Job Description?

So I have a varied job description thus far...

• I have learned phone etiquette for this particular business.
• I have learned phone scripts and the most positive ways to phrase things
• I have made phone calls
• Practiced phone calls until my mouth was so dry I could barely speak
  
• OK maybe that was a little bit of an exaggeration but I have made literally thousands of calls to the other employees I am training with
  
• Today we figured out our new headsets and the little quirks they have.
• We also put together one of the three desks we will be using as well as all three chairs. The other two desks will be in next Wednesday.

One of the really odd things is that I am now working at this new job with a girl I haven't seen since I was 8 or 9 years old. She lived next to me for a year or so when I was a kid. The last time she saw me she was 5 or 6. Really odd after all these years.

She has been asking me a lot of questions about God. She has been to church a few times but not anything that she would classify as a commitment. Seems to me that God really wanted me to have this job for more than one reason.

For some reason I am really torn on this issue....

Corcoran plea deal on trial in Chicago

By Rebecca S. Green

CHICAGO – Nothing was typical about the case of convicted quadruple-murderer Joseph E. Corcoran, but whether a plea offer made by the then-Allen County prosecutor was appropriate is now a matter to be decided by a federal appellate court.

Monday afternoon, Indiana Deputy Attorney General James Martin argued that Allen County Prosecutor Robert Gevers’ offer to withdraw the death penalty during plea negotiations was within his prosecutorial discretion.

Even if that offer came with the caveat that Corcoran give up his right to a jury trial and allow a judge to decide his fate.

A three-judge panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago took up the case after Indiana Attorney General Steve Carter appealed a ruling by a federal judge overturning the death penalty, saying Gevers’ offer violated Corcoran’s constitutional rights.

The federal judge’s ruling was the latest step in years of wrangling over Corcoran’s death sentence after he was convicted of murdering his brother, his sister’s fiancé and two of his brother’s friends in July 1997.

Both sides had 30 minutes to present their arguments Monday, and as they spoke, the three judges – William J. Bauer, Ann Claire Williams and Diane Sykes – questioned the lawyers on their interpretations of the law and their arguments.

Gevers’ offer to withdraw the death penalty in exchange for a bench trial instead of a jury trial was no different than any other negotiation common when both sides try to hammer out plea agreements, Martin argued.

“So what was the actual harm to Corcoran by this offer,” Judge Williams asked Martin.

“There was none, your honor,” Martin replied, adding that had a judge decided his case, Corcoran could have been acquitted and escaped the death penalty in that way as well.

But Williams pushed Martin a bit on the issue, asking whether there is a limit to what constitutional rights prosecutors can get defendants to bargain away, even the right to a lawyer or the right against self-incrimination.

Missouri-based attorney Larry Komp, arguing for Corcoran as his court-appointed counsel, said Corcoran should not be penalized for exercising his right to a jury trial.

But Judge Bauer seemed to disagree.

“To say you can’t piecemeal (plea agreements) is to fly in the face of what’s been going on in every (negotiation) in the history of plea bargains,” Bauer said. “What case says you can’t do that?”

Williams again asked how Corcoran was harmed by Gevers’ offer and asked whether following Komp’s argument could lead all prosecutors to forgo seeking plea agreements.

Also at issue before the appellate court is whether Corcoran was competent to waive his rights to have a judge re-evaluate his sentence – a process known as post-conviction relief.

The federal judge upheld an earlier ruling by the Indiana Supreme Court that found Corcoran made a rational choice when he decided not to seek such a review.

Komp said three medical experts found Corcoran suffered from delusions, possibly paranoid schizophrenia.

When Corcoran waived his right to have a judge re-evaluate his sentence, saying he believed execution was an appropriate punishment for the murders of four people, Corcoran was trying to end his own agony.

But Martin argued that the doctors who evaluated Corcoran believed he understood what the process involved and what the consequence would be if he decided not to pursue it.

There is no time frame for the federal judges to issue a ruling, which could come in as little as a few days or take as long as a year.

End of article

First off let me tell you this....he IS crazy! He has since come out and admitted to killing his own parents in 1992, a crime of which he was acquitted. Without outing myself too much here I can tell you that I went to High School with him in a small northern town. He was one of those kids that you either hung with him or you avoided him at all costs...he wasn't violent, just strange. There was something about him that made you stay away from him because he was "different" or dark if you will.

Now don't get me wrong we had our own little small town version of hierarchy of Goth/Punk/Stoner/Preppy/Jock/Geeks etc. But Joe was different and everyone knew it.

I think he was a young teen when he "accidentally" shot a friend in the leg (grazing it) while they were hunting. No charges on this one because the friend said it was an accident as well.

I don't know about all the legal wrangling that has gone on in the last 10 years since this conviction or even what has happened in his life since the acquittal of murdering both his parents and then going to school like nothing happened. I waver back and forth on the death penalty in general because I don't believe it is applied fairly or evenly in this country. Yes some cases deserve it...but is it right to let the State take a life? I was upset about the no smoking thing because I didn't like the government having that much control. I no longer smoke and I did love being able to go out and not smell like an ashtray when I came home but it just seems...intrusive. I don't like that some people are told at their place of employment to say "Happy Holidays" and are forbidden from saying "Merry Christmas".

I have never intended this blog to political in any way...I just have some fundamental concepts in my life that I have been reevaluating for the last ...oh.... 5 years or so. Being unemployed for so long left me with time to think about some things.

However I am going to be starting the training for the new job this week...I am excited and well beyond ready to get this going!

2 posts in one weekend! Must be a record of some sorts for me lately.

Happy Halloween

So here is the Halloween post that everyone loved and linked to before so I will make this a Halloween tradition...


From the days of Old....

From generation to generation...

So my lovely sister and I introduced the Squirrel (aka my nephew) to the movie "Goonies". At first it was like pulling teeth to get him to sit down for this movie...he whined...he complained...he almost threw a full fledged fit but stopped just as the map was pulled out in the movie. Soon he was fully enthralled in the movie...and loved it!

I remember seeing this movie in the theater as somehow my sister convinced my Mom to let me go see it with her. This became one of my favorite movies. I had the poster, the folders for school and envied the kids lucky enough to get the lunch box.

This was the movie everyone in my generation loved. Some were too old for E.T. and some of us were too young to see the Star Wars movies but we all loved The Goonies. I think the Goonies was so popular because it was ever person's dream regardless of age. To stumble upon a get rich quick plan that actually works and saves the day while becoming a hero to all (including parents), catching the bad guys and finding a girlfriend/boyfriend was the ultimate dream.

This movie is one of the greatest ever and I am really glad that after all the teeth pulling to get the Squirrel to actually watch it that he ended up really loving it.

A few guilty pleasures

I have a few shows that I hate to miss the new episodes. I am a die hard Law and Order fan and Law and Order SVU as well. However I never really liked Criminal Intent or Trial by Jury for some reason. Maybe it was just me being too set in my ways and too fond of the styles of the originals.

I also am one of the last remaining "first season through the present" ER fans. I know none of the original cast members are left but I mean come on the show has been on for 12-13 seasons? Look at how many of these people have gone on to film careers, other shows or are just too stinking rich to have to work again. I think one of the reason I have held on so long is because of the cliffhangers from season to season.

I used to be absolutely addicted to the show Friends. Of course when I became a Christian I started to have serious issues with some of the shows but.... I held on until the last episode out of almost some sick obligation. One year I did have to tape the season finale and watch it several weeks later. It was the season that ended with the birth of Ross and Rachel's Baby. I had lost the second twin that week and had to have the D and C. I was not in the mood to see that show at that time.

I do happen to be a huge fan of the Biggest Loser. For some reason it inspires me to eat healthier and walk the stairs instead of riding the escalator.

I used to watch the Real World all the time on MTV. I even tried out once and got down to the last 100 people they were considering for the season. Nope never made it. The older I got the less interested I was in watching it.

Some of the older shows that used to hold my attention were Murphy Brown, Gilligan's Island and of course the Little Rascals. As a kid I remember acting out trying to get off the island with other children in the neighborhood. Of course this was in between Thundercats, Smurfs and Emergency show reenactments.

So what show did you watch?

Changes are every where

When I was a child every couple weeks or so my Dad and I (or the family) would be driving somewhere and we would go by a junkyard. Sometimes the same one... sometimes a random one.

My Dad would always joke that he would be getting my first car from this junkyard or that one. Kind of ironic that my first car was only 4 years younger than myself. But I understand why they did that...in the 70's they made cars like tanks. It also kept me close to home as it only got 12 miles to the gallon. Being in the country nothing was closer than that so I would dig through the couch cushions to come up with the $0.69 I needed for a gallon of gas.

I was thinking about this as I drove to the origins of One4jc Land this weekend for a birthday party. OK I drove to a little neighboring town for the party and detoured on my way home so I could go past the house I grew up in.

We used to have a HUGE evergreen tree in the front yard and this little sprout of a tree that wasn't even big enough to climb. I used to ride the streets of this little town on my bike from dawn to dusk with no fear. We lived next to a tiny green house that was the home of (what I believed to be) the oldest man alive. This little one bedroom house could have fit inside our house....twice!

This is also the house that most of the abuse occurred or at least started. It seems to be frozen in moments of time in my mind. Occasionally I drive by but I really have to go out of my way to see this little town.

I have seen the Post Office move to a new location, the school (yes singular) get new playground equipment, new housing additions pop up and many other things over the years.

This time when I drove through town I noticed the old evergreen was gone and the tree was almost too big to try to climb. The little grocery store where I got candy is torn down as is the little green house.

My Mom recently sent me an email telling me that an old neighbor was asking about my sister and I. She made it seem sinister in some way. She refused to give this old neighbor our contact information. I wonder if she is still trying to "preserve the family image"?

Life changes. Changes happen whether you want them to or not.

Oddly enough I am glad the old house has new windows, a fenced in back yard and a converted garage so that it looks different. Now maybe the house that was in my nightmares for so long will never appear to someone else in their dreams... well at least this is helping put some of those final parts of my life to rest. Again.

Just rambling I guess...

A trip down memory lane

I remember very little about my junior high and early high school years. I have blocked most of it out as it was a very dark time in my life....

BUT.... I do remember going on a few Youth Group excursions to see concerts in far away cities...well sometimes they were only a day trip. I remember the first time I saw DC Talk in concert was in Dayton Ohio when I was at a 3 day conference/youth rally.



And if that doesn't take you back to the 80's then I am sure that one of my other favorites from that same rally will. I LOVE Whiteheart! The first time I heard this song about forgiveness it was a totally new concept to me. I grew up in a house where everything was held over your head. To this day I am still reminded by my Mom of the time I spilled a quart of paint on the carpet and how they didn't have enough money to go buy more paint because it was a special color etc etc etc etc etc...

The little dialog he has before the song really helped me to understand what forgiveness was about for the first time. Of course it took another 14 years before the concept of God's love really sunk in but nonetheless here is one of my other early favorites.

My Legacy?

Since the divorce I have been struggling with the idea of not having a child. You have to understand that when I was a child I would stuff baby dolls under my shirt so that I could pretend to be a "Mommy". For as long as I can remember I have wanted to be a Mom. A Mommy...

My current last name has had a few not so desirable people associated with it. I would love to make sure "the name" has a child of God as a legacy. I want to leave my own legacy as I am sure everyone does. This child doesn't have to look like me, talk like me, be like me but I want a child to pass on my legacy.

Through the song "Legacy" by Nichole Nordeman that I heard (with a new perspective) at the recent Women of Faith conference I have come to discover that I am leaving a legacy. It just doesn't look like I thought it would.



I am leaving a legacy by teaching and directing at a daycare. I am leaving a legacy by living my life for God through the good times and the bad. No matter what I do I am a living witness for my faith and for God. I have had many people comment to me about how I handled the divorce... how I handled losing my children...the death of my Dad... the abuse as a child that I endured...etc etc etc.

Those things have made me who I am today and that is part of the legacy I leave. Just being me and not giving up on God when it would have been so easy to do.

....


....


....

Although adoption is not out of the question and I am by no means giving up hope that someday I will have children. I am just accepting my lot in life and becoming content with where God has placed me for this moment in time.

See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil

My Mother did teach me one thing I remember very vividly:

If you don't have anything nice to say...
Don't say anything at all!

Apparently not everyone's Mom taught them this phrase.

At times I wonder if my Mom remembers this as well.

This is one of those old standards along the lines of...
Put on clean underwear every morning
and
Don't actually sit down on public toilet seats...just hover.

Are kids these days taught these things?

I know someone a mere 10 years younger than myself who I
am pretty sure missed these life lessons.

The crazy I call family

So my presence was required at the land up north for the birthday party of Beau...the man my Mom married last September.

• I did not go out on the jet ski because I was the only person present with the knowledge and/or skills to drive the jet ski. Therefore I would have been responsible for taking everyone else on the rides they would have wanted. Not usually a problem BUT there are two boys in this family that I do not trust and would not want to be stuck in the middle of the lake with them.
• One of the step sisters drives me nuts. She has never uttered the words Thank You but she orders everyone around down to the food we will serve her because she has MD and is in a wheelchair. Apparently she was this way before the wheelchair but now she milks it for all it is worth.
• She even drove back to the house because we didn't give her enough chocolate cake in her take home package, even though she had 4 pieces of white and 4 pieces of chocolate. She didn't get any more.
• Beau opened a card from Mom and Mom was honestly shocked. She addressed it and signed the card but has no memory of the card at all. She says it might be from his birthday last year....and it happened to be on the table with the other cards.... I wish she would talk to a doctor about this since HIPPA has our hands tied.
• Mom also tried giving away one of my favorite stuffed animals. The one my grandparents got me when I was in the hospital once. BUT NO...she insists that a neighbor bought it at a garage sale for her last weekend. This would be the equivalent of giving away your childhood blankie...(yes I know, sis, but it wasn't my fault!).

I am ready for sleep and off to work this week. I have more to share about the weekend but that is for another day.

Is it the end yet?

Big Red dropped off another load of stuff tonight. At first I thought he was bringing things a few pieces at a time just so he could see me as he has a habit of standing around and wanting to converse with me.

Then I realized it is taking him THAT long to clean up the house and sort through things. If you will remember this post.

Tonight he brought over among other things a trunk. I glanced through it quickly and found a few folders of papers from college, a blanket, rocks (I have no idea what they are from but I must have thought them worthy of saving at some point) and my senior booklet.

This booklet is not my yearbook or senior book that you order but something we as a class made.

Every student in our Senior English Composition class had to write a few distinct stories to include. We were given a few suggestions such as "Senioritis", "What I'd like to forget...", "My favorite memory from High School", "My Last Will and Testament" and "How to survive..."

I have enjoyed spending the last hour or so reading through these. It has been a nice trip down memory lane. I am sure we didn't have exclusive rights on all the STUPID things we did. Growing up in the country we had many stories of Railroad Track jumping, T P ing, forking, skipping school to go out on the lake etc.

BUT......I am so glad I don't have to deal with that anymore. I wouldn't go back to High School for any amount of money. Sure you could argue the lack of responsibly, the chance to start over and many other things but I wouldn't be the person I am today without MY life experiences.

Grandpa would have loved it!

So I watched the final episode of The Price is Right with Bob Barker as the host. I know and I am not even in my 60's yet.

I wrote of one Grandpa yesterday that watched Billy Graham fervently and today I watched the final episode of a show that the other Grandpa scheduled his day around.

You see I spent a great deal of time with these Grandparents. Every summer I would spend at least 2 or 3 weeks at their house. This is where I learned how to drive a riding lawnmower, pick raspberries, shuck corn, "snap" green beans and appreciate nature and the outdoors at dusk as well. A typical day would entail becoming a "mall walker" before the stores opened for the day, eating out at Richard's restaurant then returning home to do a few chores like cleaning and "fetching the whatchamacallit from the upstairs". I might be sent out to get the mail or mow the lawn but none of these activities could ever interrupt "The Price is Right".

Grandpa could, without fail, nail ever price requested and bid successfully on the showcases. He was usually Very VERY close. I always told him that when I got my driving license we would drive to the studio and he could play...and meet Bob Barker.

Of course that never happened but the dreams we had.....

He would have loved the big send off of Bob Barker because it was simply a game show with an extra "I love everyone" right before his closing tag line about controlling the pet population by spaying and neutering your pets.

Grandpa would have loved it.

Ruth Graham

No matter what your stance on which religion is "right" one has to admit that we lost a very Godly woman today.

According to the AP Ruth Graham wife of Billy Graham died this afternoon at the age of 87.

I find it amazing that in the midst of their grief they are talking of how they look forward to seeing her in heaven.

Yes I understand this in principle but within hours of her passing they are saying this?.... That is an incredibly deep faith. Maybe it comes with age or wisdom or a longer walk with God...(or great press agents) but I know when I lose someone I am angry at first... it takes several days for the heaven part to kick in inside my mind.

I am just amazed once again by all that God can do with one person or one couple who are devoted to God with their whole hearts.

I remember as a child my Grandpa would watch the crusades on TV...he never sent money in that I know of but I watched as he wept while he was praying and watching people give their hearts to God on TV. This was foreign to me as a child but now I understand.

Just a thought rattling around in my brain.

The randomness I call my life

When I was a kid I loved to blow the tops off dandelions after they had turned white and fuzzy. I never understood the look on my Dad's face the first time he saw me do it and asked/screamed/yelled for me to never ever ever do that again. Now that I have my own yard to mow. I understand.

By the way just how fast can a dandelion grow in a 24 hour period?

The best definition of Insanity I have ever heard is this: Continuing to do the same thing the same way and expecting different results.

I love Birkenstock sandals... However I can rarely afford them...they MUST be on sale for me to purchase a pair.

I have known way too many friends on this list....well and a few relatives.

I am pretty close to buying a different car. I just need to line up the financing with the credit union.

I bought a fish for the tank at work today. Very hardy, hard to kill fish for the daycare tank.

I have one employee that I am considering running off this image and attaching it to the write up she will receive this week.

It highlights the top 5 infractions this week. Big infractions. Policy violating the handbook type infractions.

My dad used to use this expression and most of the time the thought of it sends chills up my spine. It is however very fitting for the situation she has placed herself in.

Meme......Meme....singing? No it's a tag!

I have been tagged by Laura! Here are the rules:

1. Go to Wikipedia and put in your birthday, without the year, in the search bar.
2. List on your blog 3 events, 2 births, 1 death and 1 holiday that happens(ed) on your birthday. 3. Then tag 5 more friends to do it!

January 7

3 events

1. 1927 - First transatlantic telephone call - New York City to London.
2. 1999 - The impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton begins. Hmmmmm If you could have been a fly on the wall before he was elected the first time in my Mom and Dad's house you would get a huge kick out of this. At the time I was determined to do EVERYTHING different than my parents.
3. 1927 - The Harlem Globetrotters play their first game.

2 Births

1. 1977 - Dustin Diamond, American actor....How unfortunate
2. 1966 - Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, American publicist (d. 1999)

1 Death

1. 1986 - Philip D. Eastman, American children's book writer and illustrator
I am saddened by this as some of my favorite books are written by him, Are You My Mother?, Big Dog... Little Dog, Go, Dog. Go!, The Best Nest and Red, Stop! Green, Go!

And finally 1 holiday:

1. Christmas Day in the Julian calendar.

Oh I hate the tagging part but here it goes....Patty, Nic, Maynard and whom ever would like to participate!

Mother's Day is FINALLY over!

Every year I dread this holiday for several reasons. Obviously you know about the kids that I don't have with me. But the other reason is my own Mom.

Growing up we were taught that we had to do everything for her on this day. But this wasn't really much different than other days we just were expected to smile about it and present her with a card for our efforts.

Remember the Mommy Dearest Post?

I love my Mom. We have our moments where our family looks more like Roseanne than the Brady Bunch.


Sometimes it is hard to work up the nerve to go see her because of the energy required to steel yourself against the barrage of negative comments. I truly believe that at times she doesn't realize what she is
saying.

But sometimes I think she does and has just reached the point where she doesn't care what we think.

In her later years it has become more challenging to overlook these little family idiosyncrasies. In the last 10 years there have been many times that I thought we may really need to call Dr. Phil.

I did manage to make it most of the way through church this morning before I fell apart during the final prayer. I even made it passed the point where they asked all Mothers to stand and be recognized.

Maybe I am just a little bitter today. Tomorrow will be a different day...a better day.

Crazy...

So I had a meeting with a friend today...we hold each other accountable for things. Just kind of a checks and balances type system to help keep me (and her) on the right track with our faith.

Well and.... we tend to keep each other out of trouble...

Today we discussed many things...her side I will always keep confidential. For my part we discussed how I am dealing with the divorce being final among other things. My Mom came up on several occasions. Well when you put together Big Red and my Mom in the same conversation with the two of us in a car at a baseball field watching her son practice in the falling snow the above song came up on several occasions.

It was a little tongue-in-cheek but then I remembered Cindy's Diner downtown. When we were dating and for the first couple years of marriage we would go downtown on Saturday mornings and have breakfast. If you are familiar with this little diner that "serves the whole world 12 people at a time" you know that they have little jukeboxes on the counter that you may pop a quarter in a pick a song. Big Red always picked this song along with "Splish Splash" and "The Monster Mash".

At the time he would sing it to me but in hind site I should have listened to the words a little closer. He always said he was afraid I would leave him when I "got tired of" him.

Well I guess I did leave him...but it had more to do with him sleeping with other women than me getting tired of him!

I'm just taking a trip down memory lane. It amazes me the things that trigger memories.

The smell of a musty smoke tinged garage reminds me of my Dad. Or fresh brewed coffee first thing in the morning. So does the smell of the perfume called "Millennium" that Avon used to sell. It is what I was wearing the summer I spent so much time at the hospital when he died.

The smell of fresh line dried laundry reminds me of my Grandma. She was the only person I ever knew that dried her clothes outside.

The smell of a freshly tarred road reminds me of where I grew up.

The smell of sawdust reminds me of Jamaica.

Seeing an old Simpson's t shirt reminds me of High school... well that and Salem cigarettes, Fuzzy Navels and a few other things.

Hearing the song Unskinny Bop will always remind me of my senior year. And this one reminds me of my "angry days"...no my Dad was not the guy.

This song reminds me of when I found out I was pregnant with the twins.

Agnus Dei reminds me of when I became a Christian. The line " Holy, holy are you Lord God almighty" suddenly was a statement to me instead of a question.

Magic Windows remind me of the innocent days of my childhood.

Wow what a trip..... does any smell or song remind you of anything?

The Roller Coaster part 2

What a week it has been! Divorce, new job, and now an Aunt has passed away.

This was the Aunt that lived rather far away but we would travel down to see her family and they traveled up every year (sometimes twice a year) to spend time with us.

She seemed to be the spunky Aunt. The one who lived in a reality that as teens we understood and she understood us.

She was my Father's older sister. She was the one who could calm my Dad down at the "family functions gone awry". You see most of the members of that side of the family are alcoholics or do not drink at all. It made for interesting funerals, weddings, birthdays and other holidays. When someone in our family died (a rather small town) the liquor store raised it's prices before the extended family arrived.

Just a few of the highlights:

1. A drunk cousin got lost with the boat on the lake...or so we thought...they sent a then under aged One4jc out in the speedboat to track them down. I knew the lake well after dark and was quite handy with our boat. Did I mention they left at 2 in the afternoon? At 8:30pm someone on the boat finally convinced him to stop at a local bar on the water with a dock. They immediately called the house for help. I came home and parked the boat only to be taken to the bar to drive the other boat home.

2. At my grandpa's funeral one relative slapped another in front of the casket at the calling. Something about a daughter calling out another daughter (both cousins), a soap opera and the phrase "dead meat".

3. A cousin was sent by airplane home because of his drunken rampages. Dropped off at the airport at midnight to fly out the next day...talk about a huge timeout!

4. An uncle fell through/off a dock while fishing (and avoiding the funeral activities) but managed to NOT spill his beer by thrusting his arm upward as he fell into the 5 feet deep water. Didn't save the suit but by golly he didn't spill a drop!

5. A cousin who was a cop almost had to arrest another cousin who refused to give up the keys. And then a screaming match ensued once back at the house and his sisters flew out the door of the house in opposite directions. There stands my sister and I pointing their husbands in the right directions and then their parents in opposite directions to calm them down after the drunk cousin passed out in the living room.

Colorful? You bet!

Unfortunately she really liked Brandy and those long thin cigarettes. So the combination of a tumor in her liver didn't really shock any of us too much.

She passed away sitting at a kitchen table. That is the way she would have wanted to go.

Except she didn't have a glass of Brandy or a cigarette in her hand.

Rest In Peace...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The many different aspects of St. Patrick's day have always been a little confusing to me. I am Irish. BUT I am a part of the orange wearing protestant Irish faction.

No I do not believe in Leprechauns.



If you read my Sister's blog you will already
know of some of the issues we faced growing up in the

community we did.

My Dad always insisted that we wear orange on St. Pat's

Day. Now please understand that being the Irish descendant that I am I bruised very easily and they tended to show up VERY WELL. It would become a game to all the other children to see who could leave the darkest/biggest bruise pinching me because I was not allowed to wear green that day.

My Mom would take mercy on us and give us a green leprechaun pin to wear after my Dad left the house for work.

The really ironic thing now is that we were raised in such a way as to encourage us to be friends with anyone, date anyone and not hold anything against anyone because of how they look. My sister and I both ended up married to men with origins based in different countries.

BUT this one day a year in my Dad's mind all of those things were out the door.

So anyway if you are heading out this evening to partake in the beverages please do it responsibly and DON"T DRIVE!

And if you happen to see me be warned that if you pinch me I may not react as well as I did in school... I bruise a lot easier now because of this blasted clotting disorder I have.

A walk down memory lane

So my head hurts...I came home early from work and took a nap only to awaken to the doorbell ringing almost a half dozen times to announce that my Mom and Beau were paying me a visit.



So in my effort to avoid any detailed conversations that will make

my head hurt even more I took a drive to get some fresh air and run an errand.

I started wondering when my Mom became crazy exactly.



Was it after my Dad passed away? No she was rocky at best before all that happened.


Before I went to college? My high school years? Was it my brother who drove her over the edge in his High school years?

We may never know. But she is there....loonyville that is.....crazytown...she's happily calling it home these days.

In my thinking back on all of this I thought a lot about things from my childhood. The pleasant memories anyway.

The Little Rascals was always a favorite of mine....like the time they all went camping and forgot to pack food. Only the littlest kids brought jelly and bread and they all sat licking their lips until they all shared.

Mr. Rogers always reminds me of my Dad. You see as a child my Dad actually resembled him enough that other kids would stop us in stores to talk.

Captain Kangaroo (Captan Roo Roo) ruled at my house! I think I saw every episode and even had my big sis help me make my own picture pages since my Mom wouldn't buy them.

Rikki Tikki Tavi was on several times a year. Afterward my cat would "become" the snake and I would pretend to pounce on her. Good thing she didn't have claws!

I lived for the Laugh Olympics when all my favorites HB characters would get together and complete for the gold medal...Later we seemed to always have the same types of games going on in our backyard with some of the neighborhood kids.

After school specials seemed so "real and relevant" to my life. I never wanted to miss one. But no my Mom and Dad didn't divorce, no one was an alcoholic and the neighbor didn't have a drug house open. They didn't really pertain to me but they COULD have in my mind.

So what were your favorite cartoons as a kid? Where you allowed to watch TV? or "FORCED" to play outside all day?