My mother prepared dinner every night for my dad, my brother and me. Meat, potatoes, Birds Eye frozen vegetables. Once in a while a fresh salad. But in those days, fresh vegetables, especially in the winter, were hard to come by. I can still see my mom with her white and red flowered apron tied…
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My mother prepared dinner every night for my dad, my brother and me. Meat, potatoes, Birds Eye frozen vegetables. Once in a while a fresh salad. But in those days, fresh vegetables, especially in the winter, were hard to come by. I can still see my mom with her white and red flowered apron tied…
Read More
To be honest, I hate recycling. If the future of the planet didn’t depend on it, you can be sure I wouldn’t do it. It’s so complicated and way more work than just throwing stuff out. But since I have grandchildren who I am hoping will be able to breathe the air, survive the increased…
Read More
My daughter and my teenage grandchildren spent the pandemic in Israel where things were a lot more comfortable than here. While the boys went to school virtually, they were free to see their friends after school. When vaccinations became available, my daughter and her husband got them immediately, but the 16 year old called me…
Read More
I walked into my 90 year old mom’s house years ago and heard her crying. I dropped my purse and the bag of glazed donuts I’d brought her and rushed into the den fearing I’d find her on the floor with a broken hip. But no. She was sitting in front of her computer screen,…
Read More
I didn’t know I could hold my breath for so long until last week when I finally exhaled. I was sitting round a fire pit with a small group of (vaccinated) women from my weekly writing group who I haven’t seen in person for over a year…the last time I inhaled. We’ve been Zooming, of…
Read More
I rarely watch a movie more than once. There are just too many great ones out there I haven’t seen yet. My former partner of 20 years had a theory that we shouldn’t waste time watching movies; we should be on the move until we were too old to travel, and then we could watch…
Read More
“Ow!” I rubbed the bump on my forehead. Again. If he leaves the kitchen cabinets or drawers open one more time I’m divorcing him! Oh! I never married him, did I? And that’s a big reason why. The first time he took me to his house and showed me his kitchen I walked through it…
Read More
Once Upon a time…and still… hair was the most important thing. To the day my mother died, the first thing we did when we saw each other was comment on each other’s hair. Mom would either say, “That’s a great haircut, Penny,” or “What did you do to your hair?” Or anything in between. (My…
Read More
I have a very bad habit of singing old commercial jingles over and over again. Especially when I’m using some similar product. Or just walking down the street. Sometimes when I brush my teeth I’ll hum, “You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.” Even though I’m using Crest. Afterwards,…
Read More
Connection is the lifeblood of civilization, I think. It has become more apparent in the past year when we have been so separated from one another because of the pandemic. Loneliness, grief, depression have made life all but intolerable for so many of us. I am someone who enjoys her own company, but I do…
Read More
“She finds trouble wherever she goes,” my younger brother said of me back in the 1980’s. It was meant as a compliment. At least I chose to take it as such. He said this after I had led (or participated in–I can’t recall for sure) a walkout of reporters at the East Bay weekly paper,…
Read More
I’ve always loved a man in a fedora, a boy in a baseball cap, a lady in a floppy, big-brimmed hat. My dad was a handsome Mad Man-type in the 1950s and ’60s. He never left the house without wearing a felt fedora to match whatever fine suit or overcoat he had on. There’s something…
Read More
I’ve never considered myself much of a binger. Unless, of course, you’re referring to my addiction to very dark, bittersweet chocolate. Or to Hagan Daz Belgian chocolate or coffee ice cream. I guess you could call me a binger if you put a quart of that in front of me with a spoon. My ice…
Read More
I used to hate the short, dark days of December. I’d sink into them. Sulk. Play the Blues. Then I spent one New Years in Iceland. It was dark but for two hours of twilight midday. Two white swans floated on the placid pond in Reykjavik. Time passed slowly. We sipped Scotch at 6. Huddled…
Read More
I’ve always loved going for interviews. I know how to shine at an interview. And I almost always get the job or the date. I like the rush of ‘winning.” But I don’t always want what I get. Fresh out of U of Michigan nursing school, I followed my med school grad husband to Oakland,…
Read More
Autocorrect makes me crazy, always trying to improve on my pretty-perfect spelling. Like substituting the word ‘ass’ for ‘asp.’ Now why would it even bother?! Does it think I picked the wrong animal? And how will children ever learn to spell when Autocorrect cleans up after them? I have an editor’s eye for misspellings though…
Read More
My first Thanksgiving as a married woman, I invited my in-laws to our tiny apartment. I bought a Ready-to-Cook turkey, unwrapped it and stuck it in the oven, as instructed. I folded up the couch-bed and readied the living room to receive guests. I made the stuffing, cooked the yams, opened the cranberry sauce and…
Read More
In my hippie days I lived on a communal farm in Olympia, Washington. I, of all people, a city girl from New York, somehow got the job of planting and nursing the garden. Being a relatively cooperative sort, I didn’t argue, though I knew my hair would frizz in the damp air (my biggest concern…
Read More
Last week I looked at the hula hoop leaning lazily against my bedroom door. I looked at myself in my floor length mirror, sucked my belly in and was saddened to see that my once-slim waist was still pinchable. I decided it was time to begin a hula hoop regimen to take care of that.…
Read More
This damn pandemic has turned me into an extension of my computer which has taken the form of my cellphone. Honestly, I can’t stand it! I have it in my hand constantly. Can’t eat without it. Watch tv without it. Go to the bathroom without it. I go into a near panic if I realize…
Read More
There isn’t room for one more pair of shoes in my closet. But fortunately I haven’t been out shopping for shoes for a while. You could say it’s thanks to the pandemic. But really? It’s because my feet hurt. And my back hurts. I look at all those beautiful shoes sitting there–the perfect navy blue…
Read More
I’ll never forget that look in her eyes as she lay on the vet’s cold metal examining table. It was hard to look back. I felt like she was asking me, “Can I trust you? Am I going to be okay?” And I knew I was betraying that trust. She was going to die. I…
Read More
I was well on my way to my second successful divorce.
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When she started to see gray hairs appear as she sat at stoplights and looked in the rear view mirror, she saw the future and started pulling the stray grays out.
Read More
Oh, Those Family Dinners
Prompted By Mealtime
/ Stories
My mother prepared dinner every night for my dad, my brother and me. Meat, potatoes, Birds Eye frozen vegetables. Once in a while a fresh salad. But in those days, fresh vegetables, especially in the winter, were hard to come by. I can still see my mom with her white and red flowered apron tied…
Read More
What’s the (Re)Purpose of It All?
Prompted By Recycling
/ Stories
To be honest, I hate recycling. If the future of the planet didn’t depend on it, you can be sure I wouldn’t do it. It’s so complicated and way more work than just throwing stuff out. But since I have grandchildren who I am hoping will be able to breathe the air, survive the increased…
Read More
Grandma (Savta) Knows Best
Prompted By Vaccination
/ Stories
My daughter and my teenage grandchildren spent the pandemic in Israel where things were a lot more comfortable than here. While the boys went to school virtually, they were free to see their friends after school. When vaccinations became available, my daughter and her husband got them immediately, but the 16 year old called me…
Read More
Who’s Norton?
Prompted By Technology Tribulations
/ Stories
I walked into my 90 year old mom’s house years ago and heard her crying. I dropped my purse and the bag of glazed donuts I’d brought her and rushed into the den fearing I’d find her on the floor with a broken hip. But no. She was sitting in front of her computer screen,…
Read More
Holding My Breath
Prompted By One Year of the Pandemic
/ Stories
I didn’t know I could hold my breath for so long until last week when I finally exhaled. I was sitting round a fire pit with a small group of (vaccinated) women from my weekly writing group who I haven’t seen in person for over a year…the last time I inhaled. We’ve been Zooming, of…
Read More
Just Getting Started
Prompted By Rewatchable Movies
/ Stories
I rarely watch a movie more than once. There are just too many great ones out there I haven’t seen yet. My former partner of 20 years had a theory that we shouldn’t waste time watching movies; we should be on the move until we were too old to travel, and then we could watch…
Read More
Close The Door, Richard!
Prompted By Pet Peeves
/ Stories
“Ow!” I rubbed the bump on my forehead. Again. If he leaves the kitchen cabinets or drawers open one more time I’m divorcing him! Oh! I never married him, did I? And that’s a big reason why. The first time he took me to his house and showed me his kitchen I walked through it…
Read More
A Hairy Tale
Prompted By Haircuts
/ Stories
Once Upon a time…and still… hair was the most important thing. To the day my mother died, the first thing we did when we saw each other was comment on each other’s hair. Mom would either say, “That’s a great haircut, Penny,” or “What did you do to your hair?” Or anything in between. (My…
Read More
Promises, Promises
Prompted By Advertising Jingles and Slogans
/ Stories
I have a very bad habit of singing old commercial jingles over and over again. Especially when I’m using some similar product. Or just walking down the street. Sometimes when I brush my teeth I’ll hum, “You’ll wonder where the yellow went when you brush your teeth with Pepsodent.” Even though I’m using Crest. Afterwards,…
Read More
The Power of Connection
Prompted By Reconnecting
/ Stories
Connection is the lifeblood of civilization, I think. It has become more apparent in the past year when we have been so separated from one another because of the pandemic. Loneliness, grief, depression have made life all but intolerable for so many of us. I am someone who enjoys her own company, but I do…
Read More
Once a Troublemaker …
Prompted By Good Trouble
/ Stories
“She finds trouble wherever she goes,” my younger brother said of me back in the 1980’s. It was meant as a compliment. At least I chose to take it as such. He said this after I had led (or participated in–I can’t recall for sure) a walkout of reporters at the East Bay weekly paper,…
Read More
Hats, Caps and the Like
Prompted By Hats
/ Stories
I’ve always loved a man in a fedora, a boy in a baseball cap, a lady in a floppy, big-brimmed hat. My dad was a handsome Mad Man-type in the 1950s and ’60s. He never left the house without wearing a felt fedora to match whatever fine suit or overcoat he had on. There’s something…
Read More
I Scream, You Scream
Prompted By What Are You Bingeing?
/ Stories
I’ve never considered myself much of a binger. Unless, of course, you’re referring to my addiction to very dark, bittersweet chocolate. Or to Hagan Daz Belgian chocolate or coffee ice cream. I guess you could call me a binger if you put a quart of that in front of me with a spoon. My ice…
Read More
Dark Into Light
Prompted By Hello Darkness
/ Stories
I used to hate the short, dark days of December. I’d sink into them. Sulk. Play the Blues. Then I spent one New Years in Iceland. It was dark but for two hours of twilight midday. Two white swans floated on the placid pond in Reykjavik. Time passed slowly. We sipped Scotch at 6. Huddled…
Read More
You Don’t Always Want What You Get
Prompted By Interviews
/ Stories
I’ve always loved going for interviews. I know how to shine at an interview. And I almost always get the job or the date. I like the rush of ‘winning.” But I don’t always want what I get. Fresh out of U of Michigan nursing school, I followed my med school grad husband to Oakland,…
Read More
Damn you, autocorrect!
Prompted By Spelling
/ Stories
Autocorrect makes me crazy, always trying to improve on my pretty-perfect spelling. Like substituting the word ‘ass’ for ‘asp.’ Now why would it even bother?! Does it think I picked the wrong animal? And how will children ever learn to spell when Autocorrect cleans up after them? I have an editor’s eye for misspellings though…
Read More
What’s That Smell?!
Prompted By Pandemic Holidays
/ Stories
My first Thanksgiving as a married woman, I invited my in-laws to our tiny apartment. I bought a Ready-to-Cook turkey, unwrapped it and stuck it in the oven, as instructed. I folded up the couch-bed and readied the living room to receive guests. I made the stuffing, cooked the yams, opened the cranberry sauce and…
Read More
Dig, Hippie, Dig!
Prompted By The Garden
/ Stories
In my hippie days I lived on a communal farm in Olympia, Washington. I, of all people, a city girl from New York, somehow got the job of planting and nursing the garden. Being a relatively cooperative sort, I didn’t argue, though I knew my hair would frizz in the damp air (my biggest concern…
Read More
Hula Ow!
Prompted By Fads and Trends
/ Stories
Last week I looked at the hula hoop leaning lazily against my bedroom door. I looked at myself in my floor length mirror, sucked my belly in and was saddened to see that my once-slim waist was still pinchable. I decided it was time to begin a hula hoop regimen to take care of that.…
Read More
You can’t live with them, and you can’t kill them!
Prompted By Life Before Computers
/ Stories
This damn pandemic has turned me into an extension of my computer which has taken the form of my cellphone. Honestly, I can’t stand it! I have it in my hand constantly. Can’t eat without it. Watch tv without it. Go to the bathroom without it. I go into a near panic if I realize…
Read More
Cruel Shoes
Prompted By Shoes
/ Stories
There isn’t room for one more pair of shoes in my closet. But fortunately I haven’t been out shopping for shoes for a while. You could say it’s thanks to the pandemic. But really? It’s because my feet hurt. And my back hurts. I look at all those beautiful shoes sitting there–the perfect navy blue…
Read More
A Sad Farewell
Prompted By Final Farewell
/ Stories
I’ll never forget that look in her eyes as she lay on the vet’s cold metal examining table. It was hard to look back. I felt like she was asking me, “Can I trust you? Am I going to be okay?” And I knew I was betraying that trust. She was going to die. I…
Read More
Turning 40,Or 30, Or…
Prompted By Rites of Passage
/ Stories
I was well on my way to my second successful divorce.
Read More
A Lifetime of Hair
Prompted By Hair
/ Stories
When she started to see gray hairs appear as she sat at stoplights and looked in the rear view mirror, she saw the future and started pulling the stray grays out.
Read More