A Little Smile & A Thank You..........

Thank you all so much for all the kind thoughts and prayers during this time of grief for me and my family.

I have-believe it or not- two stories (which I will combine)from the funeral that will hopefully bring a smile to you -as they did to us.

We had the funeral service- which was beautiful- and every one was understandably upset. The music did not help with easing the pain- the song selection was as follows...Amazing Grace,Long Black Train,Imagine...then the sermon, then two more songs.....Wind Beneath My Wings, and Angel by Sara McLaughlin.
After the sermon and music we were off to the cemetary. We were still upset- taking turns crying and trying to comfort each other when we weren't the one crying. Well, when we got to the cemetary the first family car veered off the road that led directly to the site and went towards the office. We waited about 10 minutes for them to finally come from the office. We laughed and said we bet someone had to go potty and how Daddy would have hated that. We told our Aunts who were with us that when we went on a trip with Daddy- as soon as the urge hit you had better say something, because it would be at least a hundred miles MORE before Daddy would actually pull over for us to go. NO JOKE.
Then we had the service at the gravesite- they had three Navy personel there- two to present the flag to Mom, and one to play Taps- which was hauntingly beautiful.
Then we all got back in the family cars and began the ride home. Suddenly the lead car pulled into a convenience store and two of the members in it rushed into the store. I commented that moms blood sugar must have dropped and they were getting her something to try and raise it til we got home(Mom is diabetic and that was exactly what had happened we learned later). But sitting in the parking lot I suddenly had a picture of Jeff Foxworthy in front of an audience saying......"You might be a redneck.... if you pull into the convenience store in the family car for a Pepsi and a candy-bar after a funeral".......

And we all laughed. And it felt good. And I think if Daddy was there he would have laughed at BOTH those things.

And now comes the hard part- Learning to live without him.

I remember

I Remember…

…I remember when my Dad would let me ‘ride’ on the steering wheel of the old truck we had when I was about 1 ½

…I remember when I thought the best thing ever was standing next to my Dad with my arm around his neck as he spun his tires in the sand driveway.

…I remember my Dad taking us to the Shell station on White Horse road and getting to choose any candy we wanted from the HUGE glass display case.

…I remember my Dad taking us camping in the Pisgah Forest in North Carolina and teaching me to fly-fish even though I was only 7 and a girl.

….I remember making my Dad fudge and him smiling as he took it and asking “And what do you want, now?” I also remember him taking the fudge to his office and locking it in his filing cabinet so he didn’t have to share and could enjoy it in peace and quiet.

…I remember my Dad teaching me to drive a manual transmission car. I remember him telling me that when you slow down to make a turn, you shift down. I remember trashing a transmission (trying to get home before curfew) when I shifted down to first gear and popped the clutch going 40mph because Dad assumed I was smart enough to realize you had to be going slow to do that. I also remember him not laughing at me while we towed the car home at 4am

…I remember Dad walking me down the aisle when I got married. He was trembling more than I was. Now I know why.

…I remember Dad helping me rebuild my car when it was totaled a few years back. I had just put close to $2000 in a motor for it the week before and couldn’t afford to buy a new one, even with the coverage from insurance.

…I remember Dad handing me his hanky when I cried from everything from breakups to bad grades to skinned knees.

…I remember Dad always seemed larger than life - He was always my Hero.

My Hero is gone.

Today my Dad passed away, losing an eight year battle with Cancer.

I will miss him dearly.

Suprise!!!

Just heard a bit of good news ........
My oldest son, Frank and his wife Marie are expecting again. Devon, their only child is almost five now.

I have already put in my order for a GRANDAUGHTER this time.

;-)

Just Call Me MASTER.

Smile.........

I don't know why I do it.


I changed long distance companies today. I'm not saying from which to which-But the one that called made me an offer I couldn't refuse this time. Now all that remains to be seen is if they hold up their end of the bargain. If not- then I will go back to the old company because I KNOW within a months time THEY will be calling me back saying WHY did you change?

And of course, me being me, I will tell them and then they will try and one-up the other company. And me being me- I will get the best deal I can and if it out-weighs the other company in service AND value- I will switch back.

The phone companies LOVE Paulius and me. When he was in England, my phone bills were monsterous-(400-600 a month)! I even got a Christmas card from the phone company. And I know not everyone got one of those because everyone in the neighborhood has the same company and NONE of them got one from the company.

That DID worry me a bit- but then no one else knew how much I was spending on my service either.

I know it's annoying- but it keeps the companies on their toes. And keeps my bills down because eveytime I switch I get a vital service free for at least a couple months. I have become a Master Negotiator.

So if we dissapear for a few days- assume that The new service has screwed the pooch and we will be back on as soon as I can contact the OLD company to restore my faith in them. Preferably with a couple months free service.
;-)

Anyone Have A Spare Chippendales Calendar?

Someone should give Mother Nature a calendar.

I mean, here it is the first day of Autumn- the end of September.......shouldn't we be having some color in the trees now? Shouldn't we be able to open the windows and doors in the evening without having to worry about inducing a heat stroke by doing so? Shouldn't we be NOT having to worry about being eaten alive by those pesky insects that summer gives such abundant life to?

I always SO look forward to Autumn every year. No Air conditioning needed- nor heat needed yet. Lower electric bills for a couple of months before the Holiday Season sets in. Just nice cool days and nice crisp nights just made for snuggling or curling up on the couch with a good book and a cup of hot coffe or tea.

But the past few years have seen a nasty trend of not really having a "transition" season. Nope- Summer goes directly into winter 90 degrees one day and 40 degrees the next.....no cool colorful days with leaf raking or crisp nights with a bonfire to sit around and tell ghost stories......... And the same at the end of winter....no spring with soft breezes and delicate greenery slowly blooming...Just cold one day- HOT the next.

No wonder we all stay so sick and funky feeling all the time. I can't breathe when it's hot. And I am awfully ill-tempered when it's all hot and sticky, too.

Is it wrong I have dreams of enjoying the cool weather a blizzard would bring?
We're all sitting in deck chairs around a huge snowman in the town square drinking huge mugs of coffee and tea and fanning ourselves while we talk about how wonderful it is to have a break from the heat.

I need a break. I hope cool weather comes soon.

Oh......
PS
To all the gamers out there.....Happy WINTEREENMAS!! It begins today!!

Yakitty-Yak.........

Sigh.....

Paulius says I talk too much. I didn't think so.
Right now I might talk more than usual- but that's only because I'm All Jacked Up on cold medicine because i have a horrible head cold I picked up at work last week.

(Working at the hospital does have it's MAJOR drawbacks. I can't think of a better place for breeding germs. And all those little boogers seem to gravitate towards me.
You would think that being in dispatch- in the dungeon away from everyone- I would be relatively safe from most of those germs- NOT. You see- all the other officers are in the rest of the hospital and are breathing the air and touching all manner of things and then they come down and touch the doorknobs and the faucett handles and pens and the radios and such. Also we get paperwork from the nursing co-ordinators and they are up on the floors handling all the germy things as well. As are the police officers who come down and hand us their paperwork to initial. And housekeeping who supposedly come down to "clean".

Whatever.... if they SAY so..........

Anyway- I wanted Paulius to do me a favor tonight- I didn't wanna do it because mainly I am off work tonight and not feeling well and couldn't be bothered- and he told me that he would GLADLY do the favor for me if I promised to not say a word for 10 whole minutes.
"No problem" I said.

Turns out it was a bigger problem than I thought it would be. I actually had to put my finger over my lips because I almost talked several times during the first MINUTE!

I got thinking about it- I talk for a living. I talk for pleasure. I talk just to be annoying.
I can seriously talk nonstop for hours. About nothing- Or about any subject I'm seriously interested in- Like Christmas/Holiday Decorating. Or re-arranging furniture. Or cooking.

But I do have my quiet times too. I can sit for hours and read quietly- or listen to music- or watch TV- altho that still sort of involves talking- them not me(altho I DO sometimes comment to the characters if they are doing or saying something I am in agreement or disagreement about).
I only have a problem with talking if there is someone in the room I like and want to interact with. And Paulius is one person I will never get tired of interacting with. For literally YEARS we could only e-mail, regular mail- or talk on the phone for an hour a day- if that- and I think he is one of the most interesting people I have ever met.
So, in essence, what I'm saying is ..........





It's HIS fault I talk so much.

ALL

HIS

FAULT.

Decisions- decisions.............

Fade to .....Sunny sitting on floor of store holding two cards in her hands. Confused but analytical look on her face as she looks from one to the other- and back again.
Store manager walking to Sunny and putting hand on her shoulder."Ma'm?- The store is closing now- I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave. "
Sunny looks confused as she stands and puts the cards back on the rack.
"I can come back tommorrow?" She asks the manager as he leads her to the door?
"Yes, you can!" the manager replies as he reaches to hold the door open for her. "We open at 9AM- Have a good night, now."
Sunny stands a moment, turns and starts to walk away. Then she stops suddenly and hurries back to the door pulling on it and rattling the bells attatched to the inside.
"WAIT!" she cries. "What if someone buys those cards before I get back? I'll have to find other cards. I want THOSE cards!"
The manager , horrified, realizes she is right. He returns hurriedly to the rack, picks up the cards, takes a five from his pocket and drops it in the register.
Then he walks to the door as slides them thru the crack at the bottom.
"Here you go ma'm- Have a nice night."
He turns and walks away leaving Sunny standing in the glow of the streetlight to ponder which stamps would best suit the cards she held in her hands.



Disturbing-Yes?