Costco has a new rule that you need a wholesale membership to get into the warehouse at 9:00 a.m. It started a couple weeks ago, so the place was mostly me and the employees as they finished stocking the shelves. Today I was parked out front at 8:47, in the warehouse three minutes later, and… Continue reading Long Tuesday
Feeling Better
(re-run) I have some down days once in a while, but mostly I don’t. I know I’m lucky. I have aligned my life to feel better. Coincidentally, a relative’s therapist told her the five things she needs every day to get out of her funk. Then, if you still feel like crap, go see a… Continue reading Feeling Better
Piglet in a Box
(re-run) Karin was working, cutting her stepsister’s hair at the salon her mom owned. Her cell phone vibrated. She never took calls during work. All of her friends and family knew that. It vibrated again, a second call from the same number. She picked up. It was her ex boyfriend, Rob. Rob was two ex-boyfriends… Continue reading Piglet in a Box
A Week in the Woods
(re-run from 2023) When both my mom and sis started having big health problems at the same time, I flew back to Iowa to collect my older sister and bring her to California to live with me. Eighteen months later, my younger sister flew back to Iowa to get our mom and bring her to… Continue reading A Week in the Woods
The Dog Days of Summer
I haven’t written a new blog post for a few days, and it’s time. I’ve posted re-runs every day for a long string of hot days now. My computer is playing Neil Young’s Harvest Moon, which puts me in the mood for writing. That song keeps reappearing in my life. You probably have a song… Continue reading The Dog Days of Summer
Give Me Back my Sweater!
(re-run) Once divorced, I discovered dancing in nightclubs, some of them outside with trees and twinkling lights. Barone’s in Pleasanton had live music every Thursday, from May to October. The October nights were cool, with the sun setting at 6:30 or so. I put on my short dancing dress, went bare legged, with sandals on… Continue reading Give Me Back my Sweater!
He Met Her at Work
(re-run) Troy had the best job for meeting women. He was a parks worker for the city of Clayton, which contracted with the county for a workforce from the Work Alternative Program. In other words, drunk drivers and those with misdemeanors could work off their time instead of paying fines. He was their supervisor. Katie,… Continue reading He Met Her at Work
Parking Lot Pick-up
(re-run) Edith and her friend, Laura, were bored. It was Saturday night, and they’d been at their all-girls’ school, Holy Names, for a whole week. It was time to find some guys, to find a party. They pulled into Berkeley and headed for Fraternity Row. Laura spotted someone she had dated before and rolled down… Continue reading Parking Lot Pick-up
A Corny Tale
(re-run) Knee -high by the 4th of July It all started with a post on Facebook, showing how your average American doesn’t know how to shuck corn. If you are from Iowa in the 60’s, then you know how. We weren’t well off. As a matter of fact, people would give us bags of food,… Continue reading A Corny Tale
Apple Tree
(re-run) You know it’s apple-picking season when the dogs start bringing in the bruised ones and then growl at each other. When I bought the house, I inherited the apple tree. I didn’t realize how prolific it was until one day, after the gardeners left, I noticed a line of fat apples sitting on my… Continue reading Apple Tree
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 