BROWN BAG
In a brown grocery bag at the back of a closet behind the vacuum cleaner, I find a folder of poems dating back to this time.
EMBRACE
There is a tree
with a gnarled root
that I embraced in summer.
Close against its breast
I heard the miniature sounds of life,
EVENTFUL
“Dear Linda, “How are you? And Jim? And Psyche? And your little golden cottage? “It’s been an incredibly eventful three months for me. Would you like a brief run-down? (On your mark…get set…) “I quit Pan Am, shifted about Los Angeles, living with friends, families of...
THE BOMB
Dazed, I wondered what to do next, since you can’t live in L.A. without a car. An acquaintance of mine took me to see a hideous wreck a friend of his was selling for $50—garishly aqua, it was the size of an ocean liner and had huge fins. We took it out for a cruise,...
WHERE THERE’S SMOKE
With a dawning hopefulness—imagining I was finally embarking on my real life path—I checked out various commercial art schools in L.A. but couldn’t afford the tuition, so I decided to study art at Long Beach State instead. I settled in Sunset Beach, a tiny town south...
PANIC
Perhaps I should mention that, by this time in my life, my social anxiety disorder had reached such a pitch that I only felt completely at ease with Ella, my boyfriends, and children. When I knew a guy liked me, I was able to be myself, but with other adults I’d...
PRIMAL SCREAM
While I was still a stewardess I dated a cute guy, Jim, who was in dental school and sang in a barbershop quartet. If this style of singing sounds old-fashioned, his group was anything but, their harmonies electrifying. But the truth was I was more attracted to his...