Month: July 2009

  • Cut Me Off

    When you work at a local bar, you have to find your own local bar in which to decompress and let it all drift away. The first place I thought was such a place ended up being anything but after the owner fired everyone who knew me as a local. So goes life in the…

  • Rouletta Gets a Job

    I am working six days a week and eight shifts, now. This is a good thing. A very good thing. What to do with Rouletta when I am working so much, however, was becoming not such a good thing. “Just bring her in with you,” said one of the owners. Really? “You can put her…

  • Dancing the Circle

    “Joe died. Just an hour ago,” said one of my regulars as he placed an empty Miller Lite bottle on the bar. “I wasn’t sure if you’d heard.” Joe? Joe who always called me “pretty lady”? Whiskey and water, “Mist is fine” Joe? Joe who came in to my bar with his pal and sort-of…

  • One Last Time

    He sat on a bench in the shade, smiling at my best sister friend as she lugged their suitcases and plastic bags filled with T-shirts and sandals and other items bought in hopes of preserving a memory in time of a magical time. More than one passerby gave him a second glance, clearly wondering why…

  • The Misplaced Text

    Texting: You either love it or hate it. On the one hand, it’s easy to zap or receive a quick message when you can’t talk on the phone. Last night, for example, I received a text wishing me a happy Fourth from a guy who’s just started to show some interest in me. I was…

  • Homecomings

    At first, you have no clue who the person is who is standing in front of you with his hand extended. “Hey, Bruce Carlton. We had so many classes together in 7th grade.” You smile the dumb smile of one who has no clue, one that conveys that you pretend to have a clue, but…