Teddy Bear With Back Hair

When I lived in Omaha for eight years in my twenties, I dated almost all the eligible men I met in my age range, at least once — shorter guys, smokers, non-dancers, younger guys, poorer guys (I was a school teacher!) and guys with facial hair. But I NEVER dated a guy with back hair… Continue reading Teddy Bear With Back Hair

Total Eclipse of the Date

The second-to-last solar eclipse over the continental U.S. was on Monday, February 26, 1979. Claudette worked in the x-ray department at Lutheran Hospital in Des Moines, Iowa. She and her co-workers took some x-ray film and went outside to look at the sun through the film. They were not in the path of totality (had… Continue reading Total Eclipse of the Date

Bricks, Ricks, and Cardboard

The college mixer was hosted by the men in Lorch House in Friley Hall, in the heart of the Iowa State campus. My house, Tappan, the top two floors of Barton Hall, a girls’ dorm, was invited. Yes, I am old. Yes, dorm floors are co-ed now. This was in the days of the dinosaurs.… Continue reading Bricks, Ricks, and Cardboard

Julie Takes a Ride

Julie and her friend, Denise, went to the Rusty Pelican on Friday night. It was their go-to hang-out. But lately it had been heavy on girls’ night-out groups and light on eligible men. Would it be the same old, same old kind of night, or would Julie finally meet a datable man? She’d fluffed and… Continue reading Julie Takes a Ride