How I came to be buying a condom in a Hilton hotel across the street from LAX is a meandering tale of impulsive decisions and their consequences, tragic or comic. In the late 70s, I graduated from college with a degree in linguistics. I had no particular plans for being any… Read full post »

 A month ago, continuing my exploration of risky behavior, I hooked up with a guy from Craigslist. I refer to him affectionately as my Randy Old Goat, because he has more lovers than anyone in his 60s can be expected to keep up with. There’s the boyfriends, the other girlfriends, the… Read full post »

Life is Good is one of my favorite people on OS, so when she declared an open call about your favorite things intended to help us get to know each other, I wanted to play. However, if you ask me my favorite book or movie, I never know what to say.… Read full post »

The angry man was waiting for me as I parked my car in front of my physical therapist’s office building. He was pissed because I had honked at him. He had been having an argument with his teenage son in the crosswalk of a busy thoroughfare, and the kid bolted to… Read full post »

I was 19. It was an abandoned quarry. I was in the cab of a semi truck, one guy at the wheel, the other in the sleeper. I had been asleep, exhausted, since just outside of Reno, and woke up to the screech of breaks and an abandoned quarry in the… Read full post »

About the only thing I could ever manage to do, much less enjoy, on Facebook was the "notes." Thanks, Leeandra!

1. Who was your FIRST prom date?

Alan, although we broke up and didn’t go to the prom. We didn’t want to disappoint his friends, however, so we got dressed up… Read full post »

My heart was not broken. The blunt force trauma, however, left severe lacerations and contusions. It was in the blue and purple stage of bruising, when touch is painful. I didn’t want to let it stiffen up, so I decided to give it some mild exercise. Nothing too rough. I’m getting… Read full post »

My mom had Alzheimer's for 15 years. After a few years of extreme emotional volatility, she settled into the angelic phase. It was a relief. I loved who she was. I was the only one. The rest of the family saw only the disease. They came away shocked from their infrequent… Read full post »

Due to my increasing inability to multitask and my tendency to be distracted by shiny objects, I'm flouncing. Just for a couple of weeks or until my life is in order, whichever comes last. Zumalicious has done me the tremendous favor of lending me the flounce dress. I'm so excited! I… Read full post »

Since I published this, I found a story in a local blog page describing what this guy and his partner were reported to have done. Apparently, there was a belief that a cop had been injured, though I have not seen anything to confirm that in the local rag. There are a few comments… Read full post »

We became friends when she made a comment on one of my posts where I referred to my late hours, saying she was the same. We PMed.  We shared a need to dance. She spoke about dancing in the darkest part of the night and bringing life to it, a beguiling image. She… Read full post »

I got nothing to say. I saw people getting naked and it looked easy.

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I’ve been having trouble with my internet service for weeks. I would like to claim that’s why I haven’t written anything, but that would be a lie. I’ll confess all in the next post. Right now, I’m having terrible internet connection problems. They are seriously interferi… Read full post »

Six was a lonely cat, imperfectly socialized and nervous. He flinched when you reached to pat his head, nipping your hand. I never saw Emily bend to pet him, nor did he rub against her ankles. Emily had lived in a succession of shared apartments and Six had been taken care… Read full post »

The moment my relationship with Emily hit rock bottom, she wasn’t even there. I was standing on my porch, blood-soaked paper towels pressed to my right arm, telling six cops that everything was fine, just fine, the cats got into a little fight but it was all over.

"I’… Read full post »

She stood forlornly by the side of California Highway 1. Her tiny Dell Latitude with the sunroof had its nose in a ditch. Smoke was pouring from the engine. She had a cell phone in her hand and that frustrated "no bars" look on her face.

The tall man braked… Read full post »

Sirenita Lake is new to me but after reading her links and her responses to this interview, I felt like I got to meet and get to know a smart, funny, interesting woman with a moral compass that has a very strong “true north” (you’ll understand this if you follow directions… Read full post »

Catamitebastard has done me the honor of allowing me to interview him. The sweet man gave me more than I asked for, as I believe he does anyone who asks for help. Here he answers Verbal Remedy's insightful interview questions as well as bunch of other things I felt like asking him. Like… Read full post »

I wanted to start this "the rhino lowered his head and charged, barely missing my leg as I pulled myself up into the baobab tree..." Or maybe "the gun was shaking in the addict’s hand and I read in his crazy, glassy eyes that no matter what I did, he was… Read full post »

I hate filling in forms. Not only that, I suck at it. I’m a bit dyslexic and astigmatic and I’m always on the wrong line. Not only that, but forms always ask me stuff I don’t know, like how much stock I sold in 1999 or the address of that guy… Read full post »

So, you want to know what I'm addicted to. I wish I could remember those great war stories I used to tell in AA. I was in great demand as a speaker--the right balance of humor and hair-raisingness. Stories like the time I found myself in a strange house, in a… Read full post »

Barack Obama is a cool drink of water for those of us who remember Ronald Reagan. I haven’t felt this positive about the direction of the country since our troops were pulled out of Vietnam. But Barack Obama was not my first choice in the Democratic primary. It was John Edwards,… Read full post »