Just when I think I’ve turned a corner with my little Jack Russell, she does something to remind me that she had a life somewhere else with someone else before I brought her home. My son was over helping me flip the rooms around so that my sister wouldn’t have to go up and down… Continue reading Daisy the Rescue Dog, Month # 5
Homecoming Hopes
Marci was voted to be on Homecoming Court by her senior class. With 107 girls, she was one of only five who made it. Marci was walking on clouds until she realized she had no date. No steady boyfriend. She couldn’t go alone. What was she going to do? Could she refuse? The football team… Continue reading Homecoming Hopes
Memphis Sugar Mama
After Robert’s family came to America, Robert went to college in Memphis. He met an older woman, Devon, in a liquor store. She had on a mink jacket and asked him out right there amongst the bottles of high-end scotches. She looked good for her age. She drove a Cadillac since her daddy had the… Continue reading Memphis Sugar Mama
Butt Dials and Other My Bads
I had lunch with my son today. We were trying to figure out why I’d used up all my storage on my cell phone. He took a look, handed back my phone, and watched me put it in my pocket. “You need to hit the button on the side and turn off your screen,” he… Continue reading Butt Dials and Other My Bads
Peace Corps Fail
It was in the spring of my first year of teaching when the call came. I was at Greenwood Elementary in Greenwood, Nebraska. I had applied to the Peace Corps the year before. They had just seen my application. They wanted to fly me to Chicago for an interview that weekend. They gave me 24… Continue reading Peace Corps Fail
Two Dates, Two Dolls
He was tall and lanky. She was short with a great smile. They were the leads in the high school play at Des Moines Tech in 1948. They flirted on and off stage. They even had a kissing scene. Joanne knew Bill was the one. Bill asked her out. On their first date, he showed… Continue reading Two Dates, Two Dolls
Asparagus, Anyone?
The farmhouse was next to the highway, close enough for me to hear the train come by every night, and far enough away from the tracks to get used to sleeping through it. No houses could be seen from any window — just trees, sky, and lots of cornfields. It was a peaceful place, sometimes… Continue reading Asparagus, Anyone?
Don’t Stand Up!
It was a long train ride from Lima to Cuzco, or maybe it was from Cuzco to Machu Picchu. At any rate, I was on a train with a bunch of Peruvians and my roommate, Kristy. Trains give me motion sickness, as do boats, cars, planes, swings, and carnival rides. It’s a miracle that I’ve… Continue reading Don’t Stand Up!
He Wouldn’t Take Non for an Answer
Harry was an American soldier. He had survived D-Day. The war had just ended in Europe. He helped free the town of Reims, France, where she lived. She was so beautiful that when he met her on the street, he asked to/walked her/followed her home. She thanked him but wasn’t interested. “What is your name?”… Continue reading He Wouldn’t Take Non for an Answer
The Bed by the Window
Another day, and it’s another dinner with Sis in the rehab wing. Her regular table mates at dinner, Rhonda and Cecily, are the most alert residents in the dining room. One is in her 90’s, the other over 100. Cecily smiles when I wave hello. Rhonda looks startled that I am there. I pull up… Continue reading The Bed by the Window
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 