Pick'um up while they're small and run!!

My daughter, Bre, is twenty years old. Raising her has been a breeze. She has always been a pleasant, quiet child who is rather shy. She has dark brown hair, fair skin and dazzling blue eyes. I can claim only the fair skin and dark hair, I got stuck with brown eyes. My husband and my dad both have beautiful blue eyes.

Bre, also like me is very tall, almost 6'. Being this tall came in handy while during the sports seasons but otherwise it was usually a problem because she was taller than everyone else. You tall ladies out there know what I'm talking about, boys don't get their height until they get in middle or high school. So the short little snots made life unbearable for us tall chics. But anyway, despite the rough patches, she survived because she was a top notch, well rounded kid.

She made it through elementary and high school on the honor roll and as a county and state art award winner. I have to tell you that as a teacher I have gone through most of her upbringing since about the age of 12 with one eye shut because I kept waiting for her hormones to kick in. Every kid's hormones kick in at around that age, they go buck wild. They know everything, they don't want anything to do with their parents, anyone over the age of 18 is over the hill and senile. If you are a teacher you pray that students hit this milestone during the summer or at best no sooner than the last two weeks of school so you don't have to put up with them.

Amazingly, Bre held hands with the hormone demon but never actually danced with him. She was briefly unpleasant during the 9th grade. WOW, that's an entire year later than expected! We never knew what happened, we were just happy that IT never did happen. So, we went on with our lives, volleyball, softball, art, etc....

Bre graduated from high school and enrolled in college and decided to major in biology and minor in sociology. She wants to be a physician's assistant. She just finished her sophomore year with a great gpa. She got her first summer job and....WHAT WENT WRONG!!!!! She has gone from listening to country music to metal to this crazy stuff called TOOL. She loves manga, Dragon BallZ, and Deathknot. She wants to go above the ear lobe for piercings and last night she dyed her hair blue!! The hormone demons came to dance eight years late and there is nothing my husband and I can do about it!! I wish she liked purple rather than blue.

In the Blink of an Eye

Isn't it shocking that just over a week ago Michael Jackson never crossed our minds? Now, he's gone. I enjoyed Micheal Jackson's music when I was a teenager and some of his later stuff, but I sure couldn't figure him out. He was a square peg in a round world.

I've been annoyed that in the midst of the hype over Michael Jackson's death, Farrah Fawcett has gotten no attention. She was a wonderful person and actor. She rose to fame as one of the original Charlie's Angels, she was an iconic, modern day pinup girl. I remember my brother having her now famous poster stapled the ceiling above his bed. I don't even want to think about the conversations the two of them had twenty five years ago. Oh, and the world can't forget the Farrah Flip. That famous hair style, was great during her hayday in the 70's and it's great now. What is wrong with the media? Why have they thrown her life and legacy aside? She deserved much more respect than that. Shame on CBS, NBC, CNN, ABC, and all the other networks I can't name.

Alright, another of our lost entertainers is Ed McMahon. The media has also denied him the attention he deserves. He was Johnny Carson's sidekick but that didn't mean he was a second fiddle. This man was a war hero, a fighter pilot who rose to be a Colonel in the Marine Corp Reserve and a Brigadier General in the Air National Guard. This man was second to noone.

I wish the news media would honor all entertainers equally. Until I found out about Ed McMahon's past, I'd never thought about entertainers as anything other than just that but they have pasts just like anyone else. Today I received an email which told of Lee Marvin's military career. He was a highly decorated Marine who served under a highly decorated sergeant, Sergeant Keeshan, who it turns out was none other than the man American knew as Captain Kangaroo. I also learned that Mr. Rogers was a Navy Seal. He wore long sleeve shirts and sweaters to cover the many tatoos on his arms. Would you have guessed these things in a millions years? NO!! Just imagine what other actors pasts hold. There is more to these people than we see on the movie screen. Many actors of yesteryear were veterans and today there are still many more.

I have gotten off track from my original topic but those thoughts just came to mind. I'll close by reiterating, I feel that the American news media has done a great disservice, a terrible wrong to the families of Farrah Fawcett and Ed McMahon by not acknowledging thier deaths to the extents that they deserve. In saying this I don't want to take anything away from the coverage of Michael Jackson's death. There are enough hours in the day to cover all the news that happens, it doesn't have to be one-sided.

Well, I am reallly going to have to close now, my thoughts are becoming muddled and my fingers are having a hard time finding the keys on my computer. I so wanted to stay longer since I've not been on here in such a long time. Oh well, until we meet again....

Sir Willy

A few weeks ago my little chihuahua, Sir William Wallace a.k.a Willy, suffered a herniated disk in his back. The vet called it IVDD. I never realized dogs could suffer such injuries. Poor Willy, he was in such horrific pain; he cried and cried. I cried and cried also. I hated to see him suffer. He's been on pain meds and prednisone since the injury and hasn't been himself. It kills me to see him as he is now. Hearing the vet speak about the reality of the injury, the possiblity that it could cost Willy his life, has made me realize just how much I love this tiny little dog.

He is really the perfect little pet. Have lupus, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome so I am always tired and sleepy. My life is nothing like it was when I was able to work. Now, I have to lie down and sleep or rest, Willy is always willing to lie down with me. Somedays I think he may even sleep more than I do. Willy also has a wonderful personality considering he is a chihuahua. He is possessive of me and didn't snap or try to bite until my daughter began to tease him.

Willy has one of the craziest hang ups. He loves to sun himself every morning at our back door. He is so smart, when he sees the sun beaming thru the blinds, he sits at the door and stares me down. When my luppie mind grasps what he is trying to tell me, I open the door. Willy lays there until he gets too hot then he drags himself into the shade. It's so funny to watch. He does this over and over until he sits there and pants and can't hold his head up. Another funny thing about his tanning sessions is that he really gets a tan. His skin has turned black! I didn't know he would tan until one side of his body (the right side) was black. His left side was getting dark by then. I almost freaked out. His skin is normally tan. Now, my baby gets rubbed down with Water Babies suntan lotion before the back door opens.