I am at my beach house just two blocks from a beautiful state beach along the Pacific Ocean. People find out I have a house and wonder why I spend most of my time in the Bay Area. It used to be because my kids were there, but now two of them have left, and… Continue reading A Solitary Life
Category: worst
Another Brush with Nature
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 80’s and 90’s, attending a writer’s conference next to the ocean. Over the years. I’ve seen brown state-issued signs posted for mountain lion sightings. I’ve never seen… Continue reading Another Brush with Nature
Do Nerds Laugh?
(re-run) Yesterday, at my bi-monthly massage at the chiropractor’s, Curtis the masseur asked me lots of questions to help the 55 minute session go by. I was chatting away as he rubbed the kinks out of my neck, shoulder and lower back, telling him this and that, until he came around to the big question,… Continue reading Do Nerds Laugh?
Queen Victoria, the Cat
Renee, the artist, already had three cats. She wasn’t looking for another. So when her daughter-in-law called and said, “Mom, you need to adopt this cat,” Renee was thinking, No way, Renee. But then she heard the kitty’s story, and she had to reconsider. Renee’s son Brian and his wife were moving to Tennessee from… Continue reading Queen Victoria, the Cat
Jerky Jokester
Elena lived in the city. She went to the Cingular to get a phone line. Fidel saw her and helped her get one set up. She filled out the paperwork and then changed her mind. He put the paperwork into the shredder but then asked her for her phone number. “If you want it so… Continue reading Jerky Jokester
A Great Personality
When George was twenty-three his boss set him up on a blind date with a woman who was a good customer for their auto parts business. George had been talking with her on the phone for over a year. The boss thought he should meet her in person. “Dinner’s on the company,” George’s boss said.… Continue reading A Great Personality
The Tree Whisperer
I walk my neighborhood once or twice most days. Since I am a tree hugger and have planted more than sixty trees at my various houses over the years, I will free a distressed tree when I see one. I carry scissors in my back pocket, the little ones used in kindergarten. That way, if… Continue reading The Tree Whisperer
Dear Racist
Laurie had graduated college and had boomeranged back home to Seattle. She met a cute guy with horn-rimmed glasses. He invited her on a picnic at the beach. She said yes. “Have fun,” her mom said when Greg came to the house. Greg drove to a sandy spot with a view of the city. They… Continue reading Dear Racist
It Never Goes Away
Every year I get a notification from Facebook that it’s a certain friend’s birthday. The trouble is that the friend has been dead and gone for over four years. I read a poem at his memorial service. He was a ski club guy, not a guy I knew real well. Is there no one to… Continue reading It Never Goes Away
Judging from the Trends
I was asked to judge a picture book contest. I am a picture book author of 29 books and also a mom of past picture-book fans. Picture books are books with both words and art, usually 28 to 64 pages, and usually for young children. The gift book people have figured out how to put… Continue reading Judging from the Trends
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 