My Articles:
Micky Dolenz and Midnight Rides
Fresh material from a former Writing Mama, Cynthia Rovero.
My tumultuous years as a teenager attending Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley were full of secret experiences too shameful to share with family members. This includes remaining as tight lipped as my conscience allows with my children too. I sometimes find myself hinting at my past with tip-of-the-iceberg secret stories from that shady time of my life.
One such episode began like this: at the age of 14, while walking home from high school, a beautiful African American lady, about five years older than me, pulled up beside me in a blue mustang to offer me a ride. I hopped in and embarked on some wild adventures with Chantrelle, my randomly found new friend. Continue… »
“West Side Story” still rings true in modern life and love
It’s family time again. We have planned a day to see “West Side Story.” We make a quick stop first at the Carl’s Junior on Market Street where signs of poverty are harsh reminders of how far society needs to come to encompass those who struggle to survive.
My family: David, Alicia, Dante and I arrive at the Orpheum Theater for a time capsule-like experience set in the fifties, a time we baby boomers were born into. The scenes in “West Side Story” that depict the cultural divide between the Puerto Ricans and Irish could easily mirror the hot topic of today, illegal immigration.
A part of me feels embarrassed by this underhanded way of sharing the negative stereotypes within a love story. Yet, as a historical musical, I feel the actors bring to life so much more than a lecture. Continue… »
Wild Man
Courtesy,www.castlegar.ca
My husband David loves fishing. I married a man whose Dad would drop him off with his rod, reel, and bait at a fishing spot in Greenbrae and not come back to get him for a few hours. David spends a good part of our summers plotting his next fishing trip. He will search for the perfect fly, make dates with experienced guides, e-mail back and forth to his fishing buddy, and more, just to be able to cast his line in clean waters and catch and release rainbow trout.
Upon his return, I take in his fishing stories with all the interest I can muster as I love fish, but that is when I am eating them. I call him a “Wild Man” as he recounts hiking through treacherous brambles where fresh mountain lion droppings are evident on boulders nearby. Continue… »
Time Warp
In reading all the heartfelt and funny-in-a-stressed-out-way blogs of Mamas raising young children and teenagers, I find myself reminiscing of times gone by when I, too, shared many of the same everyday experiences.
Thinking of how I stretched my patience to the max trying to appease my young children’s wishes for entertaining their many friends, taking on new extracurricular classes and being at their beck and call day and night, leaves me to wonder where that never-ending patience is now. Continue… »
The Blind Date
I met my husband of 30 years on a blind date. David was 24 and a bartender at a chic Sausalito discotheque. I was 21.
As the night wore on, David repeatedly offered me tequila-laden margaritas. By closing time, I was in his arms and agreeing to join him at his swanky apartment in Sausalito for a game of cards.
The next morning, I woke to get dressed and kiss him goodbye. As I grabbed my purse to leave, he asked for my phone number and promised to call soon. Sure enough, he did. After a first date of pizza and a movie, we saw each other with more frequency. Before I knew it, our whirlwind romance had turned into a year-long engagement.
