Look Up! Get Some Face Time

Posted in author, California, cell phone, chiropractor, doctor, guns, humor, mass shootings, memoir, relationships, school shooting, technology, textingLeave a comment

As I stepped into the waiting room at my chiropractor’s office, three women and one guy were looking down at their cell phones, sitting in a symmetrical pattern in a u-shaped group of chairs. Feeling giddy from my 55 minute massage I said, “Well, this looks like a blog post to me! You’re all on… Continue reading Look Up! Get Some Face Time

To Smoke or Not to Smoke

Posted in California, dating, firsts, friends, high school, humor, memoir, relationships, smoking, sorority, worstLeave a comment

My friend Kelly hasn’t smoked a cigarette for 75 days. After thirty-seven years of the puffing habit, she is proud of herself. Chantix helped. Wanting to quit helped more. Wanting better health and to be a good role model for her kids helped the most. Kelly craves a cigarette after finishing a meal. It’s a… Continue reading To Smoke or Not to Smoke

Bad Things Come in Small Packages

Posted in abuse, California, dating, humor, online dating, relationships, worst1 Comment

They met online on Okay Cupid. The horizontal happened fast. Things were going well, so after six months, Barry gave up his ugly apartment and bought a condo. She moved in right away. Then he started to notice her temper: 1. If the house wasn’t perfectly clean at all times. 2. If his son’s dog… Continue reading Bad Things Come in Small Packages

Hold the Crunch

Posted in best, California, college, dating, food cravings, holidays, house party, humor, marriage proposal, Pennsylvania, phone call, relationships, singingLeave a comment

Jim’s job was to put the crunch in the new peanut butter, Jif. One machine chopped the peanuts into slivers, and another machine used pistons to plug the slivers into the creamy product. Jim also had to taste test peanut butter that had been sitting on a shelf for three months in 100 degree heat.… Continue reading Hold the Crunch

Two Bird Baths, One Fountain

Posted in birds, cats, dogs, gardening, humor, insects, memoir, nature, relationships, treesLeave a comment

I love my yard. When I first bought my fixer house on a fixer third acre, the yard was full of rocks and rose bushes. Now it has trees, plants, bushes, flag stone, one fountain and two bird baths. The fountain is an advertisement to creatures near and far to come into my fenced yard.… Continue reading Two Bird Baths, One Fountain

What are your Intentions?

Posted in California, cars, dad, dancing, dating, high school, relationships, worstLeave a comment

David Rivers was a sophomore at Pinole High School when he invited his fellow classmate, Violet, to his school dance. She said yes, and he told her he’d pick her up at 7:00. When David got to Violet’s house, she wasn’t ready. Violet’s father led David to the question couch, where he grilled him for… Continue reading What are your Intentions?

The Daycare Quandary

Posted in babysitters, babysitting co-op, California, children, daycare, mom shaming, piano lessons, summer campLeave a comment

When my kids were young, I had a hard time finding sitters for them in my affluent bedroom community near San Francisco. The local kids didn’t need the money, and my then-husband wouldn’t spring for a nanny. Not that I wanted one. I wanted to raise my own kids. Every now and then, it was… Continue reading The Daycare Quandary