Oh, My Word!

untitled

2009-04-08T12:59:00.000-07:00

Here it is April 8th and it snowed a bit today. Normally, this would really have my nutz in a twist, but I had a “clean–out” surgery done on my ankle last Thursday, and am laying low with a non-weight bearing cast, navigating the rooms of my house with a walker. SSHHH, not really, I have put weight on it. Coincidentally, this surgery came almost 4 years to the day I broke my ankle, making this surgery a necessity. Most of what the doctor took out was scar tissue from the 1st surgery, as for whether or not this surgery will cause more scar tissue….good question. So, I have 10 days off from life before I can resume normal function. I forgot just how much it sucked to be in a cast and using a walker. It’s kinda like riding a bike though. You don’t forget how to do it. The doctor says I should be in less pain and I’m hoping that it will improve my mobility some. There are certain motions of the ankle I’ve never been able to do since I first broke it, leaving me with no balance with my right foot and the inability to flex my foot in directions necessary to walk down steps normally, get myself off the floor (or ground) without grabbing onto something. What I miss most is getting down on my hands and knees and gardening. Somehow, digging a hole with a shovel and dropping a tomato plant in from a standing position just isn’t my idea of getting my hands dirty!
Here, I was feeling a bit like Wonderwoman, having survived brain surgery and a month of madness caused by brain swelling, but nonetheless, I will pamper myself until healed, for what I now consider to be a minor matter, all things considered.
I had an MRA not too long ago, and the other aneurysm I have is still small and unchanged since Fall of 2007. My neurologist says I may likely go to my grave with it, not from it, and it only needs to be looked at yearly.
So, all in all life is good. I think I am “doctored-out”, as is our budget, since the cost of COBRA is astronomical. Hopefully, I can drop that after this month and think of something fun to do with the money.

My Brain and Other Matters

2009-01-22T05:36:00.001-08:00

I went to my neurosurgeon last week, to discuss what to do next in tracking the other aneurysm I have. My doctor is so cheery, I hate it. It's still bothering me what went down after my surgery last July.

For those of you who don't know the story or have forgotten, let me rewind to six months ago.

July 28^th I went into the hospital to have surgery for an unruptured aneursym. The surgery went well, and I was discharged in three days. Really, I felt pretty good and my doctor (Dr. Lee) wanted me to recover at home and away from all the cooties that creep the hospital halls. Home, I spent most of my time in bed, taking my meds and sleeping a lot. Ten days after the surgery, and two days after I stopped taking an anti-swelling drug, things went drastically wrong.

The first thing I noticed was my inability to understand what medications to take and when. I had been handing this task all week with a schedule I made and suddenly it was total confusion to me. There were times when I couldn't speak and times I would talk, but would either make up words or simply not make sense. I cried for no reason. There was no pain or emotion, which drove me to cry, I just did, uncontrollably.

So, back to the hospital I went. Things got worse, before I even started getting better. I spent two days in ICU, six more in a regular room. During that time, I hallucinated, lost all concept of time, and had the most bizarre thoughts I've ever had in my life. At one point I thought that I was dead, and concluded that it wasn't too bad because I got to see my family. I became paranoid and thought I was never going to be discharged. I tried to escape from the hospital twice and even assaulted a security guard with a wheelchair.

After my stay at that hospital, I spent 2 more weeks at a brain trauma unit in another hospital.

Where was Doctor Lee through this all? He said he came to see me twice, neither of which time I remember. He didn't get on board as my physician; I was handed over to a general practitioner I didn't even know. The GP concludes all this was caused by a mini stroke and when I go for my follow-up visit to Dr. Lee, he concludes the mini stroke had nothing to do with the brain surgery. Mini stokes don't show up on MRI's. I never thought I had one, and that was confirmed by my neurologist, who actually listened to what I had gone through.

Last time I saw Dr. Lee, he did a bit of back pedaling. He claimed 'mini stroke' was a very broad term, so broad that it included brain swelling? He didn't really say.

I feel like this guy hung me out to dry.

16

2009-01-10T15:05:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow's my birthday, but more important, tonight my family and I are going to a "Sweet 16 Party", for one of my daughter's best friend. My daughter has been to several in the past year, this will be my first since I was, well, about 16.

These parties range from regular teen type parties, to almost wedding- like receptions. Tonight's is the latter. The party, I understand has about 140 guests. It will be a sit-down dinner, I believe. The birthday girl is wearing a pink gown that looks much like the dress my niece wore at her wedding. There is a court, similar to bridesmaids, who must wear a dress the color that Miss Sweet 16 requested, in this case, silver. My daughter is a part of the court. There will be a ceremony of 16 candles, one candle for a special person, in the life of the birthday girl. I am one of those candles, so is my son and daughter.

To what do we owe all this "ado"? Is being 16, as opposed to 15 or 17, so much more special? As far as I know, this has nothing to do with never being kissed, or the virtue of the honoree.

If anyone knows what these parties are all about and why they have become popular again, since when…the 60's? Let me know.

The Not So Merry Christmas

2008-12-30T15:33:00.000-08:00

Christmas was celebrated Christmas Eve at my house this year, and though gift giving was at an all time low, it really didn't matter. Instead we splurged on good food and just enjoyed each others company.
On Christmas day, my mother had a stroke, and was transported to the hospital in an ambulance. She spent all of Christmas day in the ER.
I had bought my son a gym membership for a gift and he went to workout the day after Christmas. After doing 20 minutes on a bike and some other exercise, he got pains in his chest, got a drink of water and went to sit down. The next thing he knew, he was surrounded by people and he was on the floor. He had passed out. I took him to the ER after a friend drove him home. He did 12 hours in the ER and was admitted for tests.
Mind you, I didn't take him to the same hospital my mother was in.
Some of you know I was in Florida the 13th to the 21st of this month. I was down there, because my friend was having surgery and I went to help her out.
Happily, I can report, my son is home and well, after 3 days in the hospital ( I guess we'll never know what happened to him), my mother is still in the hospital, now in rehab, and looks to have no deficits from the stroke. As for my friend in Florida (Hi, Donna, if you're reading this) she's recovering.

Let's make 2008 a wrap!

Oh, and Donna....go lay down.

Makin’ a List…

2008-12-08T16:35:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, I'm leaving for 8 days in Tampa, Florida. So, the list you had in mind is probably wrong. This is going to be a husband, and kid free visit to a friend's house. Oh, she's the one pictured with me in the headstone photo below. I have to dig out my summer clothes, which barely saw the light of day, or dark of night, since I spent all of August in a hospital gown. Yes, I'll be carrying my Craniums with Titanium card and Wensday, I have an appointment with my ankle doctor to get a letter regarding the chunks of metal in my ankle. I just saw Harold and Kumar, Escape from Guantanamo Bay the other night, and I don't want any trouble with security at the airport.

On to other matters. Here's a few recipes for the holidays.

German Potato Salad

You can do this all the day before and then pop it in the oven about 35 minutes before dinner.

1-5lb. bag Eastern potatoes, boiled with skins on.

In a skillet fry 1 lb of sliced bacon cut into squares. Leave at least half the fat drippings. Just before the bacon gets crispy, add chopped onion and thinly sliced celery. Sorry, no measurements Julie, wing it!

Add 4 tbls. Sugar

2 tbls. Flour

1 cup of water

½ cup vinegar

Depending on your taste you might like more vinegar or more sugar.

Have your potatoes, peeled and sliced, cubed if you like, in a 9x13 Pyrex pan. Salt and pepper the taters, pour the sauce over the top and mix it so the taters get coated.

Throw it in the fridge covered with foil. It's ready to bake.

Here's another recipe:

Apple Salad

8 apples, 4 Delicious, 4 Granny Smith, peeled, cored and cut in cubes

Red seedless grapes, cut in half

Chopped celery

Chopped walnuts (if you like)

Throw it all in a bowl and lightly coat it with sour cream and honey. It may look dry at first, but the juices come out of the apples. Give it time to groove together.

The Devil Made Us Do It

2008-12-05T08:08:00.001-08:00

My friend Donna and I visited the grave of a friend, while she was here in New Jersey, over the Thanksgiving holiday. Jimmy's last wishes came easy. N'yuk, n'yuk.

Something Old, Something New

2008-11-26T16:05:00.001-08:00

No, no, no, not wedding talk. The something old is the computer I'm using. I started having trouble with my PC awhile back and well, the more I tried to fix it, the worst it got. So, I'm using this ancient DELL, that we got for free, not only does it not have a sound card, it doesn't even have jacks for speakers. I guess it's a PC from the silent era. But, it does work!

As for the new, I'm writing my entry on Microsoft Word, which somehow magically is going to publish this entry on Blogger for me. If it doesn't work, somehow I do believe that will be my fault. I don't know if this is a new feature with Microsoft Home and Student 2007, which I bought about a year ago for $127…, I see now, the price has gone down for it, considerably.

I'm having Turkey Day at my house and just got done making my stuffing and German Potato Salad (to die for). I hope all of you have a nice day with your friends and family. Seems a few times this week, I've seen things on TV about how holidays make all hell break loose with family rivalries and hatchets that never get buried. I'm fortunate to say that isn't the case with my family, and considering there are four girls, I think that's pretty damn good.

On the contrary, my sisters showed me just how much I meant to them this year. Sometimes, there's not much more you can do for someone then to hold their hand, and my hand was held by one sister or another, on more then one occasion this past summer, when things weren't quite going my way.

So, Happy Thanksgiving to you all.

-Tee

Never Leave Home Without It

2008-10-30T10:16:00.000-07:00

Three months ago today, a nurse sat on the edge of my hospital bed beside me, going over my discharge orders and explaining my medications. She handed me a card and told me to get it laminated and keep it in my wallet next to my drivers license. I was now a member of an elite group, Craniums With Titanium.

Most people, hear the phase "clipped aneurysm" and think it means clip, as in cut. No, it's not clip, the verb, it's clip the noun. Here's what it looks like.

I'm not really sure what the purpose of carrying this card around is.Will the clip set off a metal detector? I don't know.Will it somehow become magnetic, and leave me to live out my days holding a pizza parlor menu to our refrigerator? Or, maybe the company that made it, just likes to brag about it's fine German engineering. Hey, maybe I can speak German now, it is in the speech part of my brain,

The worst I can think of is a recall on that little sucker. The thought of it failing, would dim a recall of my Ford Explorer brakes to the urgency of a faulty cup holder. Perhaps the neurosurgeon might have my head repossessed because my insurance company didn't pay up.
If this card ever does anything other then sit at the bottom of my purse like an old Walmart receipt. I'll let you know.

Morning Treat

2008-10-30T10:07:00.001-07:00

Today, I'm treating myself to coffee, with caffeine. It's been almost a year now since I gave up my morning ritual of two cups. It wasn't a big deal. Thankfully, decaffeinated coffee, tea and Coke taste no different to me than the real thing.

But, desperate times, call for desperate measures. I'm on Chantix again. You know, the drug that helps you to quit smoking? Although I fell off the wagon, so to speak, Chantix did work for me. I was smoke free for seven months, a feat I'm quite sure I couldn't accomplish without it.

The past two days are the first days I have to take a tablet in the morning and one at night, so my sleep is getting a bit off schedule, and I've found myself crawling back into bed and sleeping until noon.

So. I'm using one old bad habit to get me through giving up another.

To anyone, who's never been addicted to nicotine, thinks smoking is dirty and disgusting and can't figure out for the life of them why anyone would do something so harmful to themselves, doesn't get that smokers can't picture everyday life without cigarettes.

tosomeonewhosmokescigarettesarelikepuncuationinasentenceacigarettesislikeacapitalletteratthe beginningofasentencethatsignalsthebeginningofataskandtheperiodattheendthatbringsittoaconclusiontakinga buttbreakisacommajustapausefromthetaskathandanyonewhossmokedforalongtimehasahardtimepicturinglife withoutthem

Chantix worked so well for me for those seven months, I never thought for a second, that I would have the urge to smoke again. Although I sometimes thought about smoking, I wouldn't call it an urge to have one. It didn't even bother me to be around people who were smoking. Life without smoking still had capitals,commas and periods, although I did add some grapes and pieces of chocolate.

And then one day, the urge came back, so unexpected, I wasn't prepared to fight it on my own, because I never thought I'd have to. First, it was just one, then for a week, then a month. Then a trip to the doctor for another prescription.

Hopefully, the second time will be a charm, if not, the third.

2008-10-24T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hello Folkses,

This is my first entry at Blogger As you can see, I haven't decorated my new pad yet, and I'm having trouble with the electric. The problem is I can't get my computer onto secure sites. I'm on my son's laptop right now. I've surfed the web and visited lots of techie sites for advice and nothing seems to work.
Thank you Dan, for being my first follower and for helping me move. I was going to let AOL disappear it, but my daughter didn't want that to happen. Can we watch our old blogs vanish at the stroke of midnight, October 31st?

I have no idea how to use Blogger or Mozilla that's why there are no links or graphics in this entry. I'm not that boring . Just give me the time to get the hang of this.
Starting the 1st week in November, I'll be watching my nieces daughter twice a week, who was born August 17th, 5 weeks premature. She's a pretty mellow baby, so I expect to spend some time blogging more.
So, next time I come on here, I will probably share with you some of the weird ass shit that I saw and did when my brain swelled after my surgery for an aneurysm. I should probably call this blog 'Wisdom of a Swollen Brain", but that would kinda be a rip-off.

later Taters

SMILE!

2007-05-31T04:37:00.000-07:00

I was just reading Tina's blog and was reading about her ex having a cyst in the roof of his mouth. (Tina, it probably a herpes sore. HA!) Anyway, that segways me into sharing with you, my daughter's bizarro full mouth x-ray, she had taken at the orthodontist, to see why two of her baby teeth weren't falling out.

See the tooth laying in her chin? The root is on the left, top on the right. That's an adult tooth and the likelihood of an orthodontist moving this tooth to where it belongs is about nil. Even the oral surgeon we were sent to didn't recommend removing it because he'd have to cut into her jawbone to get it out.

The oral surgeon said that these wayward teeth, which can be pretty much anywhere in your face...in your nose or even by your eye, sometimes do grow cysts and the cyst will, in time, eat away at the jawbone. Most of the time there are no symptoms that this is even happening. So, she has to have one of these x-rays every year until she's 21 (she is now 14) to monitor the tooth. So, if your kid isn't losing their baby teeth, it's worth having it checked out.

Weekend Assignment #167: You watched some bad TV as a kid. Tell us your favorites

2007-05-28T02:56:00.000-07:00

I decided to rise to the occasion and partake in this weeks assignment: Chee Zee Tee Vee, that I watched as a kid. What came to mind first, was a show called My Mother, The Car.

Actor Jerry Van Dyke, brother of the beloved Dick Van Dyke, turns down an offer to play the part of Gilligan, of Gillgan's Island fame to play attorney, Dave Crabtree on a show called My Mother, The Car, that ran 30 episodes from September 1965 to September 1966.

The Premise: Family man Dave Crabtree, while out shopping for a station wagon as a second car, is taken by a 1928 Porter, which he purchases instead, to find his deceased mother ( voice of actress Ann Southern) speaks to him through the car radio.Wait a minute...did cars have radio's in 1928?
Just like Mr. Ed, the talking horse, and owner Wilbur Post, the car only speaks to Dave Crabtree. The show was meant for an adult audience, but critics panned it. Kids loved it!

Van Dykes career was pretty much down the pooper after that, until he won was nominated for Emmy's four consecutive years, 1990, '91, '92 and '93 for his role a Craig T. Nelson's sidekick on the series Coach.

In 2002, TV Guide named My Mother, The Car as the second worse TV show (ever), second to Jerry Springer.

I have to give a shout-out to two other shows from the 60's:

The Second Hundred Years: Luke Carpenter, gold rush miner gets buried in an avalanche in Alaska in the year 1900. He thaws out 67 years later. Cryogenics folks. He is preserved at the age of 33, and goes to live with his son and grandson. The grandson is 33 years old and played by the same actor as his grandfather. 26 episodes.

It's About Time: Two astronauts travel back to prehistoric times and live with a caveman and his family. The premise of the show pretty well sucks, so the plot is reversed. The astronauts take the caveman and his family to modern times, 1967, that is. 26 episodes as well. Will it work the second time around? You know, the Geico caveman?

Anyone else see these shows? Or was I the only one watching?

It Might Just Float Away

2007-04-17T08:07:00.000-07:00

A photo I clipped from one of my daughter's friends Myspace:

A hot tub sits in the middle of River Road (which is a road, not a river) after this weekends nor 'easter.

N.J. will be OK

2007-04-13T16:50:00.000-07:00

Last night New Jersey Governor, Tom Corazine suffered critical injuries from a car accident on the New Jersey Turnpike, en route to his home in Princeton. His recovery is expected to take anywhere from 3 to 6 months. So, just who will be in charge during his absence?

Starting Monday, New Jersey will be governed by fill-ins. Here are just a few of the many capable men who have volunteered their time to keep N.J. up and running...

WEEK ONE: Howie Mandel

Host of TV games show Deal or No Deal, and germaphobe, Howie will say NO DEAL to street drug traffic, and clean up our beaches.

WEEK TWO: Neil Patrick Harris

Yes, Doogie is all grown up now. Plus he starred in Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle, which was set in the Garden State. Suit-up Neil, and head for Drumthwackett.

WEEK THREE: Pat Sayjak

After Sceighty-eight million years of hosting Wheel of Fortune, Pat will teach K-3 Language Arts from Trump Casino in Atlantic City and raise the states GPA.

WEEK FOUR: Mark Consuelos

He married a Jersey girl...good 'nuf.

Hell, if all these guys are good enough to fill in for Regis, they're good enough for NJ! When is Letterman going to show his face? Isn't all American currency engraved with 'In Dave We Trust"?

Silence Imus

2007-04-11T14:20:00.000-07:00

<ALIGN=CENTER>I was laying in bed this morning watching the coach of the Rutgers Basketball team on TV and heard her say she wished that this situation (the racist and sexist remarks made by radio personality Don Imus) could be turned around to something positive. Yes, I think it can.

I am not a listener of talk radio. I do think what he said was racist. As I woman, I am offended that he called these accomplished athletes "hos". I am a 17 years resident of the town of Piscataway, N.J., the home of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. Although I am not a sports fanatic, I share in the excitement and pride that these woman have bought to my community.

So, what do we do with this situation to make something good of it. I say, fire him. Oh wait, this is America, land of freedom of speech. I believe in that, too. Where do we draw the line? Imus is nothing but an employee, and he got paid for debasing the character of a group of woman he knows nothing about personally. That's where I draw the line. Take any non celebrity employee working in a typical office and I bet he'd be sent packing for comments like that. It wouldn't even be debatable.

Imus has been a radio personality for 40 years. His so-called good past behavior is being used as a reason to keep him on. After 40 years in broadcasting you'd think he would have a really good idea what people find offensive. Obviously, he has no idea. He claims his words were said in jest. Well, comedy often walks a fine line between funny and hurtful, and by now, he should know know the difference.

I'm glad to see his advertising sponsors pulling the plug on their radio spots and take a stand on this. My guess is, his listener/viewership has gone up because of all this, at least temporarily, and I hope this situation isn't dictated by the almighty dollar. MSNBC and their sponsors should put their foot down and make an example of Don Imus. In short, don't employ and pay people who use the public air waves to perpetuate hate and negative stereotypes. Let Don Imus be the first who doesn't get away with a slap on the wrist or a trip to a rehab. That's all bullshit anyway.

Why not start with him, and see if we can get more of these people on the unemployment line behind him...including some rappers. Let Imus say what he wants and exercise his free speech on his own time.

Yes, it's time to say "I won't tolerate this any more." And this is the good that can come out of this very sad situation.

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Such Great Heights

2007-02-22T03:28:00.000-08:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Such Great Heights :

I'm down there somewhere. Unless I have a sizable amount of metal around me, I prefer to have my feet planted firmly on the ground. This is Cancun. Well, part of it, photographed by my husband while he parasails. Men should know that the same guys who help them into the harness, are hitting on your wife/girlfriend while you're up in the sky.

I thought I'd add another picture to this entry just to give you an idea of just how high these things go...

There's a boat down there somewhere.

I'm 10 for 10

2007-02-13T10:19:00.000-08:00

Can you judge someone by looking at them? ....<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

BY LOOKING AT A PICTURE OF A PERSON, YOU HAVE TO DECIDE IF HE IS A COMPUTER GEEK OR A SERIAL KILLER. GO WITH YOUR GUT FEELING AND CLICK ON YOUR CHOICE.

THERE ARE 10 PHOTOS. YOUR SCORE WILL BE GIVEN AT THE END. BE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR SCORE IN my comments.

Click here at link below :

www.malevole.com/mv/misc/killerquiz

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Let There Be Light

2007-02-01T06:41:00.000-08:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Let There Be Light : Ah, a butterfly.

It reminds me of a summer night back in 1968...

Weekend Assignment #149: Ill-Advised Teenage Fashions

2007-01-26T07:38:00.000-08:00

Scalzi asks:
Weekend Assignment #149: Reveal Your Teenage Fashion Disasters! Yes, whether it's big hair, Nehru jackets, acid-washed jeans or an ill-advised tattoo, let us know what about your style as a teenager you would change today.

Just how hot were your HOT PANTS?

Mine were so hot, you couldn't even see them!

There I am. I think this picture was taken when I was about 13. My family was on a day trip to Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. Oh, that's my sister in the background with the tie-dye shirt. I remember there were a lot of Amish at Longwood that day and that I was being stared at. It didn't really dawn on me that I appeared to be pantless.

I always get a good laugh when I look at old pictures of myself and my sisters, because we all had the skinniest legs. I could die when I see a photo of myself in a mini skirt, particularly if I was wearing chunky shoes because it just added to the problem. Hey, I thought I looked good, ok? It's far more important as a teen, to wear what's 'in' then to wear what looks good on you.

And my legs are still skinny, just not THAT skinny.

The Flip

My hair-do for special occasion, the flip. This photo was taken before my Confirmation ceremony. Could it be I thought I might have to fly up directly to God to be confirmed? Or since Confirmation is becoming "a soldier in the Army of Christ", I'd need some sort of weapon. I think I could take someone's eye out with my hair.

This hair-do took the supreme sacrifice of a good nights sleep. Lemme tell you youngsters, sleeping in curlers is a bitch. My two older sisters curled their hair every night and they also had to endure my mom's Toni home perms. It made me feel grown up to have my hair curled, but I'm thankful that by the time I was older, perms and curls were out of style.

yo, it's my mom's birthday.

2007-01-10T16:30:00.000-08:00

There mom. Look at that S E X Y B E A S T. yum yum yum. Ok, so all of you internet bloggers, wish my mom a happy birthday tomarrow [1-11-07] because she was born on [1-11-57] making her 50! you know, 57 - 7 = 50, smart right? ok, so shes like really old. like really. i mean come on, thousands of years ago, most people didn't live past 19 now they are living past 110! I mean come on, the oldest woman in the world was 116. so my mom just has 56 years and 1 day more to go to beat her. Thats so cool. ok since i couldn't really get my mom anything [IM NOT A BAD DUAGHTHER, SHE JUST DIDNT TELL US WHAT SHE WANTED] I just post pictures of what i would have liked to get her. =D

1-Chocolate

2- A victorian house in Cape May

3-A pretty Cake

4- A pretty sports car

5- A new pair of hooker heals. my mom claims there her most conforable shoes.

I love my mommmmmmmmmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. thats why i think me and her should take a trip to NYC. and stay there for the weekend. please? =D

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOMMA

Weekend Assignment #146: I [Insert Personal Feeling Here] New York

2007-01-07T16:02:00.000-08:00

How old will I be when we go to the World's Fair?" I'd ask my mother. "Seven", she'd always say. I was about 4 when I starting asking. If you watch The King of Queens, you'll see Leah Remini and Kevin James tumbling in the grass in front of a large silver globe during the shows opening credits. That globe is called the Unisphere and was built for the 1964 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows, NY. This would be my 1st time to ride a train, and my 1st trip to New York. There, I saw Michelangelo’s Pieta and rode Disney's It's a Small World exhibit. I saw myself on television (black and white) thanks to RCA, and saw life in the future, in a rotating theater thanks to The General Electric Company.

;

Between trips with my mother and the Girls Scouts in my pre-teen years, I’d tour the United Nations, see St. Patrick’s Cathedral, go to the top of the Empire State Building, see a Christmas show at Radio City Music Hall, wait in line to be an audience member for a game show at NBC Studio's (never made it in) and visit the Museum of the City of New York. As a kid I had a crush onNY Mayor, John Lindsay.

At 16, I took my best friend out to lunch in NYC for her 14th birthday. Why? Because we knew we could get served liquor.. And we did. . Steak and Ale brought us all the Tequila Sunrises we asked for. Probably the wildest birthday I ever celebrated in New York was that of of a 100 year old lady...The Statue of Liberty.

Then there were concerts. My very first one was The Band at The Academy of Music. I've seen David Bowie at Radio City, Fleetwood Mac, Springsteen as an opening act for Seals and Crofts in Central Park, and again a few years later, playing Avery Fischer Hall as the headliner.

A high school trip tookme to my first Broadway play, Grease. I’ve stood on the very spot Rockefeller Center stands its Christmas tree, walked the streets as a harried commuter, seen Barbara Walters, MattLauer, Al Roker and Ann Curry.

Funny just last week, I took my nephew to see “Night at the Museum” and wonder if I had ever been to The Museum of Natural History.

Geographically speaking, I find it odd that NYC is a part of New York and not New Jersey. But, whatever it’s called, I can be on my way there, every 20 minutes by train or bus. I do sometimes get in a ‘New York state of mind’, so being able to get there on the spur of the moment suits me fine. New York is as exhausting as it is invigorating, and from the time your foot hits the pavement your body shifts into a mode unlike any other, and it can be hard to turn off even after you’ve left. First time visitors to NYC, especially people who have a preconceived idea of what it's like from watching television are in for a surprise. I had the pleasure of taking a chatroom friend from AOL, who lived outside Waco,Texas to New York City on her first visit and she thought she'd be walking into an episode of NYPD Blue. Of course, her notion of it was proven wrong.

So, yeah, I love New York, and the Yankees, too.

Ok, just for fun…

Two different guys took me out on dates in NY…

One was to see the Russian Circus and drinks at the Waldorf,

The other was a Yankee game and the San Genaro Festival in Little Italy.

Which date gave me a STD?

What happen to Sunday?

2007-01-07T04:28:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning and immediately sat up in bed and began to think of what to do with my day. This spring-like January weather has me feeling invigorated and I feel like jumping in the car with my kids and going someplace...anyplace.

I thought about going to New Hope, Pennsyvania or maybe Washington Crossing ( the Delaware River, that is). Other places ran through my mind and suddenly I realized that these places, were all the places I used to go as a kid with my family, on Sundays.

What ever did happen to Sundays?

I was raised Catholic, so Sunday started with church, followed by a 1 o'clock dinner and then a family oriented activity.Sometimes it would be a visit to relatives, sometimes the zoo, but the bottom line was, it was a family day and a day of rest.

I wondered if the fact that my family doesn't practice any religion, had anything to do with the demise of Sunday. Was it just us? Did Sunday go down the drain for most of us? Did stores being open on Sunday have anything to do with the death of Sunday being a family day? Did non-christian families treat Sunday's as a family day?

What's your take on this? What did you do on Sundays as a kid, and what do you do now with your own children? Is religion a driving force behind what you do on Sunday's. I look back on Sunday's with fond memories and suddenly feel like my kids are being ripped off of some very valuable family time. Is my family alone in this?

A Gal Named Gracie

2006-12-20T09:34:00.000-08:00

As I told you in my previous entry, I was recently in my home town with my camera. I couldn't resist going by the house of one of Metuchens most legendary citizens, Miss Gracie Knox.
To people of my age, Gracie has two things she is famous for. One is New Years Eve and the other is her love of the color pink.
Gracie's association with New Years Eve goes back to the early 60's I would guess, when she was probably about my age...her late 40's I would suppose. Some of you who are old enough to remember, might recall that before Dick Clark's Rockin' Eve, there was Guy Lombardo and his orchestra performing I believe from tHe Waldorf Astoria Ballroom in New York City to ring in the New Year. Gracie was always there.
So, at our house, every New Years Eve we would sit tight in front of the television, with our Cokes and chips, waiting to spot Gracie on the dance floor of the Waldorf. Gracie sightings were numerous. She was hard to miss with her dyed blonde hair and glitzy tiara, not to mention a good looking younger man as her escort for the evening.
New Years Day would bring more Gracie. Not on tv this time, but at church. The woman we had just watched on TV the night before would make her grand entrance, dressed in white patten leather go-go boots, a white fur coat and hand-muff and all would turn to face her as she walked up the aisle as though the Pope had just walked in.
Gracie's dancing days at the Waldof ended, when Guy stopped performing.
The last time I saw Gracie was about 14 years ago, in my grocery store. She was easy to recognize, still with her dyed blonde hair. I would guess she might be about 90 years old now, and I bet I would still recognize her today. To the generation younger then mine Gracie is known as The Pink Lady. She has even been written about in the magazine Weird New Jersey.
Here's Gracie's house:

And this is Gracie's side yard:

Honesty, I can't tell you what are Christmas decorations and what she leaves up all year. If you look, closely behind the carriage, you'll see her pink and white car.

Got anyone legendary in your town? No, I don't mean world famous people. Metuchen has them too, but they're just not as amusing.

You Can Go Home Again

2006-12-20T06:59:00.000-08:00

As usual my sister's and I decided not to exchange gift's again this year. A promise seldom kept, although I did want to give them something inexpensive, but meaningful. So, last week I grabbed my camera and headed to my home town of Metuchen to take some photo's of our childhood home, where we lived from 1952 to 1977 with hopes of photoshopping it back to the way it looked when we lived there.
I pulled up in my SUV across the street and saw someone through the window in an upstairs bedroom. I decided knocking on the door and asking permission to photograph the house would be best. I introduced myself and explained what I was doing and was invited in!
I can't tell you how neat it was to be back in my old house, after 30 years. I guess what strikes me is how little I absorbed what was different about it. It seems as though upon walking into the house my brain went on auto pilot looking for the familiar and attaching a memory to it. The things that were the same just seemed to jump out at me and just by looking at them I knew how they felt to the touch. and with the mere sight of each old thing came a flashback of my younger years. Looking at the stairway and banister to the upstairs I could feel what it felt like to slide down the steps on my butt, I still knew there were 13 steps...9 ,then a landing, then 4 more, and how we used to throw everyone's shoes up to the landing when cleaning up the living room.
I won't bore you with the whole story, let's just say memory is an amazing thing.

And so the house went from this...

to this...

I think they'll be pleased.

I just don't know...

2006-12-13T05:51:00.000-08:00

I normally don't sit down and write an entry on the fly, so to speak, but this one is just that. I hope it makes sense and if it doesn't, well, When you're talking about an alcoholic, a lot of things don't make sense to most people.

Let me start with Saturday. My brother was here with his family from Pennsylvania and we all went out to dinner...everyone but my husband that is. (he's the alcoholic) When my son, daughter and I returned home, my husband was drunk. By that time of the day he always is. only minutes after we walked in, two of my sons friends came over. All six of us were in the kitchen/ diningroom talking. My husband asked who went to dinner, where we went, what everyone had to eat...the normal questions, ya know. Myself and my children are used to my husbands memory lapses because of drinking and it's not unusual for him to ask the same thing again when he is sober.

On Sunday morning it was apparent to me that his memory of the night before was more then gapped....he had no recollection of ever even seeing the six of us.

Monday he went to work, and by late afternoon I got a call from him that he was in an ER at a hospital somewhere between his current job site and home. He said he had smashed his fingers at work and the pain was so bad he "saw stars." Working as a pipefitter/welder injuries like this are pretty common and for the most part these guys don't seek medical attention for them.

Calling me from the ER on his cell phone he complained that they weren't doing anything about his fingers and that they more concerned that he may have had a stroke or heart attack. He was insistent that he hadn't passed out and that the hospital was running tests on him only to make money, since he has insurance. He called again later early in the evening to say the hopital was admitting him to run more tests.

So far none of this makes much sense...as to what is the truth bout what really happened to him at work I don't know and my never know.

I talked to him yesterday morning and his story had changed a little. Now, he was describing the feeling he had had as weak in the knees and told me that this episode took place hours after he had hurt his hand. As to whether anyone he works with witnessed this happening, I don't know.

I talked on the phone with a floor nurse (he's in the cardiac unit) and she said that they had to do tests because they needed to find out why he passed out. Did he or didn't he?

I got the name of the cardiologist and called him. He told me that my husband may not even be aware that he lose conscieness. I told the doctor that my husband was an alcoholic and about the episodeof Saturday night. My husband had told the doctor that he had been drinking heavily lately due to stress in his life...his mother and father both passed away within 9 months of each other...his dad just a few days before Thanksgiving. I let the doctor know his drinking is not a recent thing, that he has been a heavy drinker for over twenty years and has been addicted to something since before I ever knew him. I gave the doctor a little more of his medical history and lifestyle, because I knew my husband would be lying to him or not telling the whole story. The doctor told me he would pass this information on to the right people and their were people there who could help him. This would include giving him a pill that would make him feel like he would throw up if he drank. The doctors advice to me was...leave him here as long as possible.

I can't tell you what a huge relief I felt to find out he wasn't coming home that 1st night. When you live with an alcoholic, you never know who will walk in the front door. Will it be Dr, Jeckall or Mr. Hyde tonight? From the very moment his car pulls in to the driveway, the mood of our household changes.Yes, I know alcoholism is a disease, not to be taken lightly but myself and my children use humour to handle living with him. No, we don't laugh at him to his face, but behind his back. What Iam I supposed to do with a man who thinks it's ok to walk freely around the house in his underwear and finds nothing wrong with doing so infront of his 13 year old daughter? So, we call him Captain Underpants behind his back. This man lost his reality a long time ago and since neither myself or my kids can do anthing to bring him back to earth, we deal with it in a way that makes our life as sane as possible.

As for the last time I talked to my husband, which was last night. He still insists that they are giving him tests to make a profit and still complaining they aren't doing anything for his hand (oh, it's not broke) Whether or not anyone in the hospital has offered him help for his addiction problem, I don't know. He's not saying. Fortunately, he has no way to get home. He's working in a facility that you need goverment clearance to get into and that's where his car is, so I can't go get it. And I'm not going to totry.

Last night was another night of peace in my house. This morning before she left for school, my daughter said to me "It's weird not having dad here, their's no one to laugh at." I know that sounds terrible, but it's a coping mechanism that works for us.

Hold the Chalupas!

2006-12-05T05:26:00.000-08:00

I see Aol's Welcome page has news on the Taco Bell ecoli break out. The restaurant 1st sighted with the problem was the Taco Bell closest to my house. My daughter ate there last week as a matter of fact. So far, she's fine. One of her friends was not as lucky and ended up in the hospital. She has since been discharged, but a younger girl, who also ate Taco Bell that she shared a hospital room with, hasn't been as lucky and is still hospitalized.

As of early yesterday only the Taco Bell in So. Plainfield, NJ, was being targeted, but now many on Long Island are turning up with sick customers, so obviously this isn't the case of one employee who doesn't wash their hands.

Some of these restaurant aren't closing. Red Robin is also owned by the same company as Taco Bell. Though I've never eaten there. I won't be heading to the border anytime soon!

2006-11-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

"This Thanksgiving the one person who will be most missed at the table will be my mother-in-law. I can say with some certainty that she won't ever be coming home again. She is in the hospital and has been since late August, and just last week was transfered to another facility that has isolation rooms, where she can be in a total sterile envirionment, as her body is riddled with a bacteria that anti-biotics can't seem to fight.

So, when you gather around the table this year giving thanks for what you have, don't take it for granted that everyone there, will be there next year."

The above was an excerp from my Thanksgiving writing assignment from last year. Yes, my mother-in-law did pass away the following February. I had been thinking over the weekend this would be the 1st real Thanksgiving without her. My husband called his father's house yesterday to tell him what time to come over to our house for turkey day dinner, and a strange voice answered the phone. It was police officer. A neighbor had come into my father-in-laws house to drop off his laundry and found him dead on the livingroom floor.

I suppose I will be cooking my turkey someday this week, since it's sitting on my kitchen table thawing, but we won't be having an official Thanksgiving dinner this year. No celebration, yet I still have many things to be thankful for. It's really not all about the food, afterall.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Halloweens Past

2006-10-31T05:22:00.000-08:00

Here's me dressed as a hooker for Halloween when I was 16. I put this outfit together for a party in my friends basement. My friend Cherie and I, oh, she was dressed as a Drox, had to walk across town to get there. I decided to put the credability of my costume to the test by stopping into my father's drugstore to see if he would recognize me. Cherie waited outside while I sauntered in, walked up to the cash register and asked my dad for a three pack of trojans. When he turned to get them I freaked and yelled out "Dad, it's ME!"
See the guy with the brown wig over my right shoulder? That's Mark Hedges, brother of Bob Hedges, AKA Juan Epstein from Welcome Back Kotter fame.

The Panty Picture Encyclopedia

2006-10-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

Dedicated to Fred ( for educational purposes only)

The Thong

Some women actually claim these things are comfortable. They are LIARS. I happen to get a blister between my big and second toe, when I wear thongs on my feet. I'd hate to see what they'd do to my asshole. Oh, and having your underwear stick out of the top of your pants is never sexy! These things should be reserved for pole dancers and strippers.

The Boxer

Yes, I wear th<SPAN class=spell id=sp-7 title="undefined me, elm" style="PADDING-RIGHT: 2px; BACKGROUND-POSITION: left bottom; PADDING-LEFT: 2px; BACKGROUND-IMAGE: url(http://sdk.webmail.aol.com/sdk/20051001/images/bg_spellingErr.gif); PADDING-BOTTOM: 2px; CURSOR: pointer; COLOR: black; PADDING-TOP: 2px; BACKGROUND-REPEAT: repeat-x; BACKGROUND-COLOR: yellow" _backupTitle="null">. Just to bed though. Damn, you guys are lucky. They are comfy, but would look like hell under tight jeans.

The Girdle Panty

These puppies are a thick, spandex full panty aimed at slimming your ass and gut and also preventing jiggle. They hide cellulite well, and while they are a little confining they do stay put. Here's the bad news. Much like a sports bra that gives you a uni-boob, a panty girdle does the same thing to your ass. It makes you look like you have one big cheek. You can get away with them in a dress or skirt, but in pants, they look just butt-ugly.

The Granny/Bridget Jones Panty

The full coverage panty. I even had to turn the camera the other way to capture the entire panty.Always in white or dingy white (see photo) practical cotton crotch. So high you can tuck them under your boobs. They're comfy. Youhave 'em. You love 'em. You don't want to admit it.

The Period PantThe period panty is not a type of panty, it is a Category! Any type of under pants can fall into this category if they are worn on the wrong day! When this happens, it's an instant demotion to being worn only one week out of the month. If you're not paying attention this could happen to your favorites. I sometimes morn under pants that have had an untimely death, and join the ranks of the period pant.

The False Advertising Panty

See these? They have cherries on the font. They'll make a guy think they're getting mine. HA!

The Perfect Panty

The perfect panty is cute, and will not crawl up or fall down your ass. See the little heart on the side? For you younger gals this is a come on to your guy. But, if you are my age, this is a sort of medical alert symbol, letting people know that I have high blood pressure and might have had a stroke or heart attack.

There ya have it.

When fools Rush in...

2006-10-26T05:34:00.000-07:00

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Sixteen years ago when my husband and I bought our house, our new neighbor Dorothy disturbed us a bit. My husband often complained that she was so jumpy and nervous he couldn't stand even talking to her. You know the neighborly across the fence chat. I also noticed what seemed to be nervousness, but didn't say anything. Dorothy, I figured, was just old. My guess was she was probably in her late 70's.
It wasn't until one Saturday morning, when the gent she was living with, delivered Dorothy's grandson to our front door in a panic, asking us to watch him because Dorothy had to go to the emergency room. Dorothy had Parkinson's Disease.
Dorothy was not in her late 70's, but actually in her early 60's. For the next ten years she would live next door to us until moving to Connecticut to be near her son. During those ten years we became quite close to Dorothy and saw her on her good and her bad days with Parkinson's. We watched her frustration with herself over not being able to do what used to be simple tasks. Both my husband and I pitched in, driving her to her beauty shop appointments or ironing and hanging curtains for her. I sometimes helped her to dress because her hands were so shake, she couldn't button her own blouse. Yes, all this even on medication.
I have the utmost respect for Michael J. Fox. He could have chosen to hide himself away, out of the public eye and seek out treatments for himself only a celebrity could afford. Instead, he has chosen to be a spokes person for those who suffer from Parkinson's and like diseases. I've seen MJF interviewed numerous times on TV, and have seen him ask to have the camera turned off, so that he could go take medication in order to continue on with the interview. MJF doesn't need to act, or not take his medication to show the effects of his disease.
Hey Rush, fuck you.

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Things You Made

2006-10-25T07:15:00.000-07:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Things You Made : Here's a few things I made:

In this picture, I made the mirror and also sort of a partial slipcover for furniture I picked-up at a yard sale. I knew blue and white wouldn't stay clean in my house for long.

In this photo, I did the crown moulding shelf and woodwork on the wall...red rooms really need stuff like this.

Here, I put up some woodwork to divide the kitchen ceiling from the diningroom ceiling, beecause I was sick of having to paint one when ever I painted the other.

Last but not least, here the shed myself and my son are currently building.

NCYCEYGW photo's

2006-10-20T05:55:00.000-07:00

Finally, some post worthy photo's.

aThis is a new sign. I sit and look at it when I'm waiting at a red light about a block from my house. Now, I've heard of curb-side pick-up, but Curbstyle to go? What exactly is curbstyle food?

As if Target didn't have enough red and white signs to begin with. A perfect line up from the driver seat of my car.

This would have been a perfect picture had I gotten out of my car. So, what is this? A handi-capped resting place for pedestrians?

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Camera Week Continues-day 2

2006-10-19T06:15:00.000-07:00

Here's your motivational video for today. Oh, the F word was used in the making of this video...at the very end:

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b113/Teeisme57/?action=view¤t=cw.flv

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Off-Color Photos

2006-10-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Off-Color Photos :

Would you miss blue skies?

Camera Week Kick-Off

2006-10-18T09:20:00.000-07:00

Click on the link:

http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b113/Teeisme57/?action=view&current=cameraweek1.flv

Sticker Shock

2006-10-16T04:32:00.000-07:00

I awoke this morning on my own. Well, in all honesty it was my bladder that jerked me out of my slumber. Getting up wasn't too bad, I had remembered to click the heat on before getting in bed last night because I heard the temp would drop pretty low. Off I went to take my morning pee. I stopped to take a look at myself in the mirror before exiting the bathroom to see just how much damage was done while I slept and something caught my eye." Huh, what's that in my hair?", I thought.
I turned my head to the side a bit to get a better look and saw a round pink sticker stuck to a wad of my hair. It had the number 76 printed on it.
I laughed and thought to myself, Teresa, you asshole, you tried on shirts at Sears last night and evidently one of the inspection stickers from the inside of a shirt got stuck in your hair. Yes, I walked through Sears wit hthe sticker in my hair and yes, I went through the check-out that way, too.
In an effort to make myself feel better, I recalled something that happened to my daughter about two years ago.
Kelly walked in from school and gave me the usual, " Hey, Mom.", and walked off to her room and shut the door. Moments later she emerged, came back to the livingroom and planted herself squarely infront of me with a stern look on her face. "Ya know" she says, "all day at school kids were laughing at me and I had no idea why. I just took off my hoodie, and there's a pair of your underwear hanging out of my hood. Oh God, I'm not going to school tomorrow!"
Now let me just say, these were no ordinary underwear. These were the bottom of the drawer, giant nylon, I have my period granny panties. You know the ones I'm talkin' about. The ones you only wear when you have no underwear left in the drawer or are on the rag really bad panties. The ones you hope to God, you aren't wearing when you get hit by a car panties. Your Bridget Jones underpants you hope you're not wearing, when you happen to meet a guy undies.
So, what could I say to my daughter? " You mean it wasn't 'Bring your mom's underwear to school day?'" And promised her I would use Bounce in the dryer from now on.
With that, I left the sticker in my hair and went back to bed.

What's gotten stuck on you?

Ready! Aim! Shoot!

2006-10-15T16:22:00.000-07:00

Julie (Coelha Thoughts) and I decided to dedicate a week this month to taking pictures. So, join us in:

There's only one rule. No staged photographs. Just a suggestion, don't photograph anything that might have Homeland Security detain you, get your ass kicked or your face punched in. Other than that, leave a link either here or at Julie's, and post your photo's at the end of the week or everyday if you like.

Oh, and this isn't a Federal Holiday or anything, so if you have a job, go to work...just bring your camera with you.

Well, that explains a lot.

2006-10-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

I heard scientist have observed that 60% of the time, women unconsciously dress differently when they're ovulating.
Here's how I normally dress:

Then a few days a month this happens:

I guess I'm in the 60%.

My life. My blog.

2006-10-11T03:34:00.000-07:00

Pretzels, can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em.

Things Not Often Seen

2006-10-10T03:32:00.000-07:00

After reading John's photo assignment, I grabbed my camera and went outside to see if I could find any worthy foliage. I heard a putter in the sky and was lucky enough to get a photo of this bi-plane, that seemed to be circling our neighborhood.

Another rare sight...a praying mantis, my son found in the yard. I don't think I've seen on since I was a kid. These things are freaky. It was turning it's head and looking at all of us. It's the only insect capable of doing that.

My Life. My Blog. (the assignment)

2006-10-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

So, I'm flippin' through a magazine this morning and an advertisement for American Express catches my eye...mmm, a meme. Here's the Ellen DeGeneres ad:

Ok, now it's your turn, only make it about you and your blog. Personally, I don't have an American Express Card. Although Ellen and I dress pretty similiar.

But, here's what I'd like you to do, if you have a scanner. Print out the meme below, and write it out in your own handwriting. Yes, you read right. Write! And take a photo too if you can. It's your life, your blog and your advertisement. Yes, I will be doing it too. Here's the meme to fill out...Even better, our friend P-Litty made a dowloadable/printable document out of it. Here's the link:

http://members.aol.com/plittle/My_name_is.doc

(right click and save as) THANKS, PAUL!

J-land October Calendar

2006-10-04T04:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry this month's calendar is a bit late. I wanted to show it to this month's featured blogger first, but then I remembered she was busy moving over the weekend. So, here she is..Amanda Trickey at HEY, I'M COUNTRY!

Name that Puppy

2006-10-03T17:19:00.000-07:00

Contest Time For J-Land!!!

I was sitting on the edge of my bed last night eating a snack of pudding and redi-whip, when all of a sudden the name Bosco popped into my head. Oh, the pudding was chocolate. For those of you who are too young too remember, (or too old to remember) there's was a chocolate syrup by that name. Surprisingly, I looked it up on the web and Bosco is still made. Does anyone remember the commercial "Everyone's running to get their Bosco"?

Now, the only other Bosco I ever heard of was that kinda mean EMS guy on the TV show Third Watch, now cancelled. But hell, with him

I think Bosco is a really cool name. Try it out..."Sit Bosco!"

"Come on Bosco, come on boy."

"Bad dog, Bosco."

" Bosco's a good boy"

Weekend Assignment #131: You Little Devil-Mom's Behaving Badly

2006-09-30T05:39:00.000-07:00

Weekend Assignment #131: You Little Devil :

My act of mischief isn't in the past. Actually, it's something I did just the other night. Both my children have a habit of walking into my bedroom without knocking first. I've told them over and over to knock. I've told them, I do get naked in there, and that one day they might walk in and find me having a circus with myself. Yet, nothing works. I was getting changed into my pj's the other night when my daughter walked in. I think I was in my underwear and a pajama top when she entered. I yelled at her, "Please knock on the door!" She quietly said she was sorry and closed the door. I've heard that 'sorry' many times and still, they don't knock. I could tell she was outside my door waiting for the heads-up to come in, and in a split second I decided to teach her a lesson, I hope would stick.
I yelled, "Ok, you can come in now." I faced the door and pulled up the front of my pj top, breasteses exposed. My daughter walked in, and screamed at the top of her lungs, then we both started cracking up. "Now, will you knock?" I asked.
Now, don't worry, I won't be doing this to my son. I do have some morals.That would just be wrong ,wrong, wrong. He's almost 17 and seeing his mom's boobs might drive him to poke his eyes out with pencils. Plus, I wouldn't want the kid having flashbacks when he's watching a Girls Gone Wild infomercial. I'll have to think of a tactful, yet less indecent way to break him of the habit of walking in my room. If all else fails, I'll buy a door knob with a lock.

Now, I did flash the Turkish Navy at the Statue of Liberty Celebration back in the 80's. But, hey that was in the name of world peace.

Which Came First, the Homosexual or the Politician?

2006-09-25T07:08:00.000-07:00

Anyone tune into Oprah last week and see New Jersey's former governor, Jim Mc Greevey, plugging his new book, The Confession? For those of you who don't know the story of Mc Greevey, in short, he stepped down from office in August of 2003 to attend to his personal life after admitting he was gay. He was married, fathered a child, and was living a lie for years. Actually, he had been married twice and had two children. As things looked, he was being blackmailed by Golan Cipel, a man he was having a relationship with, and even appointed him a position as Homeland Security advisor. Cipel wasn't an American citizen and could not get gain security clearance for the job. Cipel resigned from his post, after much talk about his lack of qualifications for the job. While "Big Mac", as we call Mc Greevey in New Jersey, claims his gay affair was consensual sex, Cipel called it sexual assault. Big Mac was being blackmailed. Either pay Cipel fifty million dollars or the suit would be filed. Mc Greevey opted to come out of the closet, instead.
Oh, there's more. I had tuned into watch Oprah that day hoping to hear what Big Mac had to say about the blackmailing of one of his campaign contributers, a real estate developer which entailed the hiring of a prostitute and video taping this man having sex with her so he wouldn't co-operate with the FBI in investigating "pay to play" funding. Then there's the 40,000 dollars that another one of Mc Greevey's funders ( a trash hauler) tried to extort from land owners and friends of mine, who owned a near by farm. The land owner was wearing a wire for the FBI. and Big Mac was only named in code word. They no longer live there, their property was forcefully bought from them under eminent domain, at a very low price.

But, these are the things he didn't talk about. The show focused on his lifelong struggle with knowing at a young age, he was "different". As a Catholic, he felt shameful, thinking of homosexuality as perverted, deviant behavior and decided to live the life of a straight man...well, almost. He makes it all sound like a case of denial. The fact is, he wasn't denying himself at all. Big Mac was having back alley sex with strange men at rest stops on New Jersey highways, and frequenting some pretty sleazy places. He even had Cipel at his house for a night of sex, while his wife was inthe hospital recovering from a C-section from the birth of their daughter. See, now it's that kind of behavior I think of as shameful and deviant, not being gay. My sister, who was a masseus at the health club Mac belonged to before becoming governer had at least one encounter with him, where he inquired about the sexual preference of some of the male masseus working at the club. Plenty of people in New Jersey knew or suspected he was homosexual, but elected him governor, nonetheless.
The Queen of Hearts was Mc Greevey's trump card. He conveniently pulled it out after he rubbed his dick on too many dirty political schemes he couldn't run from any more, and had absolutely nothing to do with his wanting to become an honest man.
Boy, he sure snowed Oprah.
So, now Big Mac is living in an up scale neighborhood in the pretty run-down city of Plainfield, a town or two away from me. He bought a house and is living with his boyfriend there. He'd really be doing the state a great service if he helped to clean up the town a bit. Lots of gays are doing this in Asbury Park, New Jersey, also a has-been town, which is being revitalized. If he could just do that without being a weasel, I'd approve a statue of him in front of The Pottery Barn.

Imagine That

2006-09-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

Don't ya just wish some morning you could wake up and twinkle your nose like Samantha Stevens and be showered, dressed, and your hair all done? Heck, while you're at it, you might as well put some make-up on, too.
I was reading an article in one of my decorating magazines, and some guy in Germany is working on clothes washers, dish washers and yes, bathing or showering with sonic waves. You know, like a jewelry or contact lens cleaner. It uses less water and cleans more efficiently. Ultimately, this guy wants to get water out of the picture completely, and clean with only sound waves.
This whole concept is pretty damn cool when you think about it. Actually, the more I think about it, I think this is the best idea since, well, indoor plumbing.

I'm imagining a shower or tub would be something like a tanning booth or bed. I guess there would be a certain amount of dead skin, grease, dirt and assorted other dingle-berries that come off ones body that might be vacuumed away. Hey, I do like a soap and water shower, but all the other good things that would come out of this, would make me as happy as Dan locked in a meat curing facility for a night.
Just think...no soap. No soap, means no soap scum. No more shower or tub to clean. No more hunting through the house for dirty bath towels (Ha! Paul, you'd never have to wipe your hands on your wife's house coat again) and if there were towels, they'd be sonically cleaned, too. No clothes dryer. I guess you could shower with your clothes on, if you were in a real hurry.
Your water bill would be minimal. You'd probably even only need a very small hot water heater, so you'd save on gas and electric, too.
I'm just diggin' the whole idea of this, and hopefully by the time it's perfected, they'll have come out with a sonic toilet, too. By that time, I should be so old I won't be able to wipe my own ass, and my kids won't have to do it for me either.

More Senselessness

2006-09-20T05:38:00.000-07:00

About a year and a half ago, I changed garbage disposal companies to save a substantial amount of money. This new company is quite small compared to the old one, doesn't provide a trash can or have state of the art trucks with automated lifts. For the $300-some dollars a year I save, I don't really care what picks up my garbage, as long as it gets picked up. That was going along just fine until last month. Garbage is picked up on Fridays and Tuesdays. A Friday had come and gone and the garbage sat at the curb all weekend. Tuesday came and Fridays garbage was still there. I called the company, they were apologetic, saying they were under-staffed because employees were on vacation, and come out immediately for the pick-up.
This continued through August, and in the beginning of September seemed to be back on schedule...until yesterday. By 11:30, they still hadn't showed, so I decided to give them a call.

Garbage Lady: Hello, RGB Disposal.

Me: This is Teresa Fell, at 2 Blah, blah, blah. My garbage hasn't been picked up today.

Garbage Lady: Ok, I'll radio the truck and have them come over.

Me: Is this the way things are going to be? Am I going to have to call you everytime the garbage has to be picked up? You have an automatic withdrawl from checking account and I prepay you a month in advance. Your service is supposed to be 8 pick-ups a month and in August you only came four times. Can I get a credit for that?

Garbage Lady: Well, I'll have to talk to the owner, but he's in a meeting. Did your husband have to take any of your garbage to a dumpster?

Me: No.

Garbage Lady: Well then, we picked up all your garbage then, didn't we?

Me: Yes, you did, but I'm paying you for a service that says you will be here twice a week and you're not doing that. You're saving money on gas and in man hours by not making the stop, and I'm still paying the same amount.

Garbage Lady : But, we're still picking up all of your trash.

This defies all logic to me. What do you think? Oh, I still haven't heard back from them.

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Color Opposites

2006-09-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Color Opposites :

Just to put things in perspective, I took another picture. That's actually a very large bowl.

Senseless

2006-09-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

Everyone has made boxed Mac and Cheese, but I bet you don't make it anything like my daughter does. And yes, she has read the instructions!
She fills a pot with water and turns on the gas. Then she puts on the timer. No special time, maybe 5 minutes, maybe 10. When the timer beeps, whether the water is boiling or not, she pours in the macaroni. She gives it a stir and goes back to whatever she was doing. I'll ask "Kelly, did you put the timer on?" "No, I know when it's done." Let's just say, it's a real toss up whether the macarona will be mush or still crunchy.
Now there's my husband...this drives me insane. Everyone knows you put a bug zapper FAR AWAY because it attracts bugs. He has one set up in our garage. Now, not every bug is a Kamakazee pilot and our garage door is almost always open. Sometimes the door from the garage to the laundry room is open too, hence we have bugs. I'd like nothing better then to wack the shit out of that thing with a baseball bat. My husband or the bug zapper? I'll never tell.

What's Big and Green and Really Smelly?

2006-09-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

You know, you never really appreciate having something until you've gone without for awhile. Between breaking my ankle and my husband losing a company vehicle a month later, I went without driving or having a car for about a year and a half.
So, here is my really, really, old new car. We call it the Raj-moble, after it's previous owner.

If you're wondering why the doors are open, I'm still trying to get the funk out of this thing. If you're wondering why it's funky, it's cause the drain tubes for the sunroof are blocked and the head liner has been getting wet for God knows how long. So, I covered the sunroof with heavy gauge plastic and duct tape. That's how you take care of a $1000 car. I may succumb to some mold related disease driving this thing, but that's a chance I'll have take. Does anyone know where you can buy activated charcol? Oh, and if anyone has an extra knob for the a/c fan control for a '92 Ford Explorer, I need one of those. Steal one if you can. At any rate, it's nice to have some wheels again.

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Profiles

2006-09-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Profiles :

NEW PRODUCT ALERT!

2006-09-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

DO YOU FIND DATING A DRAG? THEN HERE'S A PRODUCT FOR YOU...

ONLY 19 MORE STUDS TO GO, OUT OF J-LANDS HOTTEST 99 MEN, OVER AT AMANDA'S

2006-09-10T15:10:00.000-07:00

So, Brad Pitt won't marry Angelina until gays can legally get married, too. God, what an asshole he is. I saw him interviewed on TV awhile back and he said he considered his marriage to Jennifer Aniston a success...yes, this was after their divorce. Well, he's lowered the bar so far down on marriage, I can say mine was made in heaven, HA!HA!

Anyway, I made a short list of some other things I think Brad Pitt shouldn't do.

Don't eat or feed your own children until you know every child in this world isn't going to bed hungry.

Don't drive a car or travel by plane until this global warming thing is all straightened out. Mail your money to Africa. They don't give a shit that you're famous.

Don't live in mansions until everyone who was hit by hurricane Katrina has a home.

Don't have your children born in foreign countries. If you want privacy, try an at-home birth.

Don't have sex again until HIV and AIDS is eradicated from this earth. Yes, you can jerk-off, because you are one.

Speaking of jerk-offs, keep acting the way you are, and you'll have an office in the dumpster right next to Tom Cruise.

9/11 Five Years Later

2006-09-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

Weekend Assignment #128: Share your thoughts about 9/11. You can remember back on what you were doing on the day or give some thought to how we think about it today. Thoughts personal, political or philosophical are all up for consideration. Tell us all what you think about when you think about September 11, 2001.

On September 12, I went to the laundramat. Not a normal activities for me. I needed to wash a new comforter I had bought that wouldn't fit in my washer. Carrying my blanket in I looked around to see seven or eight people, all of different ethnicities. I was the only "Wonder Bread American". High up in the corner at the back of the laundramat was a television, still broadcasting the events of the day before. Everyone watched, no one spoke. I wondered to myself as I looked at the people around me, if they were laughing inside. Were they happy? Did they hate me? I left there hating them. What business did they have in my country?
I live in a diverse community. People whom I never noticed before suddenly became possible enemies and I, a victim. No, this wasn't a paranoid feeling that I was in danger of physical harm, this was a feeling that I was hated for being American. The very same hate that took the lives of so many on 9/11.
Listen, I don't like this writing assignment, so I'm going to cut to the chase, and say that what happened that day caused me to become an angry, hateful person. After awhile
I realized the person I was hurting the most harboring these feelings was myself. I guess it took over a year, maybe more. I thought I was over it. But the more I think about it, and the more I see on TV about it, these feelings are coming back. Yeah, I hate those bastards. I couldn't be happier that their grand plan included suicide.

I wrote some more..I know it sounds like babble...

I guess I find it hard to write about this all at once. Some bloggers wrote that their proxcimity to the event of 9/11 had to do with how much impact it had on them. I live in central Jersey. Here, "going into the city" means going to NYC. The county I live in, as well as the ones west, north and south are populated with people who commute to the city everyday for work. I, myself did it from time to time as a freelance graphic artist.
You'd be hard pressed to find a train station in my neck of the woods that didn't have a 9/11 memorial of some sort, for the peoplewho never came home that day.
I happened to be watching an old telelvision in my kitchen that wasn't hooked up to cable that morning and shortly after the second plane hit my TV went black. You see, my television's reception had been coming from one of the Twin Towers.
Every morning and every evening our local news still talks about something that has to do with 9/11. I don't know if thats true for the rest of the country. Lately, it's about the air quality, if not that, their arguing about design plans or whether as set of stairs that survivors used should stay or go.
Yeah, it's hard to believe that you are walking through an airport that a mass murderer walked through. And hard to beleive that one of those planes may have flown over my house on it's way to being used as a killing machine.
I went to the city just a month after it happend. I had bought tickets to see a show at Lincoln Center, not very close to Lower Manhattan, but I had thought of not going. I did though, because I knew the city was suffering from lack of tourism. For me that hardest part was being in Penn station. Once I got above ground, I felt better. I had been to the city twice in the six months previous to 9/11. I have some photographs I took of the Towers from a boat.
When you fly from Florida to Newark, the airliner makes a very low hard turn that gives you a great view of The Statue of Liberty and all of lower Manhattan. I took that flight the following March, and the emptiness in the sky was overwhelming.

J-land Calendar September

2006-08-29T04:47:00.000-07:00

Something Neat in Edison, New Jersey

2006-08-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

This writing assignment turned out to be more of a photo assignment, because I didn't feel I could accurately describe in words what I was talking about. So, off I went with my son on a short field trip, to Roosevelt Park, in Edison, New Jersey, to show you a rather odd and very unusual monument. I used as a jungle-jim when I was a kid and my younger sister used it as a meeting place for her friends, when she would cut out of school.

This is best known to most people in this area simply as "The Globe." The real name of it is Light Dispelling Darkness. Like the rest of Roosevelt Park, it was built in the late 1930's, a WPA project under FDR.
I used to ask my mother what the figures on it meant, as some of the sculptures on it are more then strange, they're kinda scarey. She only told me, they had something to do with the Horses of the Apocalypse, which meant nothing to me. So, let's take a close-up look at and maybe one of you could shed some light on Light Dispelling Darkness.

The center column that hold up the earth has 3 sides, each depicting something different.

One appears to be Science, or technology. Thomas Edison had laboratories not far from where this monument stands.

Another is Education. I don't know if this depiction has anything to do with New Jersey particularly. Maybe, Princeton University or Einstein perhaps?

The third shows two men. Above their heads appears to be a zeppelin. One man is holding a mallet of sorts and the other cradles a deflated zeppelin, it seems. I'm guessing this might be the Hindenburg, that burst into flames over Lakehurst NJ, about the same time this monument was constructed.

The arches radiating from the column are evils. There are seven and four of them do have horses.
The horses and their riders are:

As for the remaining three arches, I'm not sure as to what they mean. It is said, they depict some of the 7 deadly sins. Greed, Gluttony and Lust.

GREED

LUST

As for Gluttony, I did photograph it. It seems to have gone out to lunch.

About two years ago, restoration was finished on the monument. It was in disrepair when I was a kid. The fountains didn't work and the art was chipped and faded. It was good to go back and see it up and running and in a state where it could be appreciated. It is the work of Waylande Gregory, whom I've learned also had a studio in my home town of Metuchen (which, incidently is totally surrounded by Edison) Henry Fonda stopped in Metuchen, en route to NYC and bought a piece of his art.

Extra Credit: A house in my hometown (Metuchen) is featured in one of Hans Holzers books on haunted houses. The house was a tavern during the Revolutionary War and may have also been used as a part of the Underground Railroad.

More on the HPV Vaccine

2006-08-22T04:57:00.000-07:00

Earlier this year, both Paul and Dan wrote entries on the new HPV vaccine. This vaccine would guard against cervical cancer caused by Human Papilloma Virus, which is sexually transmitted. Both focused on how some peoples religious beliefs would not allow their children to get the vaccine...that getting it might somehow encourage their children to have pre-marital sex, which is against their religion. Both Paul and Dan, mainly focused on Christianity as the guilty party religion in heading up the group that shuns this vaccine.

Dan:

"Call me crazy, but I think it's horribly wrong to condemn our future generations to a possible, painful death based solely upon the irrelevant squawking of proselytizing pseudo-Christian ninnies. What do you think?" Dan does later say no religion should come before our rights as Americans.

Paul:
Members of the religious right in the United States, however, have spoken out against the plan to universally inoculate our children against this disease. Why? Human Papilloma Virus, you see, is a sexually transmitted disease. The rationale, so I'm told, goes something like this. 'If we vaccinate our children against STDs, we are giving them tacit permission to be sexually active.' To that opinion, there is only one response:

Bullshit!"

I couldn't agree more with both of them (please do read their entries).And yes, they are both right. Someone else's religion is stepping on my right to get my daughter this vaccine.
I took both my children for their back-to-school physicals last week. While sitting in the waiting room I scanned the leaflets in the rack to see if I could find some information on the vaccine. I found none. It wasn't until we were about to leave that asking about it popped back into my head since my daughter was experiencing a lot of anxiety over getting her Mantoux test...she asked her brother to hold her hand and she bit him!
Once things calmed down, I asked the nurse who was administering the shots about the HPV vaccine.

"Oh, I wanted to know about the HPV vaccine for my daughter."

"We done give the vaccine here."

"Why Not?"

The nurse walks over,takes a peek to see who's outside, and closes the door to the exam room we're in.

"The vaccine is given up to age 26. It's a series of 3 shots, but we're not supposed to talk about it."

Let me note at this time, the nurse is what looks like to me..white American...religion? I have no idea. The pediatrician is Asian-Indian. The primary religion in India is Hindu. Off hand, I don't know of any religion that actually promotes pre-marital sex.

"Most of Dr. Radhakrishna's patients are Indian and pre-marital sex is against their religion. Dr. Radhakrishna doesn't want to insult anyone. The vaccine has to be bought in lots of 10 and we don't have 10 patients who have asked for it, so we haven't bought any."

Now, I didn't get the idea that Dr R. herself was against this vaccine. It was more of a feeling that Dr. R. didn't want to lose patients over it. I would hope that any doctor would put their Hippocratic Oath before their religious beliefs, when it comes to my children. What they choose for their kids is up to them.
Now, this is very disturbing. When other peoples religious beliefs control how a physician runs their practice, things have crossed a very dangerous line, in my book.

I do intend to get my daughter the vaccine. I would guess, I might have to take her to a gynecologist to get it. As for this vaccine becoming mandatory any time soon, I wouldn't hold my breath.

Red Carpet Ready

2006-08-21T06:27:00.000-07:00

Here I am ready for the J-land 3rd anniversary festivities. I know this is a look that all you ladies will be dying to copy. Let me walk you through the details.

Starting with my hair: This couf requires a lousey night sleep interrupted by several episodes of the night sweats. You younger gals may not be able to get this look at all.

Sunglasses (eye protection from the flashbulbs from all the papparzzi) a must! Mine were $5 at Walmart. Tres chic.

P.J's: Light blue and white Zodiac motif. JC Penney's online clearance...$9.99

For drama: a train was added to this outfit...About 7 feet of Cottenelle toilet paper. Quilted Northern is a bit heavy for this. For a more romantic, flowing look, try a cheaper 1-ply.

Jewelry: QVC necklace Blackhills Gold. Rings from Kohl's. 2 for one (yeah, $20 for two sterling silver/marchacite rings).

Footwear: Isotoner pink terry slippers.

So, for about 60 bucks, you can look just like me. I have a feeling there won't be the embarassement of anyone showing up in the same outfit as me.

Watch out for your PSP savvy friends...

2006-08-19T02:16:00.000-07:00

Two Islamic Women are getting ready to put their children in Jihad Day Care and one says to the other,

“Today they start Jihad Day Care, next they’ll be in Terrorist Pre-School………… They just blow up so fast."

Photo and caption by my friend Howie, who unfortunately doesn't blog, but would fit in just fine here in J-land.

J-land Monthly Calendar

2006-08-18T03:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Anniversary, everyone! I've made a monthly printable calendar. You can preview it here. If you want the calendar e-mail me at TDatestoremember.

Idols and Underwear

2006-08-15T03:52:00.000-07:00

From my local news station...American Idol try-outs in New Jersey and celebration National Underwear Day, check out the videos. 7Online.com: Is the next 'American Idol' in this crowd?

WHEELS!

2006-08-11T04:36:00.000-07:00

Fasten your seatbelts because this week's Weekend Assignment (suggested by BeYankee) puts you behind the wheel:

Your Weekend Assignment #124: How did you learn how to drive? How many tries did it take? What was the first car that you bought?

Extra credit: Got a picture of that first car?

Back in the day, that would be the 70's, driving age was 17 in New Jersey. You would go to DMV and take your written test, and if you passed, you made an appointment to take your behind-the-wheel test. In my case, I had about 6 weeks to learn how to drive before the road test.
I was taught how to drive by my friend Paul, in his canary yellow, early 70's, Ford Pinto, death trap. I felt prepared and had no doubt that I would pass my road test without a hitch. The morning of my test, Paul pulled into my driveway with bad news. He couldn't find the registration for his Pinto, which meant I wouldn't be able to take my test in his car. My dad had died less than a year earlier, and there sitting our driveway was his 1971 Pontiac Catalina, nearly double the size and double the power of the Pinto. I think I had only driven the Catalina once, and now I'd be taking my drivers test in it.
I started off fine. Then came the dreaded task of parallel parking. I think this is the most hated part of the test and even seasoned drivers try to avoid parallel parking at all costs. I couldn't get the Catalina in the space to save my life. More often than not you get a nice guy (a state trooper, here in NJ) giving you your test, who will instruct you some on this task and even give you a second chance if you get it wrong the first time, but I wasn't that lucky. The guy giving me my test must have taken a vow of silence...no help, and no second chance for me. It was all downhill from there. My nerves went out the window and I jumped a curb with my back tire as I pulled out of the parking area of the course. I had failed my test. My next test would be a month from then, April 1st. So, all together it took me two and a half months from permit to liscense.

This time I took my sister's Volkswagen Beetle and passed. So now, 32 year later, I've only gotten one ticket for speeding and have had one car accident. Not too shabby, huh?

My first car, that I paid for with my own money, was a 1967 Ford Galaxie 500, that I purchased from my sister for $350 in the early '80's. This isn't THE car, mine was silver. The "buy it now" price on Ebay is over $15,000. dollars!

Wanted: 99 Hot Men

2006-08-10T12:19:00.000-07:00

Ok, ladies, it's time to get in touch with your clitoris (I call mine, my Clint Eastwood) and head on over to Miss Trickey's, and help us make up a list of the 99 Most Desirable Men. Now remember, be shallow, think about you'd you want on top of you sweating all over the place. Looks and body count, heck with talent This is our reply to my previous post regarding WWW.ASKMEN.COM 's 99 Most Desirable Women list.

Here' some guy pics to wet your taste, or your panties...

go vote...no registration required.

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Ice Cream!

2006-08-10T07:11:00.000-07:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Ice Cream! : Sadly, we are out of ice cream. Well, not really. You see the last gallon my husband picked up was neopolitan and no one in our house like strawberry ice cream, so there is some frost-bitten ice cream in the freezer, that no one will touch. So, I give you some ice cream accessories, instead.

Kind of Madonna-esque, don't you think? Somes cones and my Martha Stewart ice cream scoop. Love her or hate her, Martha makes a good product. Oh, and I found another use for the scoop...

Another List

2006-08-08T09:48:00.000-07:00

Here's one for the guys...the 99 Most desirable woman. Of course, us ladies may have opinions on this, too. AskMen.com - Top 99 Women 2006

CATS V. DOGS

2006-08-06T07:29:00.000-07:00

Monponsett, by way of John Scalzi is making us choose between cats or dogs. Is this as easy as pie (v. cake)?

I have a very gifted cat. The gift she possesses is the ability to aggravate the shit out of everyone who lives in this house from 5:30 AM until bed time and probably even those off hours, if she chooses you to be her all night doorman.

My cats life really doesn't include a very large list of activities. She goes out, she comes in, she eats, sleeps, poops, pees, kills and claws. Oh, and licks her ass.
Generally, this is how PJ operates...she claws the back of the recliner for all her needs. This chair is closest to the front door and you must pass by the back of it to go out. This is her favorite place to dig her claws into. Fortunately, it has a pretty durable fabric on it. When PJ claws, someone gets up and walks to the door to open it for her. Sometimes she goes out, and other times she follows you to the door, and once you open the storm door, she turns around and heads for the kitchen.

You follow her into the kitchen and sometimes she already has food. In which case, what she wants, is to have you watch her eat. I call her a name, #%^^&, watch her for a few seconds and return to my seat.

Now, if her dish happens to be empty, I need to take a short walk out to the pantry to get a can of cat food. She always follows. What aggravates the crap out of me, is the walk back to the kitchen. PJ then decides she must walk in front of you as slowly as possible. Slow enough for you to trip over her. I usually give her a little boot to the ass to get her to move along, call her a name, %^*#$#@, fill her bowl for her, and go sit back down. She reappears seconds later and claws the recliner again. Now, she wants to go out. I get up, call her a name, #$%#^, open the door and this time she goes.

Most often, especially this time of the year, PJ reappears in the house all on her own. You see, the garage door is usually open, and so is the door from the garage to the pantry, and the door from the pantry to the kitchen is equipped with a cat door. Yes, she could have let herself out to begin with, but that I guess wouldn't be as much fun as making me get up. If the garage door isn't open, she'll jump up in the outside stair railing and then make a leap onto the screen of my $3000 Anderson bay window. #$%&^!
PJ is not very affectionate, nor does she like anyone being overly affectionate towards her. She should wear a little sign around her neck saying, DO NOT OVER-PET! When she's had enough, she'll take a swipe at you, and go off to a quiet place, like a nicely folded pile of clean clothes and take a nap, leaving behind the gift of fur.

In short, if scratched up, bleeding man with tufts of fur stuck to open wounds pulled up in front of my house driving a truck with a wood chipper hitched onto the back of it, and asked if he could take my cat for a ride, I'd probably pay him.

This Mel Gibson Thing...

2006-08-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

By now everyone has heard of Mel Gibson's DUI, insulting of Jews and his life long battle with alcohol. I'm rather happy that the media has handled this differently then that of the likes of Mickey Rourke, Gary Busey or Nick Nolte. It maybe that Mel Gibson has some good people doing his damage control, but none the less, his situation is being handled in such a way that looks at alcoholism, rather then just a wild night on the town that ended with a bad mug-shot and a night in jail.
I live with a Mel Gibson.
Alcoholics lie, cheat, and manipulate. Alcoholics have over inflated egos and other times act like martyrs. Alcoholics are good-time Charley's, and at the same time the most vile, hurtful, selfish, abusive people you will meet.
For those of you who are Jewish, or even not Jewish and appalled by Mel Gibson's insult to people of the Jewish faith, you should realize that Mel Gibson would have insulted anyone who threatened his relationship with alcohol. Mel knows he has a problem. What better way to down play drunken driving, then to accuse someone of being responsible for causing all the wars in the world. I mean, that sorta makes being drunk, pale in comparison now doesn't it? Had he been pulled over by a black cop, a blonde cop, or a bald cop, Mel would have found some kind of fault with them too, in effort to make this about someone other then himself. Doesn't make sense to you or me, but to an alcoholic it makes perfect sense. People of the Jewish faith shouldn't care one bit what he said about them. My "Mel Gibson" has told me I'm fat, ugly, lazy, a bad mother, a waste of space, a bitch...well, you get the idea. Do I buy his crap? Absolutely not. Alcoholics have very low self esteem. Knocking someone else down a few notches makes then feel better about themselves, not to mention a reason to drink, again finding shortcomings in someone else, real or fabricated is a tool used to downplay their bad behavior. Most often, what's coming out of their mouths is what they really think about themselves and not you.
If you don't have a Mel Gibson in your life, you might think this behavior is reserved for times only while they are under the influence. Not so. The well-seasoned alcoholics life, from sun up to sundown is run by alcohol, it's a full-time job. Even in sober times they make up things, because they have to fill in the gaps in their memories.They are bores to talk to because they say the same thing over and over. They will plan their day around drinking and watch the clock and eagerly await happy hour. It's of no coincidence that the bank we go to, and the supermarket we shop at has a bar in the same strip mall. A trip to the grocery store is most often a two or three hour outing, that ends in a very angry "Mel" returning home empty handed. No one in my house is stupid enough to believe that when "Mel" walks out the door at 5:30, to go to the grocery store to pick up a loaf of Italian bread for dinner that he'll be home any earlier then 9 o'clock ( well after dinner) or that he'll have any bread at all.
Now, some people seem to think "Mel" is a great guy. And to some people he will make a damn good effort to show them he is. He'll offer his services, buy you a drink, fix your car, help you move and run to whatever you need rescuing from. He does like to keep a few people in his hip pocket that think well of him. He using these people, too. That group of people will usually be the same group of people whom he tells just how miserable his home life is, and they'll feel sorry for him and understand just why he drinks so much. In short, no one escapes being used for something. And little do these people know that "Mel" who seems so handy, and seemingly hardworking neglects his own home and family.
"Mel's" also like crisis. I'm not sure why, but I do know they like them or need them so much they will cause one if they need to. They over react and make mountains out of mole hills. They keep everyone they live with on the edge, and try to control everyone, yet, have no control over themselves. They love to judge people, but lack the ability to make good judgment especially when it comes to their own actions.
While driving drunk is a terrible thing to do, because "Mel" is now endangering the life of the general public, most people don't know or don't care what "Mel" does when he gets home and off the streets. I know this may sound terrible, but my favorite time of the day is when "Mel" is out there, and not here. The world is full of "Mel's" and chances are you know one, even if you don't realize it.

Hot Times On The Patio

2006-08-02T08:38:00.000-07:00

As promised, some patio science, with absolutely nothing scientific about it. First the patio cook-off. At...

AM, that is. The temp was already...

I placed a bag of microwave popcorn on top of the grill and an egg on a fry pan on the side shelf. Nope, no fried eggs, we're going for hard boiled without the water. The fry pan is there to produce heat that's all.

I'm willing to let these two things sit out there until about 4-5 o'clock. My guess is the egg will partially cook. As for the popcorn, not sure. What's your guess?

I'm waiting until it gets really hot for the 20 Minute Meltdown and I'm not sure what I'm going to melt yet. Dan, I don't have jello, sorry. A tub of lipstick is game though.

Photo Assignment Pre-assignment

2006-07-31T14:16:00.000-07:00

Ok folks, here's our run of the mill patio. Nothing special there.

Here's today's temp on the patio thermometer...

Now, Tuesday and Wensday the temp is suppose to rise to 105-110*. And since my patio is so boring I thought we might take advantage of the heat wave and do some science projects.

Let's call one The 20 Minute Melt Down. Help me think of three meltable objects I probably have in my house and let's see what melts first.

Here's another thing I pondered...just how cool is a cucumber? If I put one out there, just what would the internal temperature of it be?

The cover of my grill was over 120* today. If I put a bag of microwavable popcorn on top of it, would any of it pop?

Could I bake a potato out there? Perhaps one with an aluminum nail stuck in it?

I'm up for suggestions. Oh course, everything will be photo documented.

From The I Can't Believe I Just Did that File

2006-07-31T05:37:00.000-07:00

Last night, I hop into bed, and grab my remote to turn on my TV. They are an aging duo. The TV is fine but the remote is not so cooperative and sometimes takes several clicks and careful positioning before it actually does what I want it to do. First click, nothing. So, I hold the remote high in the air, since my TV sits atop an armoire, just above my standing eye level. Another click...and nothing. Now, I get out of bed and standing, I click again with no result. Still holding the remote up high, I walk along the side of my bed and around the the foot of my bed towards the TV, clicking all the way. Nothing. Now, I'm standing right in front of the armoire still clicking my remote, and I would guess looking like a total asshole. Determined to make the remote do it's job, I take the "Clicker" and yes. physically use it to push the on/off button on my TV. I even thought for a split second I could also use the remote to change the channel with this technique.
Yes, I am a jerk. Have you done anything stupid lately?

Much Ado about Boobs (warning boob picture included)

2006-07-30T08:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, I read Paul's entry on boobs, and the cover of Baby Talk Magazine with a breastfeeding baby. Seems the great breastfeeding debate here in America never ends. Some people think it's gross. When Demi Moore posed nude and pregnant on the cover of Vanity Fair years ago (covering her nipples and southern region) a lot of people thought that was gross, too. You know, this is all very confusing because we know America has a huge fascination for breasts. At least, non-lactating ones. Ok, I know there are exceptions, there always is.
So, I did a little reading on the web about breastfeeding and pornography, and how these two things vary from region to region across the globe.
Here in American we cover our female breasts, many countries do. Breasts are thought of as a sexual part of the body, not to be exposed to just anyone. I really don't think the people claiming that breastfeeding is gross, really think it's gross, I think it embarrasses them, and they'd rather blame the mother for partaking in a lewd act, then admit their own discomfort with seeing breasts they shouldn't be seeing under normal (by that I mean non-breastfeeding) circumstances.
The fact is, we are taught from a very early age breasts are sexual and the mere fact that a baby is latched onto the end of it, doesn't make it any less sexual.
Now, I didn't breastfeed my kids, because I couldn't. I had a lot of friends who did. They were so discreet about it, I never knew they were breast feeding until I stuck my face close enough in, to look at their babies and found myself face to boob with them. Surprise! And I could always see the discomfort on my husband's face when he's suddenly notice one of my friends or one of his friends wives were breastfeeding, too. Oh man, breastfeeding is a free ticket to see boobs you're not normally allowed to see! And your gut feeling is, I shouldn't be seeing this! We were raised this way, and breastfeeding in American just isn't as common as it is in other countries. So, breasts here will remain a sexual thing, to be viewed on the Internet, in the privacy of our home, pornographic publications, or a strip club for sexual pleasure, because we just don't get to see them just anywhere, ya know!
Now take a country where woman walk around topless all the time, and breastfeeding is the norm, not the exception. There, breasts are as common as showing your ear and well, not a turn on.
They're just not sexual, they're utilitarian. No one thinks breastfeeding is gross and no one is embarrassed. And to boot, I bet you won't find any guy subscribing to porn to take a peek at boobs to get their jollies. Because boobs just don't turn them on.
We have a lot of woman out there screaming about the breastfeeding in public issue, but I have to wonder if these same women would be willing to give up the sexual aura that surround breasts, over the comfort to breastfeed. And would men like to be de sensitized to the point, where looking at breasts doesn't turn them on?
Personally, I like the fact that breasts turn men on. Yeah, I know they get a heavy dose of perfect, unrealistic looking titties in magazines and TV and that's not a good thing. It makes woman and girls feel inferior and gives men and boys unreal expectations. But, all in all, I'm not interested in trading in the magic power of my breasts on men, for the sake of making them just another body part. So, what I guess I'm saying is, I'd rather keep the whole thing as it is...a little uncomfortable for some people at the cost of keeping breasts sexual.

So, Ladies and Gents, what are your thoughts on this.
I want to add:
I am not against breastfeeding
I am not against breastfeeding in public.

How To Walk Around the Run-Around

2006-07-28T04:26:00.000-07:00

Ah, you know all about it guys. Having to call a credit card company, your cell phone server or even your ISP. The dreaded automated phone run-around. I went through this yesterday. My goal...to call my utility company and discontinue my equal payment plan.

Dial: 1800blahblahblahPSEG
To continue in English press 1 now....1

If this is an emergency press 2 now...

If you would like to have service turned on at a new location press 3 now...

If you are calling about your bill or your Equal Payment Plan please press 4 now...4 (YIPPEE!)

Please enter your 10 digit account number or your telephone number including area code, followed by the pound sign...###-###-####...#

If the first 3 letters of your last name are FEL, please press 1 now...1

Your current balance due is 3 hundred, 69 dollars and 98 cents.
(I know, I have the bill right in front of me.)

Your last payment of two hundred and ninety six dollars was received July 14th. (I know.)

If you would like to make your payment with a credit card, please press 4 now...(nope, don't wanna do that either.)

To return to the main menu press 5 now...(HUH?)...CLICK!

Call another number for PSE&G...
Repeat steps 1-7..oh, I'm told for a nominal fee I can do business with them over the internet! CLICK!

Go to www.pseg.com

No options to cancel Equal Payment Plan. I am about to give up, and possibly throw my phone out the window. Or maybe I can find a way to blow out a transformer and, ya know...cause an emergency or maybe a gas leak...I do have a small front loader sitting in my backyard...screw that "call before you dig" thing.

Thoughts of revenge are sweet, but don't solve the problem.

I Google, "talk to a real person." There it is, a site I heard of somewhere, www.gethuman.com. The answer to my prayers. The site that tells you how to get around the run-around of 400+ major companies(including AOL). SWEET! I find my utility company on the discussion boards and follow their instructions."PRESS 0 AFTER EACH PROMPT" And two prompts later...a living breathing human being. My Equal Payment Plan is cancelled. God, I felt so empowered!

BOOKMARK IT!

gethuman - advocacy for high quality customer service for consumers

A Wrap-up Of Sorts

2006-07-27T03:52:00.000-07:00

I haven't been writing much...no idea why. So, this entry is an update on some things I wrote about in the past.

Get a bad hiarcut last night...not related to any entry but thought I'd mention it. Today I will color my hair, as the gray is now exposed.

See previous entry. My son is vacationing in Arizona for the week with the outted family . These folks needed a vacation badly. They were nice enough to take him along.

My daughter is vacationing in Cape May with her friends family and I am taking care of the hairless rats, I mentioned in my Pet Names entry. Damn, they are ugly.

A footnote to my entry entitled The Stubborn Cheerio. This tooth was extracted on Tuesday.

I wrote a meme last month about high school. In it I wrote:

Name a few popular things (bands, type of clothing, catch phrases) from your high school days. "The Grateful Dead, Landlubber hip huggers and "Esta Spose" don't ask, no idea what it means, but we said it, and it was graffitied all over town." I was anonymously contacted by e-mail by one of of the graffitti artists just this passed Sunday. No, he still won't tell me what it means, but I now know who's responsible. Hi Howie! He revealed his identity after a few e-mails.

That's it for now.

Say, What Country Do I live In?

2006-07-22T04:39:00.000-07:00

A country that can take away your home and your livelihood, because they can.

This is my son's best friend, Zach Halper being served eviction papers for their family owned farm for the past 80 years. Zach is 16. He asked them where the check is. Not only have the Halpers not been paid for their home and 75 acres of land, they were being charged $5,000. a day for every day they stayed on their property after being served. They vacated on Thursday and that night armed police blocked roads to their house, put up trespassing signs and boarded up their home.

This is by far one of the shadiest land deals made in New Jersey. It even involves a bribe offered to the Halper's okayed by former governor Jim Mc Greevey...you know the bozo who left office because he was gay, and married and outted himself on national TV a few years ago. That was only one of the messes the governor was running from. You see, the Halper family member who was offered the bribe was wearing a wire.

Believe me, this is the short of it. This bullshit has been going on for 8 years...a long legal battle for a famly trying to keep what's theirs. The bottom line is the tax payers of this town don't want the Halper's land either. We don't want it and we don't want to pay for it. This is sheer puke. I just don't get how taking away someone's farm to call it "open space" makes any sense. It already was "open space." Under the laws of eminent domain people are supposed to be justly compensated for their property. There's nothing "just"about this.

So, the Halper's were at my house yesterday. Why? Because they had no place else to go, of course. They did some laundry and made some phone calls. Last night was their second night in a hotel.

This whole thing makes me sick.

Last Words

2006-07-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

Accentuate the Negative

2006-07-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Life in Negative. If there's a huge gap to get to the rest, I have no idea why.

Time for your Monday Photo Shoot, and this time, I thought we'd try something just a little different, which will require the use of some photo tools:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: With photo editing tools, take a picture of yours and turn it into a negative. The idea here is not to take just any picture, mind you, but one that you think will look particularly striking with its colors inverted.

This is a photo my daughter took. She calls it her hand-heart. At 1st look I thought she did it with using both hands, but when I went to edit it, I noticed the hand on the right was a mirror image. Clever.

If You're Desperate to Celebrate Something Today..

2006-07-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

You know, there are just some celebrities who just keep giving and giving. David Hasselhoff is one of them. This guy's body of work, from Baywatch to Broadway is bad, bad, bad, and getting worse. But today is DH's birthday, so if you're desperate to have something to celebrate, here ya go. Why did anyone let you stand on the Berlin Wall? Why does anyone let you get your hands on a microphone? DH, could you please apply for citizenship in another country, because you're embarrassing us?

It would some how feel right, to do something today to embarrass yourself, so here's a link to see how compatible you are with DH.

Match yourself with David Hasselhoff I'm embarrased to say I was 68% physically compatible with him,(how, I don't know) but only 11% emotionally compatible, thank God.

Will It Float?

2006-07-14T14:43:00.000-07:00

I know ya'll have been eagerly awaiting the results of the fish stick "will it float?" experiment. Here's goes...oh, and I wouldn't try this at home if you have no prior fish stick experience. They can be pretty dangerous particularly if they haven't been doused in tartar sauce or catsup.

Notice how I hold it by the tail fin. I bet you didn't know the bread crumbs are barbed. Here we go...

Whelp, everyone was right. And like Dan said, it floated like a "bad poop."

Pet Names

2006-07-13T15:55:00.000-07:00

A slightly intoxicated Krissy Scalzi came up with this assignment:

Weekend Assignment #120: Do a Web search on a pet's name and let us know some of the interesting things that pop up. It doesn't necessarily have to be a current pet -- if you've got a previous pet whose name will elicit more interesting Web results, by all means use that one instead.

Extra credit: Tell us an interesting name of a pet that wasn't your own.

Ok, I used to spin a globe to pick pets names. I took a spin for one of my cats and it stop on Revas Nicaruaga, but I called her Reva. I found there's an acronym for REVAS.

AcronymDefinition

Rescue, Exposure, Ventilation, Attack, Salvage

(firefighting) She died of feline leukemia at 7 months.

The cat we have now is called PJ, for no other reason then thats the name my daughter picked when she was 3 years old. Here's the acronyms for PJ.

AcronymDefinition

PJ	Pajama(s)
PJ	Para-Jumper/Pararescueman
PJ	Paintball Junkies
PJ	Papa John's (Pizza)
PJ	Partido Justicialista (Argentina)
PJ	Passive Jamming
PJ	Pear Juice
PJ	Pearl Jam (band)
PJ	Periodic Jitter
PJ	Peta-Joule (10^15 Joules)
PJ	Petaling Jaya (Selangor, Malaysia)
PJ	Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings director)
PJ	Photo-Journalist (USAF)
PJ	Pigeon John (singer)
PJ	Pineapple Juice
PJ	Plain Jane
PJ	Police Judiciaire (France)
PJ	Polícia Judiciaria (Portugal)
PJ	Polícia Judiciária (Portugal)
PJ	Polly Jean Harvey (singer)
PJ	Pomegranate Juice
PJ	Poor Joke
PJ	Port Jervis (New York, USA)
PJ	Precessing Jet (nozzle)
PJ	Princeton Junction (train station)
PJ	Process Job (SEMI Carrier Management term)
PJ	Procurement Justification
PJ	Project Justice (video game)
PJ	Provincia Jujuy (Argentina province, airline code)
PJ	Prunus Japonica
PJ	Puddle Jumper
PJ	Pulse Jitter
	Weird pet name? And weird pet to boot, would be my daughters friends hairless rat named Webo. It looked sorta like an uncircumcised penis with eyes.

Your Monday Photo Shoot: The Life Aquatic

2006-07-13T05:58:00.000-07:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: The Life Aquatic :

Now just for the hellovit, do you think a fish stick would sink or float? I'll post a picture of the results later.

When Nothing Comes Between a Woman and A New Pair of Shoes

2006-07-10T06:53:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, in the past year, I have lost 30 lbs. The weight lose wasn't just fat, it was also a lot of muscle. I have one leg skinnier than the other, though the skinnier leg boasts a larger ankle, and my once nice ass turned flat, but is on it's way to recovering it's roundness, after getting back on my feet. Going clothes shopping, once a dreaded task, is now tres enjoyable. For the first time since I've had kids, I'm wearing low rise jeans, bras that don't come with a label that says "for industrial use only" and panties that aren't prefaced with the word "granny." I bought some fun undies..even a lime green bra and undies with appliques on them. Not official bikinis, but low rise, at least.
Aside from clothing, I also need a whole new slew of shoes. Since breaking my ankle last years, my one foot is prone to swelling, and of course heels are out. Ok, a braver soul then I might wear them, but after seeing my foot pointing in the wrong direction, I have no desire to wear skyscrapers.
My search for the perfect pair of slip-on canvas shoes wasn't as easy as I thought. I had looked in 5 different stores and came away bagless. I decided to try Target, new in our town. Cruising the shoe aisle up and down, I found what I was looking for...a pair of linen colored slip-ons. Not sure what size I now wear, I grabbed a pair of size 9's and went to sit and try them on. Nine was what the box said, the shoes were really a 10. I go back to the rack to find 9's, and there are none, so I grab 8 1/2's and 9 1/2's and take them back with me. Still, nothing fits both feet quite right.
I get up again, and this time notice that my brandy new underwear, who have never met this particular pair of jeans before were not getting along. Each time I sat or got up from trying on shoes, my undies were losing altitude. But, I am determined to walk out with shoes from this shopping trip and continue my quest. They have the same style shoe in black and a lacy white fabric, but still I have no idea what size I need.
Between walking back and forth, and sitting down and getting up, my new undies slipped down, just a little more. It was getting pretty damn uncomfortable and I had to make a conscious effort not to stick my hand down my pants and yank those suckers up. God, why did you not just give me a wedgie? I explored the thought of finding a secluded corner in the shoe department where I could adjust myself, but knew there were probably cameras everywhere. How I wish my daughter was with me so she could give me a behind-the-scenes report, or perhaps make believe she bumped into me while I go for the dive. We'd probably look like a mother/daughter shoplifting team.
Now things are getting serious. The waist band of my undies are now across the biggest part of my butt, hugging my ass like the the equater hugs a globe. Gravity is not my friend and there is no where to go from here, but south. This is the point of no return. But still, I shop for shoes. I mean things could be worse..I could be wearing a skirt. Had I been, I'm sure my undies would already be around my ankles and I'd have double the dilemma of trying to walk in shoes that were bound together with an elastic string to keep them from losing their mate and my underwear would be restricting my walk, like shackles on a guy in a chain gang.
I decided on a size 9 in black. Not a perfect fit, but I will not waddle out of this store shoeless! I plop them into my cart and with all my dignity, hold my head high and walk toward the check-out, wondering the whole time, if my shirt was long enough to cover my ass. I knew it wasn't. I could feel my bare butt rubbing against the denim of my jeans, and knew my panties were now bunched up under the cheeks of my ass. I tell myself..."just act normal and buy the shoes". I hear voices in my head..."Mommy, what's wrong with that lady's tussy?"..."Wow, she could use a butt-lift, huh?"..."Excuse me ma'am, we believe you might have stolen property in your pants, please follow me."...I get to the check-out and make my purchase.

I get outside and by this time it's dark out. I get in my car, lock the doors and stick my hand down the back of my pants and grab the gotchies that had literally let me down. AAHHH! better.
The next day, I wear my new shoes. God, they were cute! But by the days end, I was sporting a blister on one foot...the bigger of the two. My daughter tries my shoes on, and announces they fit her...perfectly. She asks if she can wear them, and I say yes. She asks if she can have them, and I say yes. I head down the hallway to my room and close the door. Thinking she had made me angry, she asked what I was doing. "Taking off my underwear and going shopping for shoes." I said. "Wanna come?"...
So, ya know, if you have a good underwear story...leave a link...

Boston

2006-07-10T06:23:00.000-07:00

My first trip to Boston was when my cousin was relocating to the area for a job. She didn't want to make the trip alone, so my KSB (kinda-sorta boyfriend :) Dan) at the time, and myself accompanied her. The truth is she didn't want to drive a U-Haul truck, so KSB came in handy. The deal was, if we helped her move, she'd pay our airfare home, which at the time was $19. I think this was 1982, and the first time I ever flew on a plane.
After a long slow drive in a truck with a questionable transmission, we arrived in North Andover, somewhere outside of Boston. We spend the rest of the day unloading the truck and hauling my cousins belongings, which mostly consisted of shoes, up to her small apartment above someone's garage and topped off the night with some heavy drinking. KSB and I had to sleep on a sleeper sofa together in the living room/kitchen.
At some point during the night I heard my cousin calling my name..."Teresa...Teresa". Waking and looking around, I see my cousin's face in horror and my KSB standing stark naked, pissing in her kitchen sink, then falling back into a pile of empty cardboard boxes. He just laid there. She wanted me to help her get him back in the bed, but I decidedwe should just leave him there. I doubted we could get a 6'2" drunk of the floor, anyway. (Note to self...tell kids about the time their dad pissed in the sink..yes, I married KSB).
The next day we went into Boston to catch a little tourism before going to the airport. We drive into the city in my cousin's car and parked in a parking deck near Faneuil Hall. The moment she locked the car doors, she realized that she had locked the keys in it. With the help of the parking gargage attendents, any attempt to get into the car was fruitless. We'd be going to the airport via taxi without our luggage.
Now, I 've been in many a NYC cab and anyone who has, can tell you it can be a terrifiing experience. I for one, choose to not pay any attention to the cabbies driving skills and keep my eyes off the road. I tend to look out the side window and spare myself the anxiety. The traffic was horrendous and so was the cabbies driving. Would we make it to the airport in time? Would we be alive when we get there? The traffic had to merge in order to get through some tunnel. No one was gonna give here. There were cars on the right and left of us only inches away. As for looking out the window...not very comforting. And of course, we're running late.
We make it alive and well, well, not so well, to the airport. We looked rather strange, luggageless. We got our tickets and headed through security, which then, was only a walk through metal detector. KSB got his zippo lighter and a pocket knife out of his jeans and put them to the side. We were now surrounded by police. Who knew an "Old Timer" pocket knife would cause such commotion in 1982. Security decided he's not allowed to take the knife on the plane and he's wasn't too happy about parting with it. They said they'd mail it to Newark Airport and he'd have to pick it up there, when it arrived. Meanwhile, back in my head, I'm having 1st time flying jitters. I'm thinking about downing a few drinks on the plane to cure my case of nerves. This flight was from Boston, to Newark to San Diego. Upon boarding I find out there would be no drinks served until after the plane stopped at Newark...great. I "white knuckle" my way home, on KSB's arm. Oh, it took about a month for him to get his beloved knife back.
The 2nd time I go to Boston, I leave KSB home. Actually, he's no longer KSB, we're now living together. My cousin is moving again, this time to Haverhill, outside Boston. Yes, we go to Faneuil Hall again, where we party with some sailors and also meet Meg Ryan. As for how I got home this time I really don't recall. I guess it was uneventful.

Some Flower Photo's

2006-07-07T13:17:00.000-07:00

PETUNIAS

LILLIES

LANTANA

CLEMETIS

Finally a Good FWD:

2006-07-06T12:08:00.000-07:00

I must send my thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet towel with every envelope that needs sealing.

And now, thanks to you, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. I no longer have any savings because I gave it to a sick girl (Penny Brown) who is about to die in the hospital for the 1,387,258th time.

I no longer have any money at all, but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Bill Gates/Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special e-mail program.

I no longer worry about my soul because I have 363,214 angels looking out for me, and St. Theresa's novena has granted my every wish.

I no longer eat KFC because their chickens are actually horrible mutantfreaks with no eyes or feathers.

I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you, I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an email to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.

I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains.

I no longer can buy gasoline without taking a man along to watch thecar so a serial killer won't crawl in my back seat when I'm pumping gas.

I no longer drink Pepsi or Dr. Pepper since the people who make these products are atheists who refuse to put "Under God" on their cans.

I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer. And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face...disfiguring me for life.

I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS. I no longer go to shopping malls because someone will drug me with a perfume sample and rob me.

I no longer receive packages from UPS or FedEx since they are actually Al Qaeda in disguise.

I no longer shop at Target since they are French and don't support our American troops or the Salvation Army.

I no longer answer the phone because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.

I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike. I no longer buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus since I now have their recipe.

Thanks to you, I can't use anyone's toilet but mine because a big brown African spider is lurking under the seat to cause me instant death when it bites my butt.

Thank you too for all the endless advice Andy Rooney has given us. I can live a better life now because he's told us how to fix everything.

And thanks to your great advice, I can't ever pick up $5.00 I dropped in the parking lot because it probably was placed there by a sex molester waiting underneath my car to grab my leg.

Oh, and don't forget this one either; I can no longer drive my car because I can't buy gas from certain gas companies!

Now if you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 PM this afternoon and the fleas from 12 camels will infest your back,causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's beautician...

Have a wonderful day....

One Woman's Reply to Men's Secret's

2006-07-06T05:04:00.000-07:00

John writes:
You want to know the real secrets we don't tell our wives? Fine:

a) We actually wanted to date your sister, but she wasn't available.

The truth is my sister was available. She just didn't like you, so we told you she was taken.

b) The credit card charge for porn wasn't a case of identity fraud.

We know it's not identity fraud. But, the only time you're really good in bed is after looking at porn.

c) That night the week before the wedding? The ex-girlfriend? Yeah.

Before the wedding? Your best man? Yeah.

d) We once snorted Tabasco as a dare. For a Corona. Actually, that's a lie. It was for a Corona Light.

We wondered why you didn't grow nose hair.

e) We eat the chocolate you hide in the junk drawer because we know you don't think we know it's there. Really, it's the perfect crime.
We know you know about the chocolate in the junk drawer. We keep the cheap stuff in there, and have another hiding place for the 'good' chocolate.

It's all true.

OUCH!

New Jersey-CLOSED

2006-07-02T04:26:00.000-07:00

Looks like New Jersey will soon be officially closed for business. So, if any of you reading this have planned a trip to Atlantic City or a hop down the shore, you might want to keep abreast of whats going on in the Garden State.

Beaches will close, so will casino's. People who may have put deposits on vacation homes or rooms may just be screwed out of some bucks. I would suppose camping in state parks would also be affected.

As for how it will effect me, I'm guessing there will still be someone out there to send me my quarterly property tax bill. Thank goodness liquor stores in New Jersey aren't state run. Now, that would really put a damper on things.

In all seriousness, the cost of living in New Jersey is tearing my family apart. When my brother decided to come back north after living in Florida for 20 years, he couldn't afford to live in New Jersey, so he opted to relocate to Pennsylvania. My youngest sister, is having a real estate agent look at her townhouse today, to list it on the market. She can't afford N.J. anymore either, and will be moving, most likely to North Carolina. My eldest sister and her husband are looking at homes in Delaware. It really is very sad.

One Less Thing to Get Depressed About

2006-07-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

For those of you who haven't heard...the patent on Zoloft was lifted! Meaning a generic is out and you won't have to pay out the keester to feel good anymore. Make sure to ask your doctor about it!

I just paid $230 for a months supply three days before the patent was up..."Hey Mr. Pharmacist, can I have a partial refund?"

A Little Relative Off To the World Cup

2006-07-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

If you plan on watching Tuesday's World Cup Game, you can KSBNR(kinda-sorta,but not really)say you know someone there. The little kid in the photo on the left is my 3rd cousin. Yes, we share a name, my maiden name is Puhan. He'll be escorting a player out to the field. Now how cool is that! His stepdad entered him in a contest a radio station was holding, and they won, along with a few other local kids.

4th's of July

2006-07-01T03:36:00.000-07:00

JULY 4TH, 1976

My Mom, me, friend Margaret and my sister Linda (what's with her hair?) This picture was taken on my neighbors front lawn after we watched the parade. It's hard to believe that I am now the age my mother was in this photograph! I'm 19 in the photo.

As for my life at that point in time, a month after it was taken, I moved to Florida, to live with Margaret's brother, who was in the Coast Guard. Fast forward a year, and I am back home. On the night of July 4th, 1977, I get a marriage proposal from a former boyfriend. One year and 10 days later, I'm married. It doesn't last long...kinda like fireworks.

Tee's Impure Thought of the Day

2006-06-29T12:01:00.000-07:00

I want to be the center of a Sambora and Bonjovi sandwich. That's putting it nicely, even lady-like, huh?

Take a Little Time to Enjoy The Few

2006-06-29T04:27:00.000-07:00

(no, this picture is not two women in burkhas)

So, Star Jones booked on Barbara Walters. Well, not exactly. Since ABC was not going to renew her contract she decided to announce her leaving The View live on the show, much to Ms. Walters surprise and then was told not to return to the show, active immediately. I think it was quite rude of Star Jones to do that. But, I for one won't miss her a bit. Actually, I stopped watching The View a while back, so I missed all the fun of the last two days.
As for Meredith Vieria's departure, she was a plus to the show, not a minus and harder to replace.
The View wants women of different backgrounds and opinions. Enter Rosie O'Donnell. I'm guessing The View now wants a lesbian on board. Sure why not. But, why her. I've already seen her be a co-host stand-in on the show and she hogged up a guests entire interview talking about herself. The guest might as well have stayed home in bed. What was Barbara Walters thinking? No, I don't have a lesbian of choice. Anyone got a suggestion?
If The View wants to replace Star Jones with another woman of color, I can think of a few...Jada Pinkett-Smith, Queen Latifah, Holly Robinson Peet or Gail King, aka Oprah's best friend. Now off hand, I can't think of any black lesbians. But hey, why not kill two birds with one stone.
Some of you would probably like to smack me for saying this but, I'd rather see Kathie Lee Gifford take the seat than O'Donnell. GASP!
Who'd you like to see fill these two seats?

Patterns and Textures

2006-06-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

This week John Scalzi asks us to look at everyday things with a new eye, and capture patterns and textures...

a dirty sneaker

the grid on my headboard

my cats fur

I think this assignment proves there's something interesting in even the crappiest photo.

How'd We Get So Lonely?

2006-06-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Do ever wonder how you got so lonely? All of a sudden, it's like, when did this all happen? In the past 10 years, I have by far, spend more time watching FRIENDS, then actually spending time with real people friends.
Wouldn't ya like to think that Chandler, Monica, Rachael, Ross, Joey and Phoebe, all still hang out together. Put them in real life, and I can bet you, they don't. Rather then boring you with my own life. I'll use them, to show you how people fall away from each other.

Chandler and Monica with their twins, moved into a
house on Long Island. Chandler works, some days overtime. Monica is a stay at home mom. In fact, she's expecting a baby. Her life surrounds her children and her female contacts are now woman she briefly chatted with while pushing a stroller up her street and a few mom's of her children's preschool classmates.
Chandler and Monica's sex life is fallen off. Monica is tired. Chandler plays golf on Saturday mornings with work buddies. Monica is depressed, but Chandler doesn't even notice.

Ross and Rachael got married, and live in upper Manhattan. Ross still works at the museum, Rachael owns an up scale designer dress shop and Emily has a au pair. By night, the Geller's attend black tie museum fund raisers or fashion shows and eat out more often than home. Their circle of friends aren't really friends, more so business associates. Their marriage is well, sorta mechanical and even their sex life is more like a planned formal occasion, and no ones hair gets messed up in the act. Rachael has bulemia.
Despite the fact that Rachael, Ross, Chandler and Monica are related, they only see each other on holidays, family weddings and funerals, and their children's birthdays and milestones. Monica and Rachael have gone from being lifelong friends to being sister-in-laws and no longer tell each other everything. They have nothing in common and are awkward company in each others homes. Monica wouldn't dare tell Rachael how she really feels. As for Chandler and Ross, one time college room mates, Ross cares about Chandler getting a new ride on lawn mower, about as much as Chandler cares about Ross's recent trip to Egypt.
Joey, who moved to California and calls Chandler on occasion. He's still a single guy, and only from time to time does he remember it's an old friends birthday and gives Chandler a call. The conversation goes like this:
"Hello, Bing residence".
Joe: "Oh, I must have the wrong number, did I call Long Island, you know the state?"
Chandler: "JOE?"
Joe: "CHANDLER?"
Chandler: "Yes, It's me Joe, how are you?"
Joey:" Hey, Happy Birthday,dude! Hey, I just bought a new Vette, this things a real babe magnet and ya know what else? The console fits a meatballs sandwich perfectly".
Chandler: "Very cool, Joe."
Joey: "How about flying out and meeting me in Vegas for the weekend? Like old times, just you and me."
Chandler: "Sorry Joe, no can do."
Joey: " Oh, come on, why not?"
Chandler: "Monica's six months pregnant and the twins are both sick, I can't leave now."
Joey: "Ok, but let's do it another time."
Chandler: " Yeah, Joe, soon, I promise. You take care, Ok buddy?"
Joey: " Give my love to Monica and the kids will ya?"
Chandler: " I will, Joe. Bye.
Joey: "Bye."
From another room Monica yells "Who was that, honey?"
And Chandler says, "No one."
That was the last time Chandler and Joey spoke. And Chandler was never sure whether he envied Joe or pitied him.
As for Phoebe and Mike, they still live in the village. And Phoebe still goes to Central Perk, only now she brings her daughter with her, who she happily thinks is Linda Mc Cartney reincarnated. And tells people Paul Mc Cartney is her son-in-law. She feels no need to call her old friends because she believes they're there in spirit anyways, and sometimes even talks to them in lively loud conversation. Her daughter knows about each and every one of them and can't wait for the day she moves out of her parents house and makes friends just like her mom had.

If NBC ever dared to make this scenario into a FRIENDS reunion show, God would people hate it. But, ya know what? This is how it happens in real life. Out of the bunch, I'd be most like Monica. Infact, I married my brother's friend, who lived in an apartment close to his. Most of my long time friends have fallen by the wayside for a number of reasons. As for making new ones, I find it extremely difficult getting close with people I don't have a long history with, so the friendships I have are few and rather superficial. Guess I'm lucky to have three sisters.

Feeling Alone

2006-06-23T16:02:00.000-07:00

Feeling Alone : In the spirit of John's Being Poor, I thought I'd write about being lonely.

Lonely is when you've tried to teach your cat to speak.

Lonely is listening to talk radio instead of listening to music.

Lonely is eating a sandwich for dinner because cooking for one seems like too much trouble.

Lonely is wanting to go out and realizing you have no one to go see.

Lonely is playing solitaire because you have to.

Lonely is calling and getting nothing but answering machines.

Lonely is not having to close your bathroom door.

Lonely is not ordering a pizza because there will be too much left over.

Lonely is always knowing where everything is, because there's no ones else around but you to touch it.

Lonely is always knowing you will get the last bite.

Lonely is not having to use a dishwasher.

Lonely is having enough clean spoons.

Lonely is one tooth brush in the stand.

Lonely is knowing no one is going to borrow your clothes.

Lonely is having milk go bad.

Lonely is never having to leave the outside light on.

Lonely is having a low electric bill.

Lonely is buying a 4 pack of toilet paper.

Lonely is having all of the blanket.

Lonely is too much quite.

Lonely is having to call a tow truck.

Lonely is always having to sit next to a stranger.

Lonely is an e-mail box full of spam.

Lonely is having to go out and buy your own tissues and cough medicine when you have a cold.

Lonely is when you read a lot.

Lonely is being ignored because you are alone.

If you have anything to add feel free to.

A Sandwich Meme

2006-06-22T04:22:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning, making a mental grocery list and I got hung up on sandwiches somehow. So, here's a sandwich meme.
( I do realize this may cause Paul to write an entry on the what constitutes meat, and I'd like to see him and Dan go head-to-head debating this topic, but people, you know what I mean....meat, except Nanook Paul).

What's your favorite non-meat sandwich? Grilled cheese

Tell us about your P&J or PB&J. Chunky or smooth? What kind of jelly...bread? smooth, grape on white

Favorite bread to eat a sandwich on? Rye

Do you have a sandwich formula? By this I mean, a stacking order of ingredients? Do tell. bread, meat,cheese if using it, lettuce, tomato, condiment of choice, bread.

What's your favorite home-made (cold) sandwich? Be ingredient specific. Shickhaus bolony (sliced thin), lettuce, tomato, mayo on rye.

Are there certain things you never put together on a sandwich? mayo with salami, hams and most cured meats.

Are you or someone you love mayo-phobic? My daughter and brother-in-law are mayo-phobic.

What's your favorite sandwich condiment? mayo

Are you or someone in your house a mustard freak and how many kinds of mustard are in your house right now? My husband is a mustard freak, we have 5 kinds right now.

What's your favorite deli sandwich if you have deli's in your area? Corned beef on rye,with cole slaw on it.

What's your favorite sub, grinder or hoagie? A #9 at Monte Carlo's...ham, salami and provolone, oil, vinegar...the works.

Do you put anything on a sandwich most people consider strange? I put sweet relish in tuna salad, some people find that strange.

Do you cut your sandwiches in half? Yes, and grilled cheese I cut diagonally, like my mom used to.

Name a sandwich you would never eat. Anything with gross cold cuts, like head cheese or tongue. Anything with a body parts in the name, I stay away from.

Tell about your sandwich sides? Half sour pickels with deli sandwiches. Chips with tuna. Dills with ham and bread and butter pickels with bolony. Nothing with egg salad.

Did you make your mom cut off bread crust when you were a kid? No, but I sometimes left the crust.

Have you ever eaten a sandwich and realzed after eating some of it, the bread had mold on the bottom? If so, what did you do? Yep, sometimes I just cut the moldy part off and sometimes chucked the sandwich (after all, I am something like 36% gross).

Baggy Pants

2006-06-21T11:25:00.000-07:00

Now here's some baggy pants! My daughter tried on her cousins pants, Sunday when they were at our house. I would say there's a real good possibility that this kid, (not my daughter, my nephew) will some day be chased by cops and I can't wait for them to catch his butt!

In Search of Still Life

2006-06-21T08:23:00.000-07:00

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Still Life : The Big Scalzone asks us to get a little artsy and we bow to his request.

This is pretty much the epidomy of still life as it hasn't moved in years and it shows in the photograph.

Some also very rarely used wine glasses. Changing it to black and white helped hide the dust. I wondered what this would look like upside down...

The Mystery of The Plastic Hats

2006-06-21T05:29:00.000-07:00

Sitting here at the computer, out of the corner of my eye, I see something. Getting up I go to the front window and see this. Plastic hats...two of them sitting upon my lightpost. Where they came from I don't know. Did my lightpost go out and get lit last night? Is someone trying to tell us something? Let me know what you think. Personally, I'm not a hat person, but the lamp post looks pretty dapper.

All for one or One for all?

2006-06-20T07:15:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning feeling confused for the first time in 16 years, 7 months and 9 days exactly what it is I owe my children. Up until now it was easy. Love, food, clothing, a roof over their heads, and a safe haven called home.
Last night, as I was sitting here plinking away on this computer, my son, who was sitting watching TV twelve feet away from me said, "Pete's parents bought him a car". Pete got his drivers license just last week. I asked what they bought him "a BMW", he said. Not a new one but an older one, but a Beemer, none the less. My son got his drivers permit back in April and has since, many times, half jokingly has asked "What kinda car are ya buying me, mom". I know in my heart he secretly hoped, I'd say "what kind do you want?" But, that hasn't happened. Heck, I don't even have a car.
I began to wonder when it was that families went from sharing things, to everyone having one of everything they could call their own. I grew up in the house with one TV for 7 people. For years we had one telephone there on Maple Ave, the place we called home. And it was a big deal when my sister got a phone extension in her room, and the room was only hers alone, because my other sister had gone off to college. And as far as cars go, it wasn't something that parents gifted you with, simply because it was now legal for you to drive. Here and now, the 4 of us have 5 TV's, 4 cell phones, 4 house phones, 3 computers, and no one shares a bedroom. My father did co-sign car loans for my sisters when they got full-time jobs. He died before they were payed off, but the loans were insured and neither of my sister had to make the pay-off. And my brother and I, both new drivers,and still in high school, got my father's car, a 1971 Catalina Brougham, because my mother didn't drive. But, with the car came grocery shopping and all general household errands. Actually, my brother had to make the sacrifice of quiting high school, when my dad was ill. As for car insurance and who paid it, I can't recall. I do know that putting my son on a policy with a car under him will triple our premiums.
Don't get me wrong, I love to give my kids things, but I'm suddenly confused now, on where to draw the line. I'm not even sure if I owe them a college education. While I was awarded a very small scholarship for a community college, not for smarts, but out of pity by a bunch of doctors who had known my dad, my older sister had to take out a students loan. We both flunked out and we both had to pay back the money. That's the way my parents ran things in our house.
So, I guess I'm questioning what I have given my kids in the past as well. Have they gotten used to getting what they want, and think that as long as they live under this roof, it's our duty as parents to give them cars and educations, too? Do we simply give them things because everyone else's parents are? I know there are lots of parents out there that do, but there's something inside me telling me that it's not the right thing to do, for their sake, more than mine.

My Dad -3 entries in one

2006-06-18T06:29:00.000-07:00

What to write about my dad? He had no quirks, and as for traits of his that I may have inherited the list is short. Knobby knees, his brown eyes and a bit of artistic talent.
So, instead, I'm going to tell you how he, long after his death in 1973, influenced our decision to buy our house in 1990.
Our realtor, and friend Kim, arranged for my husband and I to see a house in the town we had decided on. The current owner's were on vacation for the week, so we'd get to see the place without feeling like crashers. Tom and Kim had headed down the hallway to start looking at the bedrooms at the end, while I decided to duck into the first one. It was the smallest bedroom in the house. Pretty much every house has one. I walked in, took a quick look, did a 1-80, turned towards the door and screamed at the top of my lungs. My heart took a leap and goosebumps sprang from every part of my body. Tom and Kim came running into the room asking "God! What's wrong?". I just stood there frozen, pointing to an oval antique mirror sitting on the floor next to the doorway and said "My father painted that". They still didn't get what I was saying. Tom was like woow, "Start from the beginning, what are you talking about?". He had never known my father.
So, I explain to him that the mirror, which long ago had sat atop a three drawer dresser, had been mine as a young girl, when I occupied the smallest bedroom in my house. It was long and oval,with beveled edges and a wooden frame, then unpainted.
The same dresser and mirror had been my father's when he was young. After many years of use, the drawers had worn and my father removed them and painted the dresser and mirror white, with purple pansies, and my two older sister's used it as a make-up vanity. Exactly, when and why this piece of furniture departed from our family, I didn't remember. What I did remember was, this day, that it came back to me, would have been my parents wedding anniversary, July 3rd.
We concluded that my oldest sister had taken it with her when she got married, and left it at the curb as trash when she and her husband were moving out of their first apartment. Our realtor, Kim, asked the homeowner where she had gotten it from, and she said she had purchased it at a flea market up in North Jersey. How it got there, we'll never know. My sister's and mother still questioned whether it was the one, but I never doubted it.
We made an offer on the house and the sellers excepted. Still we hadn't met them. The day came when I did, in an unexpected way. I went to the drugstore to pick up a prescription, and in front of me in line was a woman, her daughter sitting up on the counter, looking unhappy with a face full of poison ivy. I smiled at her and she smiled back. I was standing closely behind her mother and watched as she signed her name for her prescription. She was the woman who's house we were buying. I introduced myself and we chatted a bit about the house and went on our way. I'm sure it's just a coincidence but you see, my father was a pharmacist. Did he set up this chance meeting?
My father is buried just down the road a piece. And we both felt that this was somehow his way of telling us that this was the place that we should raise our children. We moved in, in September and the only thing left behind by the previous owners was my dad's mirror.

2 Questions

I have 2 questions. 1st, what day is it and second is 'ultimum' a word? I just woke up from a nap went to grab a piece of crumb cake. It was called ulitimate but in my head I saw saying ulitmum. PMS makes me studip like that.
Yesterday, I went to a memorial service and it was a rather upbeat time. I came away thinking i had a good time. The person who passed was my sister's brother-in-law. I had felt more like I had come home from a wedding. Memorial services or wakes aren't held on any day inparticular, but I guess dressing up on a Friday and going out to a buffet at a restuarant also left me feeling confused.
I've alos been awake and asleep several times already today, so it feels like two days in one.
I wrote my Father's Day assignment earlier and I'm not too happy with it because it really didn't tell you much about my dad.So now, that's on my mind and I have to tell you some things about him.
My dad was very conservative and 100% Republican.
He was the baby out of a family of 5 kids, 4 boys and 1 girl. His sister died before he was born.
They were poor.
My dad taught my mom how to cook.
I thought my dad was a war hero. Didn't we all? It's from those damn war movies we think this.
The real truth is, he fumigated soldiers in the service.
He wasn't very handy and knew nothing about mechanics.
He graduated from Rutgers School of Pharmacy, just like his oldest brother.
Him and his brothers except one all died young.
I remembe him only crying in front of us 3 times
When my mom's best friend and her daughter were hit by a car and both killed.
When JFK was assasinated.
And when his own best friend, a merchant marine who he rarely saw came to see him in the hospital, because he knew when this man appeared in his room, that he must be dying.
I liked to sit on his lap even when I was a teenager and he liked that too ( I also sat on my moms lap).
He owned a pharmacy in our town, and was well known and liked.
He sometimes painted to relax.
He worked his ass off 13 hours a day.
He got dressed in a shirt and tie every day.
He was meticulas.
His name was Frank.
He was born in 1919 and died in 1974.
My mom told me he always sensed when she was about to have mommy burn out and he'd take her to NYC for a weekend and treat her to nice dinners and Broadway plays.
He once dropped a chainsaw on his foot. Told ya he wasn't handy.
He met my mom at a big fire in Perth Amboy, NJ and their 1st date was going out to lunch.
They took the bus, because he didn't have a car.
My moms parents didn't like him because he wasn't Polish.
In time they liked him.

That's my dad on the pony.