Daisy Strikes Again

(re-run) After a five mile hike, my legs ached, and I wanted to go to bed. I turned off the news at 10:15, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and then headed down the hall to the main bathroom with the doggy door. Both dogs were outside barking. I turned around and went to the… Continue reading Daisy Strikes Again

Must Love Dogs

(re-run) John had a date with Sally, who had just rescued a dog and named it Muffin. John wanted to go skim boarding at the beach, and he asked Sally to come with him. Of course, she had to bring Muffin, her Golden Retriever. When they got to San Gregorio beach a park ranger said… Continue reading Must Love Dogs

The Missing GPS Gene

(re-run) The women in my family are spatially challenged, as in, which way is south? West ? North? East? I remembered that the northwest corner of the basement was supposed to be the safest place in case of a tornado, but I had no idea which corner that would be. Now that I live near… Continue reading The Missing GPS Gene

Escape

(re-run) Long before dating sites and the personal computer were invented, Scott answered a personal ad in the Contra Costa Times. Remember newspapers? They were ink-on-paper affairs that folded in half, but not shiny like a magazine. A magazine was a booklet of ads, stories, and photographs with a theme that was published weekly or… Continue reading Escape

The Dog Crate Disaster

(re-run) When my pup was just over a year old, the Ghost Ship Fire happened in Oakland. 36 people died in a warehouse that had been converted into artist co-op with an illegal dance club on the second floor. When the fire started, the young people dancing upstairs were trapped, and they died. Tragedy. Every… Continue reading The Dog Crate Disaster

The Six Stages of Thanksgiving

(re-run) I am having Thanksgiving at my house today for nine or ten people. I say that because my brother-in-law may or may not show up. There is lots of football to be missed if he comes ninety minutes north to my house.  It will be me, my three kids, my two sisters, my niece… Continue reading The Six Stages of Thanksgiving

Another Brush with Nature

(re-run) My beach town has a state-run conference center in it, with rustic buildings designed by the architect, Julia Morgan. It’s what got me here back in the late 80s and 90s, attending a writer’s conference next to the ocean. Over the years. I’ve seen brown state-issued signs posted for mountain lion sightings. I’ve never… Continue reading Another Brush with Nature

The Robin and the Chrome Bowl

(re-run) Every morning, as I sit at my kitchen table putting up my blog post and sipping on strong tea, a robin comes near the back porch to meet its reflection in an upside-down chrome dog bowl. The robin does a little dance in front of the bowl. The reflection does a dance back to… Continue reading The Robin and the Chrome Bowl