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 at Asilomar. Over the years. I’ve seen brown state-issued signs posted for mountain lion sightings.… Continue reading Another Brush with Nature

Remembering my Gay Boyfriend

My little beach house is kind of magical, in that I can get away from the rat race and think about stuff I haven’t thought of in a very long while. It’s partly due to the fact that my beach house is my dumping house, where everything to be sorted goes to live until I… Continue reading Remembering my Gay Boyfriend

Back in my Fat Pants Again

(re-run) It sounds like a country western song. “Well, my true love done left me. He mosied ‘round the bend. It makes me sad that I’m heading back to my fat pants again!” In the winter, when I can hide under many layers, I am thinnest. Maybe it’s all the no-calorie tea and hot water… Continue reading Back in my Fat Pants Again

First Movie Date

(re-run) Ruthie was thirteen and an army brat, always moving with her family to a new school. This time it was to Fort Worth, Texas, after four years abroad in Morocco. She got a job working at a Snow Cone stand for 50 cents an hour, but the shifts were twelve hours long. She chewed… Continue reading First Movie Date

Pontoon Boat Disaster

(re-run) My parents didn’t swim. When we went on vacation at Clear Lake, Iowa, and Dad wanted to take us out in a rented pontoon boat, my mom objected.  Dad won in the end, and the five kids put on our life jackets. I think my mom did, too. I am sure my dad didn’t… Continue reading Pontoon Boat Disaster

It’s Never Too Late

(re-run) Three weeks ago, I made a summer playlist. Does that seem silly? The last day of summer is almost here. I included songs with summer in the title, like Hot Fun in the Summertime by Sly and the Family Stone, Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft, Summer in the City by the Lovin’ Spoonful,… Continue reading It’s Never Too Late

FOMO, YOLO, and YOYO

(re-run) You know summer has begun when you are constantly checking your email and calendar to make sure you’re not missing out on some live music that evening. Every town has its own series of music in the park. If you are willing to drive, you can hear it six evenings a week for free,… Continue reading FOMO, YOLO, and YOYO

Back in my Fat Pants Again

It sounds like a country western song. “Well, my true love done left me. He mosied ‘round the bend. It makes me sad that I’m heading back to my fat pants again!” In the winter, when I can hide under many layers, I am thinnest. Maybe it’s all the no-calorie tea and hot water that… Continue reading Back in my Fat Pants Again