I am in that sandwich generation between the straight-laced 50s and the drugged-up 70s, where young women went from having chaperones and wearing poodle skirts to wearing bell bottoms and listening to songs on the radio called Love the One You’re With. It was a confusing time for us girls. We were told to watch… Continue reading Being a Woman in American Politics
Category: sexual assault
Me Too
(re-run) He was one of five professors in the tiny Spanish department at Iowa State. I had him for both semesters of Spanish Two, and I’d just landed a summer job, selling books door to door in a mystery state after a week’s training in Nashville. The bus for me and the other recruits was… Continue reading Me Too
Just Another Wednesday
Twice a month the senior hiking group takes a hike at a local spot – today it was Borges Ranch in Walnut Creek. The senior group is called DASH, but we don’t dash at all. We stroll, stop, stroll some more. It takes four hours to go five miles, by the time everyone has carpooled… Continue reading Just Another Wednesday
The Sunday After
No dogs were walked, no outside balls were thrown, and no outdoor chores got done, including painting my new white locking mailbox gray to blend in the neighbors’ 45 year old boxes, and cleaning up the hedge and pine needles strewn across the greenbelt next to my property. Yes, it seems silly to have to… Continue reading The Sunday After
Empathy for your Woman
The woman I sat next to last night at the wine festival event has four ex-husbands. We chatted between bands while she told me what she wants more than anything is a travel partner. “I’m done with men,” she said. “How old are you?” I asked. “74,” she said. I am not done with men,… Continue reading Empathy for your Woman
Kavanaugh Hearing a Trigger Event
My high school girlfriend’s little sister from Iowa told me this on Facebook Messenger yesterday. Because I had come out about my rape, she wanted to tell me about her date rape at age fifteen. This is verbatim and hard to read, but the world needs to know that this happens. “I really need to… Continue reading Kavanaugh Hearing a Trigger Event
My Personal Post
I wrote a personal piece on Saturday, coming out about my college rape. Why did I write about it? Because I am tired of people acting as though sexual assault is not a rampant problem in America. If you have made it this far without ever having been touched or bumped up against, or anything… Continue reading My Personal Post
#Me Too
The summons said to report at 9:00 a.m. at the courthouse in Martinez on a Friday. I fretted about parking but found a spot in the free lot. The juror waiting room was filled with prospective jurors. We were given a questionnaire, a speech about serving, and then we were sent home for the weekend.… Continue reading #Me Too
Me Too
He was one of five professors in the tiny Spanish department at Iowa State. I had him for both semesters of Spanish Two, and I’d just landed a summer job, selling books door to door in a mystery state after a week’s training in Nashville. The bus for me and the other recruits was leaving… Continue reading Me Too
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 