Sallie H. Weissinger - Yes, Again: (Mis)adventures of a Wishful Thinker

Sallie Weissinger celebrates her seventy-fifth birthday in Yes, Again by taking the reader on a tour of her big heart and where that heart has taken her. This glorious story of a life lived in love is the perfect read because its hilarious, honest, and full of hope. We are all lovers, or we wish we were, and Sallie shows us how: never give up, occasionally give in, and dont stop believing. Brava!

Adriana Trigiani, best-selling author of Tonys Wife

After reading Sallies soulful book, I would have to say this gifted writer got the love she wanted the old-fashioned way... she earned it!

Lacy J. Dalton, singer and songwriter

This captivating memoir of not giving up through profound losses and leaning into the promise of good things to come swelled my heart. With a chuckle and grit, Weissinger writes of her risky quest to find a new life and partner to love. Her vast and interesting life experiences make for intriguing reading. Pick up this book and see how she finds joy and delight!

Marilee Eaves, author of Singing Out Loud

Copyright 2021, Sallie Weissinger

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, digital scanning, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please address She Writes Press.

Published 2021

Printed in the United States of America

Print ISBN: 978-1-64742-315-5

E-ISBN: 978-1-64742-316-2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021910754

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Berkeley, CA 94707

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Names and identifying characteristics have been changed to protect the privacy of certain individuals.

Excerpt from Head, Heart from THE COLLECTED STORIES OF LYDIA DAVIS by Lydia Davis. Copyright 2009 by Lydia Davis. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux. All Rights Reserved

Excerpt from The Collected Stories of Lydia Davis published by Hamish Hamilton. The Collected Stories of Copyright Lydia Davis 2009, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux 2009, Hamish Hamilton 2010, Penguin Books 2011. Reprinted by permission of Penguin Books Limited.

The Nearness Of You

from the Paramount Picture ROMANCE IN THE DARK Words by Ned Washington

Music by Hoagy Carmichael

Copyright 1937, 1940 Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Copyright Renewed

All Rights Administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street, Suite 1200,

Nashville, TN 37219

International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved

Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard LLC

Me And Bobby McGee

Words and Music by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster

Copyright 1968 Combine Music Corp.

Copyright Renewed

All Rights Administered by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, 424 Church Street, Suite 1200,

Nashville, TN 37219

International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved

Reprinted by Permission of Hal Leonard LLC

To Bart,
who never met a lemon he didnt like

(Sam Cooke version)

F or the record, Ive never considered myself middle-aged. I didnt even think getting older was a possibility until the AARP publications started arriving. Little did I know they would arrive so soon and in such quantity that it would make it difficult to open or close my mailbox. Some people think AARP notifications are a sign one is approaching senior-hood, but I wont call myself a senior until I stop dancing to Johnny B. Goode and Great Balls of Fire as I did when I was fifteen with hips swiveling and booty shaking. And I wont stop dancing while theres the music of Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis to swivel and shake to.

Even at seventy-two, I still felt youngish. Id been lonely for a long time, having lost my husband to esophageal cancer when I was fifty-seven, and I wanted to start looking for someone. But what was I looking for? Husband, companion, buddy?

I once read that people yearn for three things in life: work they love, a person to love, and something to look forward to. Its a paraphrase of a quote by Tom Bodett, an American author, voice actor, and radio host whos appeared on NPRs All Things Considered and Wait Wait Dont Tell Me. That quote seemed particularly relevant to my situation at the time. I had found work I loved; now retired, my regimen of rich social activities, coursework, and volunteer work had replaced the professional satisfaction I experienced during the years I, briefcase in hand, caught the 5:52 a.m. BART into San Francisco five days a week. I felt good about my progress in Bodetts #1 work category. But #2, someone to love, had not materialized, and that had a definite effect on #3, something to look forward to.

I had used social media before to meet potential matches, but that was back when social media meant newspapers and magazines. In 1978, I had no time to meet a man. I was divorced and barely managing to raise an eight-year-old daughter, Heather. Even with a masters in Spanish and French Literature and seven years of experience, Id been unable to find a high school or community college teaching job. So Id worked at a stock brokerage, an audio visual rental company, and, worst of all, as a bilingual secretary at an elegantly appointed European bank, where my German boss would call me into his office when I finished typing a letter and hold it up to the light, examining the sheet of paper carefully to see if Id used Correcto-Type to cover up a typo. I never did, but I would have if Id thought it would have escaped his eagle eye. Once, he revealed his Nazi leanings when he confided to me, Frulein Weissinger, we know Hitler was right, ja? Another time he chased me around the desk in his closed office, rubbing both hands on my breasts. I ran out of his office and sat at my desk, sobbing, knowing I had to quit. But I couldnt support Heather if I did. I started looking for another job.

Fortunately, I landed a position as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for an insurance company, with a client load of twenty to twenty-five industrial workers injured on the job, scattered over the 180 miles from Salinas to Sacramento. Hired because I was fluent in Spanish, my mandate was to help my clients get back to work. This job was a godsend.

In addition to a healthier and more challenging work environment, the new job provided increased income, although every month I worried about billing enough hours to cover the rent, food, and Heathers education and extended day care. But the job gave me the opportunity to speak the language I had worked hard to master; the field was challenging, most of my clients were motivated, and I was my own boss. It also gave me more time to be with my daughter. Sometimes I could spend whole afternoons with her; then, after she went to bed, Id sit at the kitchen table, writing reports in those pre-home computer days. Attempting to be a full-time breadwinner and mother was a juggling act, but it was getting easier. What it didnt leave time for, however, was finding a life partner and soul mate.