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
Afternoon Delight
If you were in eighth grade and you had a weekly afternoon paper route delivering the Detroit News in Saginaw, Michigan, and you rode your red Schwinn with the basket to do your route and then rode it again on collection day, what would your fantasy be? If you were Chet, it would be Mrs.… Continue reading Afternoon Delight
How to Get a DUI
Over the years, I’ve known many people who have gotten DUI’s. Not one of them thought they were drunk enough to get one, which is scary, because that’s what I think every time I drive home from a night of drinking and dancing. Granted, I usually stop at two glasses of wine. And I drink… Continue reading How to Get a DUI
Hamburgers for Breakfast
Kelly and her husband went back to her home state of Maine for Christmas, but their trip was cut short when his mother went missing. They left their brown Chevy van in Maine and took the first flight home to help find her. It turned out she had gone down a ravine in a car… Continue reading Hamburgers for Breakfast
Love of her Life
Connie was only fourteen when she went to her first dinner dance at the country club. Brad was two years older, already driving, and as handsome as could be. Connie had been smitten since the day they met at school. She had been at her locker. He had come by and said hello. She’d looked… Continue reading Love of her Life
Drive-in Movie Disaster
Linda was going into high school in the fall. She was doing summer stock at the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa. The play was Bye Bye Birdie, and she was playing the part of a show girl. Jeff, one of the good-looking stage hands, drove a blue ’66 Cadillac convertible with a white top. Thinking… Continue reading Drive-in Movie Disaster
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 