“I Like Sex”

When the trash truck rear-ended my car while I was stopped at an intersection, I should have suspended all dating plans for fear of what comes next. Not a real woo-woo girl in general, I still take note of full moons, that damn Mercury in retrograde and the resulting whiplash that happens when an 8,000-pound vehicle slams into my bumper. Days before, my dermatologist cut into my left cheek (the one on my face) and sliced away a basal cell carcinoma, leaving about an inch-long line of black stitches crawling... Read More

Partner Wanted

When I turned 60, I hoped for a river cruise down the Seine as a gift. But instead, I discovered that my husband, the one who never looked at another woman in my presence, was leading a secret life. After filing for divorce, I took a leap and landed 1,700 miles across the country to start my life over in Palm Springs. My next leap? Dating in a digital world. I soon match with a widower who was moving into a new house along with his young adult son. “He’s... Read More

Anticipation

It’s the one place I come to find clarity. Within a few blocks of my Palm Springs neighborhood, I leave the pavement and stride up a tan path that's tamped down to dust by runners, bikers, dogs and a few horses. I head east about a mile in one direction. To my right, there’s a steep slope down to a ravine that locals call “the wash.” The rare inch or two of rain we get here can transform this divot that’s situated between my elevated path and the mountains into... Read More