I read a great memoir about a girl’s tough childhood, with violence, danger, and an abusive older brother. I recommended it to Facebook friends online. A friend said she didn’t like it because she didn’t think the book rang true. “The Mormon part or the survivalist part?” I asked her. “Neither.” She didn’t think anyone… Continue reading Behind Closed Doors
Whole Court Shake-up
Ten years ago, I moved to the best little court in my town, in the suburbs of the Bay Area. At the time, it was a court filled with girls – two grade-school girls across the street (they moved in five months after I did), two same-aged girls next to them, a baby girl bordering… Continue reading Whole Court Shake-up
The Single Dad and the Dental Hygienist
Bob’s friend had a dental office, and Bob would stop by to visit. Joy, the married dental hygienist, offered to fix him up with single clients getting their teeth cleaned. If the women were game for a blind date with Bob, he was game, too. Joy would call Bob with the woman’s phone number. She… Continue reading The Single Dad and the Dental Hygienist
My Three-quarter Bike Ride
I was the one that suggested the bike ride. My adult children don’t spend enough time outdoors or get enough exercise. They do like to ride the Iron Horse trail, an easy, shady railroad right of way that connects towns up and down the I- 680 corridor. I knew I had them when I suggested… Continue reading My Three-quarter Bike Ride
Daisy Strikes Again
(re-run) After a five mile hike, my legs ached and wanted to go to bed. I turned off the news at 10:15, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and then headed down the hall to the main bathroom with the doggy door. Both dogs were outside barking. I turned around and went to the kitchen… Continue reading Daisy Strikes Again
Live Music in a Virtual World
Last weekend I watched five livestream music events on my laptop. I was out of town but didn’t feel too lonely until the last livestream guy looked right into the camera and sang Blackbird (Beatles) to me. I had requested it in the chat feed. “This one is for you, Susan.” The next thing I… Continue reading Live Music in a Virtual World
Almost Toast
(re-run) Marlene and her friend Beth came out to California from New Hampshire after college to work for Bank of America. They each made a new friend, and each new friend brought another friend to the party (plus one more) until they were a group of seven recent college graduates, living in the city of… Continue reading Almost Toast
A Good Little Shopper
(re-run) If you think this post is going to be about how I scour the racks at Nordstrom’s for the best deals of the season, it’s not. If you think it’s about how I maximize double coupons at the grocery store, I don’t. What it is about is how I can find the deals for… Continue reading A Good Little Shopper
Second Time Around
(re-run) Suzanne needed a date for her Alpha Delta Phi sorority party that was being held off campus at one of the sister’s parents’ house. She invited a guy from her old high school, Mark. When they got there, Mark knew the physician dad, because they’d been on ski patrol together one winter in Tahoe.… Continue reading Second Time Around
Marathon Man
(re-run) She’d tried them all — Match, eharmony, Our Time, Chemistry, Zoosk, Okay Cupid, and Coffee Meets Bagel. She’d had her share of weirdos and had learned to use a fake name, fake town, and a fake place of work. She had been stalked in the past. Now she knew how to do it and… Continue reading Marathon Man
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 