(re-run) Yesterday my son and I had lunch together at the local sandwich shop. He brought his little dog, half Chihuahua, half terrier. I fed Violet scraps of lettuce under the table while we ate. She thinks she’s a vegetarian. Afterward, we followed the usual routine and came back to my house, where Violet could… Continue reading A Good Dog Neighbor
Category: sister
Scary Surprise at Grandma’s House
The thing was cold, black, and heavy. Even though I was just a kid, maybe nine or ten, I knew a gun when I saw it. I’d been jumping on Grandma Nellie’s bed. The pillow had fallen on the floor. The gun had been under the pillow. I put everything back the way I found… Continue reading Scary Surprise at Grandma’s House
Jam-packed Day
(re-run) The hike today was five miles long with a 900 foot elevation near the San Pablo reservoir in Briones Regional Park. There were 18 of us, and while we were gathering at the parking lot, we saw three young coyotes chasing each other, puppies playing. I thought about skipping it. I thought about calling… Continue reading Jam-packed Day
Date with an Older Man
(re-run) I said yes. To a date. With a much older man. My girlfriend met him and didn’t approve. But she also said she wouldn’t dance with any guy she wouldn’t want to kiss. I dance with everyone – men, women, kids – many of whom I would never put my lips on. Does dancing… Continue reading Date with an Older Man
Helicopters, the President, and Facebook
Four helicopters flew overhead. Big ones. Flying in formation. These were not Action News helicopters. This was different. I was walking my sister around the back yard of her board and care home. She had her walker going, the scrape of the legs against the concrete. Still, the noise of four helicopters drowned out everything… Continue reading Helicopters, the President, and Facebook
Mr. No Class
They met online through a singles website (not the swiping one). Tom lived and worked in Napa. Carin lived less than an hour away in the San Francisco East Bay on a horse ranchette with her seven horses. She ran a small upscale hair salon. After much texting and talking, they got together for dinner… Continue reading Mr. No Class
A Good Dog Neighbor
(re-run) Yesterday my son and I had lunch together at the local sandwich shop. He brought his little dog — half Chihuahua, half terrier. I fed Violet scraps of lettuce under the table while we ate. She thinks she’s a vegetarian. Afterward, we followed the usual routine and came back to my house, where Violet… Continue reading A Good Dog Neighbor
Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever
Carol grew up in in Pueblo, Colorado. They called it the little Pittsburg of the West. Her dad was a steelworker. Her mom was a lab tech phlebotomist at the hospital. Whenever one of the kids got sick, her mom would bring home a hypodermic needle in her purse to draw some blood. “To see… Continue reading Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever
Not Dinner Conversation
Tonight I had a co-author meeting with my fellow authors. We met in a local restaurant bar that had been taken over by elderly singers for open mic night. Think Meet-up for super seniors. We quickly retreated to the dining room where I drank water and used my laptop to record our changes on the… Continue reading Not Dinner Conversation
Lady Tenor in a Sea of Men
(re-run) My chorus just did two back-to-back performances this past weekend. There are 120 of us this semester, with only thirty men. The men sing the bass and tenor parts, and five of us women sing the higher tenor part with the guys. Why, you ask? Because we five gals have a lower range than… Continue reading Lady Tenor in a Sea of Men
