Bike

She wanted me to go with her on one of those bike tours along the canals of The Netherlands. She kept telling me it would be easy biking – flat – and we would sleep on a boat each night that followed us along the route. It did sound like fun, and would be an adventure for sure. Yet . . .

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9 AM

When I got her phone back, the first thing I did was look to see if she was texting at 9 AM. She was not. I felt such relief when I confirmed that she was not texting, I broke down and began to cry. Sam came over and tried to hold me but I pushed him away. Pain took away the numbness and . . .

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Go Take a Hike

Back in the day when language was full of taboos, telling someone to go take a hike was the equivalent of telling them to fuck off. There are no language taboos left. Even 3 year old toddlers can use formerly unspeakable words in the appropriate context and with feeling. Words lose their power. I remember when “that sucks” first got started, it grated on my entire body. Now I say it myself. I need a break. I think I’ll go take a hike.

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Uncle Pete

My favorite person in the family was my uncle Pete. He was the family eccentric. He went his own way and didn’t care what anyone thought or said about it. He never explained, never apologized. Sometimes he would invite me to share in one of his passions – baseball for instance. He had a specific method for watching a baseball game that involved . . .

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Dear Hollywood

Dear Hollywood,

If your trailer shows only male actors and lots of explosions, I won’t be giving you my money. I know I’m just one person so my dollars don’t count a lot. Here’s the thing, though. I’m a lifelong movie fan. If you add up all the years and all the movies and all the dollars, I’ve contributed quite a lot to the wealth floating around Hollywood. So give me something I will spend my money on. I’m begging here.

Love,

Virginia

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Come Together

One of my favorite singers, Ruthie Foster, is going to be in my town later this summer. I was just taking a trip down memory lane listening to her on You Tube while I checked my email this morning. I realized that there is no better way for us to come together than by listening to this fabulous duet. Rock out, people.

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Game On

When I hear someone say, “Game on!” it always reminds me of my brother and the practical jokes and mean tricks he played on me all through our childhood. Him getting his game on was always going to be painful for me. How can I explain this when I tell people that my brother and I aren’t close now? Do I simply say . . .

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Pizza Delivery

I received a text message announcing the delivery of my pizzas. I opened the door to find them sitting on my front steps and caught a glimpse of the drone that had delivered them buzzing away.

“Pizza’s here!” I called. Feet thundered down the steps as children descended on the kitchen.  Jan stationed herself in front of the drink machine and started punching in the drink orders she knew by heart. We . . .

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Dear Old Dad

Kelly always called her father “dear old dad.” She said it in a sweet voice, but I always felt an undercurrent of anger and bitterness in her infrequent references to him. Her parents were divorced so I met her mom long before I met her dad. The day we got the phone call . . .

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Sandy

The trail was rocky in places, sandy in others. It followed an arroyo that snaked its way up into the hills. There were more trees near the arroyo than elsewhere, a sure sign that there was water there at least some of the time. Today is was dry, the sky all around us a clear blue that held no promise of rain. We . . .

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