Category: teens

A Great Dane Story

Posted in animal training, Barbie, birds and bees, dog manners, dogs, friends, Great Danes, humor, Iowa, Ken, memoir, parents, relationships, teensLeave a comment

(re-run) When I was thirteen, I hung out at my neighbor Bonnie’s house, just one block away from mine, but it was different world.  Both her parents worked full time, so we teens could be there with no parental supervision. We were supervised, though, by the family’s Great Danes. I remember three dogs, but there… Continue reading A Great Dane Story

Abortion, High School Pregnancies and Memories

Posted in abortion, adopting, cheerleading, fooling around, girl crush, high school, memoir, memory, PE, pregnancy, pregnant, reputation, teen pregnancy, teens1 Comment

(re-run) It amazes me how one memory leads to the next and so on and so forth. Our brains are a beehive of memories, each one stashed in its own little honey-comb hexagon that doesn’t break out until something triggers it. Today it was talk of abortion with a friend and how she told of… Continue reading Abortion, High School Pregnancies and Memories

A Great Dane Story

Posted in animal training, Barbie, birds and bees, dog manners, dogs, friends, Great Danes, humor, Iowa, Ken, memoir, parents, relationships, teensLeave a comment

(re-run) When I was almost thirteen, I hung out at my neighbor Bonnie’s house, just one block away from mine, but it was different world.  Both her parents worked full time, so we teens could be there with no parental supervision. We were supervised, though, by the family’s Great Danes. I remember three dogs, but… Continue reading A Great Dane Story

Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

Posted in 4th of July, alcohol, babysitting, cheesecake, Des Moines, drinking, driver's license, February, house party, Iowa, memoir, raisins, teens, vodka, winterLeave a comment

(re-run) It’s an American teenager’s rite of passage to get sick the first time they drink.  I was no exception. Aside from tasting different liqueurs on babysitting jobs after the kids went to bed, I had only tasted my dad’s beer, Schlitz. No thank you. I was not a fan of fizzy bitter fermentation. So… Continue reading Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

Abortion, High School Pregnancies and Memories

Posted in abortion, adopting, cheerleading, fooling around, girl crush, high school, memoir, memory, PE, pregnancy, pregnant, reputation, teen pregnancy, teensLeave a comment

(re-run) It amazes me how one memory leads to the next and so on and so forth. Our brains are a beehive of memories, each one stashed in its own little honey-comb hexagon that doesn’t break out until something triggers it. Today it was talk of abortion and how a friend told of hers at… Continue reading Abortion, High School Pregnancies and Memories

Dancing my Life Away

Posted in aerobics class, ballroom dancing, dance club, dancing, disco, fraternity, girl friends, jazzercise, memoir, Michael Jackson, Omaha, PE, polka, Prom, sorority, square dancing, swing dancing, tap dancing, teens, wedding, wigLeave a comment

A newish girlfriend asked me the other night how I learned to partner dance. It got me thinking about how my fancy footwork has gotten me to where I am today.  As a child, my older sis got to take tap dancing. When I asked if I could, too, the answer was no. “Here are… Continue reading Dancing my Life Away

Stuffing the Bug

Posted in 9th grade, friends, Iowa, Iowa State Fair, memoir, midway, Midwestern, summer job, Teen Town, teens, VW Beetle, waitressingLeave a comment

My first job was as a waitress at the Iowa State Fair for ten days. I was 14, the summer before 9th grade. My friends and I worked the lunch shift, then had a couple of hours off before the supper shift. A girl named Virginia (a friend of a friend) from another school got… Continue reading Stuffing the Bug

The Story of my Picker

Posted in antique, antique store, antiques dealer, drugs, memoir, pick-up truck, picker, refund, restaurant, shoplifting, store, teens1 Comment

When I had a shop, it attracted lots of individuals who wanted to sell me antiques. Some of them had good stuff. Others had junk. Many wanted too much for their inherited mementos. One old guy brought me cracked and chipped tea cups and got mad when I wouldn’t buy them at any price. A… Continue reading The Story of my Picker

Pandemic Friday

Posted in chicken, Coronavirus, Covid 19, Democrats, dogs, face masks, flu, friends, government, hospital, ICU, John Lennon, live music, lungs, media, memoir, music, musicians, restaurant, teens, tip jarLeave a comment

(re-run) My friends are going out. They are eating at restaurants with no masks on, and they are sitting shoulder to shoulder at the table – not all from one household! I am chicken to do that.  I watch too much news and read too many newspapers. Yes, everything we do in life is a… Continue reading Pandemic Friday

Democrat- Yes, Socialist – No

Posted in capitalist, Democrats, dress-up, laundry, maternity clothes, memoir, possessions, pregnancy, slumber party, socialist, teacher, teensLeave a comment

Today it hit me that I am not a socialist because of three things from my past. They popped into my head today in a random fashion, yet somehow calling to me to do something with the idea. I am a hard worker. As a teen, I babysat until I had saved up enough money… Continue reading Democrat- Yes, Socialist – No