call
The Sweet Spot
(re-run from 2018) It’s that time of year. The nights are cooling down, the sun is setting earlier, everything is either starting back up or ending. The outside music venues are closing up, and the Halloween costumes are showing up in the thrift stores. The kids have been back at school for almost a month. … Continue reading The Sweet Spot
Big Jack, Little Jack
Teaching high school didn’t open up many dating possibilities at work, unless you count the weird science teacher with the orange stick-up hair and the pocket protector, or the short English teacher who did impersonations as well as anyone on Saturday Night Live. One night, as I was complaining that I couldn’t find any good… Continue reading Big Jack, Little Jack
Mountain Lion
(re-run) It has happened again, this time in El Dorado County in the Sierra Foothills. Two brothers went hunting for antler shed, and instead they tussled with a mountain lion (mama?). The younger brother (18) has traumatic facial cuts and the older brother died (21). It’s so sad for that family. Didn’t they know it’s… Continue reading Mountain Lion
Horseback Riding on a First Date
(re-run) Juan met two women named Donna in one night while dancing in a bar. He had a matchbook with one of their phone numbers on it and another matchbook with the other’s name and number on it. He couldn’t remember which was which, so he picked a matchbook and called. “Hi, this is Juan.… Continue reading Horseback Riding on a First Date
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 