No one has asked me out in nine months. I met the last guy on Amtrak on my way home to Philadelphia after getting a haircut and splash of color in New York. The man was attractive and smart, but married. I turned him down flat. I didn’t look back when we parted at the 30th Street Station. No one has approached me since. And at the age of 64 and a widow, I am not looking. ...more

In high school, I briefly dated a girl who liked me a lot but couldn’t stand that I was always late to meet her. Whether it was going out to dinner or a movie, I would always show up late and she would always get mad. One time we were supposed to meet at South Ferry to go the Statue of Liberty. I was late. She took the rest of the afternoon to plot her revenge. On some pretense she managed to get me to give her all my money, then she escaped on the subway leaving me at the very southern tip of Manhattan. I walked for a long time then snuck onto the subway at 34th Street. ...more

Xiao Bien and Da Bien
Pet ownership comes with responsibility. There is one obligation that my wife, daughter, and relatives all shun. They run the other way. That duty is to pick up and clean up after Toby meets his sanitary requirements: pees and poops, performs #1 and #2, does xiao bien and da bien (Chinese)—i.e., does his business. ...more

I had this dream that I was dreaming. This dream-within-a-dream goes like this: ...more