The Dancing Tribe

(re-run from October 2021)) Different town. Different band. Same faces. We are the tribe of dancers, mostly in our fifties, sixties, and seventies, following rock and roll music wherever it goes.  We might not know each other’s names, but we smile and wave. It’s been two years since some of us have seen each other.… Continue reading The Dancing Tribe

Chuck’s Drive-in Movie Date

(re-run) During his senior year in high school, Chuck drove his powder blue Bonneville Pontiac to pick up his new girlfriend for their drive-in movie date.  He had tricked out the interior of the car with his two taxidermy quail on a bed of shag carpeting in the car’s back window. When he drove his… Continue reading Chuck’s Drive-in Movie Date

Proper English or Arbitrary Pretentiousness?

Full disclaimer, I have a masters degree in English. That, in itself, won’t get me a chicken dinner or even a pat on the back. What it does get me is anxiety over the state of the English language in the USA. All one has to do is to scroll the internet to find mistakes… Continue reading Proper English or Arbitrary Pretentiousness?

Late-night Loser

(re-run) I met a guy at a dance. We emailed each other for a week (before texting). We decided to meet at Bing Crosby’s. I took a seat at the bar, and asked for water. After all, I’d had two glasses of wine already, waiting for him to get off work at the TV station… Continue reading Late-night Loser

The Blond-tourage

(re-run) Every woman over fifty gets the same advice from her hairdresser — lighten up your hair. As our skin fades and our looks do, too, we need brighter lipstick, sparkly-er clothing and blonder locks to stay looking as young as we can. My apologies to women of color; this may not apply to you.… Continue reading The Blond-tourage

Child of Rock and Roll

Being a child in the sixties and becoming a teen-ager a year after the Summer of Love and the year before Woodstock, I straddled two decades of great music with a foot in each. As kids, we danced to Elvis records in Debbie Harvey’s basement, which was way cooler than dancing to Bing Crosby in… Continue reading Child of Rock and Roll

Mornings Are for Blogging

(re-run) When you’re mostly retired, like I am, you find that you think best in the morning. I’ve written and published 29 children’s books, and each one was born in the a.m. (not after midnight). At night I am pretty worthless. I can usually read until 7:00 or 8:00 p.m. Then it’s Snoozeville after that,… Continue reading Mornings Are for Blogging

It’s a Jungle Out There

(re-run) I saw a coyote yesterday during my strength and training class at the senior center. There are so many people in the drop-in class that I have to stand right in front of the glass doors, with a view of the hills filled with wild turkeys, birds, and now Wiley Coyote. My back hurts… Continue reading It’s a Jungle Out There

The Moon Landing and a Funeral

(re-run) The day we landed on the moon (July 20th, 1969), my parents took the family to a picnic/fishing spot at the Des Moines reservoir. I was going into high school in the fall, so it was a dorky thing to do on a Sunday, but hey? I couldn’t drive yet, and the food was… Continue reading The Moon Landing and a Funeral