We believe our cat Francie is about 22 years old. She's so old, we just can't remember. I believe DS2 was about 9 the day he brought her home to save her. A tiny kitten, on the coldest day in a raw Virginia winter, eyes still shut, lungs rattling as she strove to breathe. And save her he did. We kept her in a shoebox with an electric light above, and fed her warm milk with an eyedropper. DS2 gave her lots of love, and to this day, she recognizes him and readily sleeps with him when he comes home.
Francie has always been phobic of strangers, hiding in a closet or a drawer or even jumping up on a bed under the quilt. Many a time we have given friends a house tour with an unseemly lump in the guest bed.
The changes in Francie as she aged have been gradual. She moves a little more slowly now, and has become more assertive with the other pets. Her tummy is a little more tender than it was before, so it is my pleasure to clean up bloops where her "hairball relief" cat food lies in a puddle of water and bile. After all, how old is 22 in cat years? She has jumped to the bathroom lav every morning that we've had her, for her morning drink. It is my habit to turn the lav water on to a little trickle so she can drink while I take my shower.
Francie's leap to the lav has become slower and more intentional than in days past. She used to bound effortlessly up to the top of the lav. A few years ago, she began to jump on the john, then turn and jump the rest of the way up to the lav.
Now, she stands beside the john, back paws on the floor, front paws on the john, and thinks for a long time. She stands there, looking at her intended goal. I imagine she is thinking, "Can I make it?" or perhaps, "Push with the back ones, push hard." Many days I just scoop her up and place her on the rim of the lav for her drink. She always scolds me as if to say, "I could have made it myself."
Yesterday was just such a day.
I was in the shower washing my hair when I heard Francie winding up for a good old hurl. "Rrf, rrf, rrf," The stomach muscles were working to push it out.
Now sometimes I can catch her before it happens and hold her over the open john. (We keep our johns closed so that Daniel, her nemesis, won't drink john water.)
"Franceeeeeeeeeeee," I called as I swept the shower curtain open, wet, and covered in shampoo lather. I reached for her just as she neatly barfed all over a stack of clean, white, folded towels. A hairball as big as your thumb lay neatly in the middle of it all.
Sigh. I love that cat.
On a lighter note, we cooked weenies over the fire last night, again. We are doing so again, tonight. Guests who were invited last night had a little one under the weather and asked for a rain check, but LO had already invited a gf over so we went ahead last night and planned a repeat performance for tonight. I'm getting pretty good at packing baskets with just the right stuff to carry outside. It's a good, wholesome time. The girls swing on the giant swing and chat and catch marshmallows on fire. The birds sing to us till they settle down for the night. The fireflies come out and then we gather all our stuff and head inside.
Sunday, May 27
Sunday, May 20
What is it?
The lady who lived in our house first was named Helen, and legend has it that she was quite the gardner. Even though our little veg garden lies where her rose garden stood, we have a giant *something* from her legacy. One neighbor told us she grew elephant garlic there. We are uncertain what it is. It comes back every spring, blooms, and ebbs away. We enjoy watching it but it has never multiplied. Here is a shot to show you how tall it is:
She is a little over 5' tall, so the plant must be close. To the left, you can see our spinach, a little kale, and peas. The tomatoes are sort of behind the iris. And 4 pepper plants are behind Little One. After we came in, she was hanging out in the b.y. with our ndn's. Here is a picture:
It's a beautiful day and we are all enjoying it. LO leaves for youth group soon and DH leaves for work in just an hour. Then it's all over for another week!
Saturday, May 12
Planting at the Park
Not sure where I read it, and of course I can't find on the web right now, but someone, somewhere, said you live longer if you live in a place where people have a strong sense of community.
We had a great showing today for our second Planting Saturday, the first having been 2 weeks ago. About 30 folks came out for the work, including kids, and we worked hard for 2 hours. I am so glad I did not wear my contacts as the salt in my eyes was blinding.
The very large guy standing at his truck is the landscape architect. Don't let his size fool you. He is a work-HORSE. He does the work - and sweats -- for 3 or 4 guys. The lady in black pants with her rear to the camera is the Parks Director. These folks don't usually DO manual labor -- they have people who do that. But they came on their own personal Saturday morning and worked HARD. Why? I am not sure, but it has something to do with our neighborhood partnership. They have surely shown their commitment to us. We gotta do something nice for them when this is all over.
The Kids' Committee met while we planted, and made their final selections for the playground. The Parks Director measured the playground out on the ground, 17' in diameter, and the landscape architect used his wheelie-spray-paint-thingie to mark the circle on the grass. It's getting exciting, to see the park start to develop. I had the idea only 2 years, 4 months ago, and we have already developed the partnership with the city, raised most of the money, (all of the money for phases 1 and 2), had the whole park designed (patterned after F.L. Olmstead's designs -- he was doing this 100 years ago when the neighborhood was built--) cleaned it up, planted beautiful grass, put up the sign, built one bridge over the creek (thank you Eagle Scout candidate) ordered pavers, installed the sign, selected the playground vendor, and designed the playground. Now it is gaining real momentum. They are ordering the benches next week and the playground will go in, in about 8 weeks.
The weather was beautiful this morning -- sunny, clear and warm. The mockingbirds serenaded us as we laughed, grunted, worked.
The plants we put in on the hill were in 3-gallon containers, so we had to dig those holes rather large, not so easy on a steep incline. On my third bush, my shovel kept clinking on something. I gingerly tapped my shovel into the ground around it. Clink, clink. "Believe I've got concrete slab here!" I called out. "Oh don't be such a priss," retorted my gf. (Only she could get away with such a comment.)
A fellow who lives somewhat behind us came over with his shovel. Clink, clink. He found the edge, and dug up a 16"x28" piece of concrete, 5" thick. I helped pry it up and we rolled it down the hill. Joyous, I looked over at gf. " Priss," I said. We laughed and laughed. Boy, was I glad it was legit, or I really would have looked like a priss.
We had bought a couple cases of water with neighborhood money, and it was well-chilled in a cooler. We all worked, sweated, drank water, and dug some more. The park is coming along!
We are already thinking ahead to the party we will have when it opens.
Tuesday, April 10
Fontana
We returned, thankfully, home this evening after 5 days at our time-share in the mountains. LO invited a friend to go with her, and the friend's parents accompanied us for the weekend. DH's parents joined us on Easter Sunday, the friend's parents overlapped by just an hour, the inlaws left early yesterday, and we came home today.
The campus there offers an indoor pool, basketball, tennis, bike trails and bike rentals, an outdoor pool with waterslide in season, hiking, softball, putt-putt, and probably more but I cannot remember. We left with great expectations of an activity-filled 5 days. We knew it would be cold but did not realize just how cold.
LO and her friend made friends with a girl whose grandmother works at the place, so she had "wheels," the unlimited use of a golf-cart. She ably piloted it about the campus, up the mountain, and who knows where else. She's a good girl, respectful, and a careful driver. She shared 3 meals with us and was a sweet friend to the girls. Sunday was her last day there. The girls missed her, and the wheels, terribly, yesterday.
It was too cold for much outdoor fun, but we did get in a little swimming, a putt-putt game, a little soccer, and the annual ping pong championship. Surprise, DH won. (Again.)
Saw a few good films. If you haven't seen, 'Pursuit of HappYness,' we highly recommend it, but we guess we were the last ones on earth who had not seen it. I plan to read the book.
We cooked lots of good meals. Our little friend's mom helped tons in the kitchen and we worked so well together.
It was good to get away. We rested, laughed with friends, and saw DH's parents for the first time in forever.
My DMIL is the Cook of the Earth and brought a chocolate cake to die for. When we got the car packed up today, everything fit -- except the rest of the cake. No problem. I assembled DH, the 2 girls and myself in a circle around the cake. Each had a spoon and we had the ceremonial Downing of the Cake.
Perfect.
The campus there offers an indoor pool, basketball, tennis, bike trails and bike rentals, an outdoor pool with waterslide in season, hiking, softball, putt-putt, and probably more but I cannot remember. We left with great expectations of an activity-filled 5 days. We knew it would be cold but did not realize just how cold.
LO and her friend made friends with a girl whose grandmother works at the place, so she had "wheels," the unlimited use of a golf-cart. She ably piloted it about the campus, up the mountain, and who knows where else. She's a good girl, respectful, and a careful driver. She shared 3 meals with us and was a sweet friend to the girls. Sunday was her last day there. The girls missed her, and the wheels, terribly, yesterday.
It was too cold for much outdoor fun, but we did get in a little swimming, a putt-putt game, a little soccer, and the annual ping pong championship. Surprise, DH won. (Again.)
Saw a few good films. If you haven't seen, 'Pursuit of HappYness,' we highly recommend it, but we guess we were the last ones on earth who had not seen it. I plan to read the book.
We cooked lots of good meals. Our little friend's mom helped tons in the kitchen and we worked so well together.
It was good to get away. We rested, laughed with friends, and saw DH's parents for the first time in forever.
My DMIL is the Cook of the Earth and brought a chocolate cake to die for. When we got the car packed up today, everything fit -- except the rest of the cake. No problem. I assembled DH, the 2 girls and myself in a circle around the cake. Each had a spoon and we had the ceremonial Downing of the Cake.
Perfect.
Friday, March 30
Mayor's Spirit
I had the most delightful day on Tuesday: I was invited to our Mayor's Spirit luncheon at noon and then to the dedication of our Integration Historic Marker at 5:30.
The Mayor's Spirit luncheon has been held for 12 years now. Its intention is to gather people of all races together to celebrate the spirit of unity. The actual luncheon was held in City Hall, right in the room where meetings are held, and about 20 8-top rounds were squoze right in there. There was hardly room to walk between tables but that sort of made it more fun.
The speaker was an older gentleman who was the first to sit in the whites-only section of the local movie theater, which is no longer standing. A parking lot now sits between our newspaper building and a row of businesses, in downtown SmallTown.
He attended the local mostly-black college, and integration was an issue across the south at that time -- 1964. He and three buddies, also 3 "light" girls and the one white student, walked from the college to the theater. The 4 black fellows bought tickets for the upstairs, where blacks had to sit at that time, and the white guy and 3 "light" girls bought tickets for the downstairs, white-only section. Then, they traded tickets. The 4 lighter-complected folks went upstairs, and the four black fellows trooped into the main seating. Don't you know their hearts were pounding!!
The ticket lady called the manager and he begged the boys not to proceed. He did not want a scene. The young men assured them they were entirely peaceful; they felt it was time for integration to come to SmallTown. The manager pled with them; he was retiring soon and they could cause a scene in only a month. But the group had walked all that way with this one intention, and they were pretty determined.
So the manager called the police. The boys were arrested. Apparently the lighter-skinned folks' invasion of the upstairs was not against the law. They were not arrested.
The boys went to the jailhouse. They were told to stand outside until the back door could be unlocked.
The man, in recounting the story, recalled the irony of being arrested and then being told to stand outside the jail.
Inside, they sang and prayed until their college president bailed them out in the morning. The theater integrated within 2 weeks and the rest of the town followed that year.
The man is a pastor in Buffalo, NY, and flew down for the day. He stands about 5'5" tall, and wears a large white collar to denote his profession. He walks with a cane, but stands proudly and told his story with a great deal of gentle humor to relieve the tension of the story. It was a great story and I felt so lucky to hear it first-hand.
That afternoon, we all met again, this time at the site of the theater, where a large bronze plaque had been set into the sidewalk commemorating the activity at the theater. At the top was a short poem written in 1924 by a local black guy that went something like this:
"You can write a tune of sorts on the black keys;
You can write a tune of sorts on the white keys;
But it takes both keys to make a harmony."
In the center of the plaque was a condensed version of the story and across the bottom of the plaque are raised piano keys. The plaque was unveiled, photos were taken, and we walked across the street to a reception.
This small city has a public art committee that is developing about 50 similar plaques to spread all across the town. At some point in the future, you will be able to get a booklet from the tourism office, and follow the history of the city by following the trail of plaques from here to there and back again.
It was a very nice affair and I will remember it always.
The Mayor's Spirit luncheon has been held for 12 years now. Its intention is to gather people of all races together to celebrate the spirit of unity. The actual luncheon was held in City Hall, right in the room where meetings are held, and about 20 8-top rounds were squoze right in there. There was hardly room to walk between tables but that sort of made it more fun.
The speaker was an older gentleman who was the first to sit in the whites-only section of the local movie theater, which is no longer standing. A parking lot now sits between our newspaper building and a row of businesses, in downtown SmallTown.
He attended the local mostly-black college, and integration was an issue across the south at that time -- 1964. He and three buddies, also 3 "light" girls and the one white student, walked from the college to the theater. The 4 black fellows bought tickets for the upstairs, where blacks had to sit at that time, and the white guy and 3 "light" girls bought tickets for the downstairs, white-only section. Then, they traded tickets. The 4 lighter-complected folks went upstairs, and the four black fellows trooped into the main seating. Don't you know their hearts were pounding!!
The ticket lady called the manager and he begged the boys not to proceed. He did not want a scene. The young men assured them they were entirely peaceful; they felt it was time for integration to come to SmallTown. The manager pled with them; he was retiring soon and they could cause a scene in only a month. But the group had walked all that way with this one intention, and they were pretty determined.
So the manager called the police. The boys were arrested. Apparently the lighter-skinned folks' invasion of the upstairs was not against the law. They were not arrested.
The boys went to the jailhouse. They were told to stand outside until the back door could be unlocked.
The man, in recounting the story, recalled the irony of being arrested and then being told to stand outside the jail.
Inside, they sang and prayed until their college president bailed them out in the morning. The theater integrated within 2 weeks and the rest of the town followed that year.
The man is a pastor in Buffalo, NY, and flew down for the day. He stands about 5'5" tall, and wears a large white collar to denote his profession. He walks with a cane, but stands proudly and told his story with a great deal of gentle humor to relieve the tension of the story. It was a great story and I felt so lucky to hear it first-hand.
That afternoon, we all met again, this time at the site of the theater, where a large bronze plaque had been set into the sidewalk commemorating the activity at the theater. At the top was a short poem written in 1924 by a local black guy that went something like this:
"You can write a tune of sorts on the black keys;
You can write a tune of sorts on the white keys;
But it takes both keys to make a harmony."
In the center of the plaque was a condensed version of the story and across the bottom of the plaque are raised piano keys. The plaque was unveiled, photos were taken, and we walked across the street to a reception.
This small city has a public art committee that is developing about 50 similar plaques to spread all across the town. At some point in the future, you will be able to get a booklet from the tourism office, and follow the history of the city by following the trail of plaques from here to there and back again.
It was a very nice affair and I will remember it always.
Monday, March 26
Good News, Bad News
The good news is I got home ok.
The bad news is I had 2 red dashboard lights steadily on, or blinking, alternately, the whole way.
The good news is I had a sweet supportive DH on the phone like a zillion times asking me, "How are you now?"
The bad news is the traffic stopped on 85 in four separate places, and the car would run really, really rough...while 2 red dashboards were steadily on, or blinking, alternately.
The good news is that I did *NOT* miss the exit from downtown Nearby City to I-77, as I usually do.
The bad news is I could not run my AC as it would make both those frikkin dashboard lights go crazy.
The good news is the building where I had to meet with a consultant today, is also the building where the police dept is, so when my car would not crank, would not even click, I was able to go back inside and ask a nice man in blue if he could possibly help me, instead of calling AAA and waiting 45 minutes for a wrecker to come jump the car and put me into the worst traffic window of the day.
DH has gone to nearby smaller city to get a part from our old Mercedes guy.
If it's not fixed tonight, I have to drive DH to work tomorrow morning at 4:15 so I can take his car.
I sang the following song all the way home!
"Oh, God, you are my God,
And I will ever praise you.
Oh, God, you are my God,
And I will ever praise you.
I will seek you in the morning,
And I will learn to walk in your ways...
And step by step you'll lead me,
And I will love you for all of my days.
And I will love you for all of my days,
And I will love you for all of my day-ay-ays,
And step by step you'll lead me,
And I will love you for all of my days."
The car was shuddering and blinking and I was rolling sweat, and we made it all the way home.
The bad news is I had 2 red dashboard lights steadily on, or blinking, alternately, the whole way.
The good news is I had a sweet supportive DH on the phone like a zillion times asking me, "How are you now?"
The bad news is the traffic stopped on 85 in four separate places, and the car would run really, really rough...while 2 red dashboards were steadily on, or blinking, alternately.
The good news is that I did *NOT* miss the exit from downtown Nearby City to I-77, as I usually do.
The bad news is I could not run my AC as it would make both those frikkin dashboard lights go crazy.
The good news is the building where I had to meet with a consultant today, is also the building where the police dept is, so when my car would not crank, would not even click, I was able to go back inside and ask a nice man in blue if he could possibly help me, instead of calling AAA and waiting 45 minutes for a wrecker to come jump the car and put me into the worst traffic window of the day.
DH has gone to nearby smaller city to get a part from our old Mercedes guy.
If it's not fixed tonight, I have to drive DH to work tomorrow morning at 4:15 so I can take his car.
I sang the following song all the way home!
"Oh, God, you are my God,
And I will ever praise you.
Oh, God, you are my God,
And I will ever praise you.
I will seek you in the morning,
And I will learn to walk in your ways...
And step by step you'll lead me,
And I will love you for all of my days.
And I will love you for all of my days,
And I will love you for all of my day-ay-ays,
And step by step you'll lead me,
And I will love you for all of my days."
The car was shuddering and blinking and I was rolling sweat, and we made it all the way home.
Sunday, March 25
Summer Plans
I am blogging only because I try to do so on a weekly basis now that I am home less often. However, I have so little to report. Let's see...
LO's band concert was Tuesday night. It was great as usual.
She is busily practicing for her PBS (that's Positive Behavior Students) Talent Show, which is this Thursday evening at 7:30. I have seen a few of the acts when I go to pick her up, (I go a bit early so as to catch a little of it) and there are singers, a very cool skateboard act with ramps on the stage and rock music, dancers, and LO. There is more but I have not caught it yet. LO is playing the theme song from the Young & the Restless on the piano. It has lots of pedal action, which is new for her. Her band instructor has patiently mentored her on this piece, including how to hold her hands suspended above the keyboard as the last note dies away. It's quite charming.
We had a bit of a flurry this week trying to get her into Music Camp at a nearby university extension. It's their 25th year of this program and it has a great reputation. I called them before mailing the application. They are just now opening applications postmarked February and many instrument spots are already filled. Fortunately there were a few flute spots and a few more piano spots available, so we sent in with a request that she be placed in flute (first choice) or piano if that's filled, likewise please admit her the first week (first choice) or 2nd week if that is filled. DH is in Mexico on the second week so would miss her closing recital on the Friday night; that is why we prefer the first week. We are in hopes that by opening the choices to four options, she can get in somehow. Her band teacher and piano teacher had to recommend her and they both marked that she is an outstanding musician. Cross your fingers on this one. If she does not get in this year, we will send in the application in January next year. Just wish we had known about the program a littler earlier this year.
If she gets to go, she will stay in a dorm room with one other girl her age. There are RA's on every floor, and she will dine in the dining hall. I spoke with a couple of college students who help with the camp every summer, and they said the kids all have a blast.
In addition to that camp, I have signed her up for two separate weeks of tennis camp, day-camp, at the local college. She is taking three art classes at the museum where I work, and last night our Exec Director asked if I need for her to help as a classroom assistant some this summer. What a nice opportunity! LO is excited about this chance and looks forward to doing this.
Well, now she is talking about going to a wilderness camp so I am off to cruise the internet in search of. ....
LO's band concert was Tuesday night. It was great as usual.
She is busily practicing for her PBS (that's Positive Behavior Students) Talent Show, which is this Thursday evening at 7:30. I have seen a few of the acts when I go to pick her up, (I go a bit early so as to catch a little of it) and there are singers, a very cool skateboard act with ramps on the stage and rock music, dancers, and LO. There is more but I have not caught it yet. LO is playing the theme song from the Young & the Restless on the piano. It has lots of pedal action, which is new for her. Her band instructor has patiently mentored her on this piece, including how to hold her hands suspended above the keyboard as the last note dies away. It's quite charming.
We had a bit of a flurry this week trying to get her into Music Camp at a nearby university extension. It's their 25th year of this program and it has a great reputation. I called them before mailing the application. They are just now opening applications postmarked February and many instrument spots are already filled. Fortunately there were a few flute spots and a few more piano spots available, so we sent in with a request that she be placed in flute (first choice) or piano if that's filled, likewise please admit her the first week (first choice) or 2nd week if that is filled. DH is in Mexico on the second week so would miss her closing recital on the Friday night; that is why we prefer the first week. We are in hopes that by opening the choices to four options, she can get in somehow. Her band teacher and piano teacher had to recommend her and they both marked that she is an outstanding musician. Cross your fingers on this one. If she does not get in this year, we will send in the application in January next year. Just wish we had known about the program a littler earlier this year.
If she gets to go, she will stay in a dorm room with one other girl her age. There are RA's on every floor, and she will dine in the dining hall. I spoke with a couple of college students who help with the camp every summer, and they said the kids all have a blast.
In addition to that camp, I have signed her up for two separate weeks of tennis camp, day-camp, at the local college. She is taking three art classes at the museum where I work, and last night our Exec Director asked if I need for her to help as a classroom assistant some this summer. What a nice opportunity! LO is excited about this chance and looks forward to doing this.
Well, now she is talking about going to a wilderness camp so I am off to cruise the internet in search of. ....
Thursday, March 22
The Ambivalent Bird
Our home was built 70+ years ago, so it has loads of trees and bushes to harbor birds, bugs and other creatures. This is a good thing. If you are considering buying a house on a lot where they have torn down all the oxygen-producing, bird-holding trees that lived there first, you might want to reconsider. This is a quality of life you never hear about it.
Because I wake up at 5:45 in the morning, and because DST has us waking up in the dark so we can have more sunlight at the end of the day, I get to hear the birds wake up one by one. They seem to wake up by breed. First we have the ambivalent bird. He sings like this: "Chirp. Chirp? Chirp!...chirp. chirp? chirp!...Chirp. Chirp? Chirp!..." and on and on. One triple-chirp as described takes about 3 seconds. It is not a rush job.
The second wave to awaken are the tweeters. Because it's dark, I can't see them but I believe them to be the tiny birds. Then by the time we are ready to leave at 7am, the most of them are up and about. When I get out of the car at work at 7:30, even the mockingbirds are up and singing away.
Because I wake up at 5:45 in the morning, and because DST has us waking up in the dark so we can have more sunlight at the end of the day, I get to hear the birds wake up one by one. They seem to wake up by breed. First we have the ambivalent bird. He sings like this: "Chirp. Chirp? Chirp!...chirp. chirp? chirp!...Chirp. Chirp? Chirp!..." and on and on. One triple-chirp as described takes about 3 seconds. It is not a rush job.
The second wave to awaken are the tweeters. Because it's dark, I can't see them but I believe them to be the tiny birds. Then by the time we are ready to leave at 7am, the most of them are up and about. When I get out of the car at work at 7:30, even the mockingbirds are up and singing away.
Sunday, March 18
Tough Subject
If you are looking for a fun posting, please just keep cruising today, as my friend's husband committed suicide Friday night and this post will not be happy.
I found out about it yesterday after spending the day with LO in Charlotte for the audition and then shopping. Fortunately her BF invited her over on the cell phone as we were driving in, so I dropped her off and come home. The six messages on our machine were the first indicator that something was up. I went over last night and stayed probably 45 minutes.
There have been issues for a very, very long time, and without going into the whole story, I will say that he is in a much, much better place now. She and her children are in shock. I know she will have to go into the workplace after about 20 years out of it, which will be another. She will have to stop homeschooling her 11-year-old, which will be a shock to them both.
DH and I have been trying to process this situation ever since learning about it. It is the second suicide within our church family in 13 months. DH had reached out to the husband on a number of occasions, but his illness prevented him from being able to respond.
My friend's parents moved to town a few years ago to be near the family and they are on the older side. It hurt so badly last night to see the pain in their faces.
So there are so many people in pain right now, and we just can't make sense of any of it. At the risk of sounding cruel, I will say that suicide seems to me to be the supremely selfish act. I know he had lost hope and all that but he has left so many people who loved him in terrible pain now.
If you the reader are a praying person, please pray for this friend and those in her life. Thanks.
I found out about it yesterday after spending the day with LO in Charlotte for the audition and then shopping. Fortunately her BF invited her over on the cell phone as we were driving in, so I dropped her off and come home. The six messages on our machine were the first indicator that something was up. I went over last night and stayed probably 45 minutes.
There have been issues for a very, very long time, and without going into the whole story, I will say that he is in a much, much better place now. She and her children are in shock. I know she will have to go into the workplace after about 20 years out of it, which will be another. She will have to stop homeschooling her 11-year-old, which will be a shock to them both.
DH and I have been trying to process this situation ever since learning about it. It is the second suicide within our church family in 13 months. DH had reached out to the husband on a number of occasions, but his illness prevented him from being able to respond.
My friend's parents moved to town a few years ago to be near the family and they are on the older side. It hurt so badly last night to see the pain in their faces.
So there are so many people in pain right now, and we just can't make sense of any of it. At the risk of sounding cruel, I will say that suicide seems to me to be the supremely selfish act. I know he had lost hope and all that but he has left so many people who loved him in terrible pain now.
If you the reader are a praying person, please pray for this friend and those in her life. Thanks.
Fun Day Auditioning for Hollywood Producer
So, we went. Ta-da. We were asked to be there by 9:30 to 9:45 for our 10am appointment. Turns out, everyone was told the same thing -- all 200 people. Fortunately for us, we were concerned about traffic going in to the City, so we left at 8:10 for what should typically be a 45 minute drive to downtown City. We did have a little delay on the interstate -- one lane of two was blocked for inmates picking up litter, and traffic was backed up about 1 mile, but we got through that and arrived at the location at 9am. We were the 5th family there. The poor folks who did arrive and the recommended time had to stand in the back of the room -- we were seated by arrival time, so LO and I were on the 2nd row.
She wore her fave outfit and I straightened her hair from 7:30 to 8:00. She looked great and definitely had the enthusiasm thing going on.
The facility was a lovely restored old building, with the inside being all brick, wood floors, wood rafters, large windows. Very high ceilings. Extremely thin models in extremely high heels seated us and made sure we knew where the restrooms were.
We were given an application and a booklet. LO had to complete the application, including a 100-word essay on why she thinks she would succeed in Hollywood. I had to read the booklet, including the price list for Development classes, averaging about $100 a week for 20 to 150-week commitments. (Fortunately on the drive down, LO and I had had a chat. I had explained to her that this might be the case, that they would tell her how great she is, she is almost ready for Hollywood, that she just needs a little schooling for so many thousand dollars. We had a good discussion about and she understood that if that were the case, we would laugh and say no thanks, but we had a great time.)
Finally, at 10, The Show began. Extremely attractive people spoke in extremely loud voices (there was quite a crowd, about 200 families) to talk about how much determination and commitment it takes to work in Hollywood. They only accept students with a 3.0 gpa or above, as your grades are a good indicator of how hard you work. They asked questions and had the crowd yell answers, mob-mentality-style. (I do not respond to this tactic. I sit quietly.) Finally, we lined up, in the order in which we arrived (thank goodness) and waited to go into the office of producer #1 for a brief, make that, extremely brief, interview. Mr. Extremely Friendly asked her some questions and made glowing remarks about her self-confidence and maturity. He asked me why they should accept her and I made appropriately glowing remarks about her.
Next we lined up for an on-camera audition where she had to slate (state her name and age) and read a 10-second commercial. The four little girls before her were quite young and barely whispered their lines. Then LO strode to her mark on the stage, gave her lines with expression, a radiant smile, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and strode off. The crowd smiled and laughed. The producer was chuckling as he made his remarks on her paper.
We were to call back at 9am today to see if she had "made" callbacks. I called at 8 and asked if we could find out early so as to not have to step out of church to call at 9. We were put on hold for a few minutes and then connected directly to Mr. Extremely Friendly. "She made the cut! Congratulations!" I asked what the next step might be. "You just need to stop in today and sign up for the 20-week class." "Well, thanks, but our family is not prepared to make such an investment at this time. We had..." I was trying to say, "We had a great time," but Mr. E.F. had already said, "All right, Goodbye," and hung up the phone.
We really did have fun.
She wore her fave outfit and I straightened her hair from 7:30 to 8:00. She looked great and definitely had the enthusiasm thing going on.
The facility was a lovely restored old building, with the inside being all brick, wood floors, wood rafters, large windows. Very high ceilings. Extremely thin models in extremely high heels seated us and made sure we knew where the restrooms were.
We were given an application and a booklet. LO had to complete the application, including a 100-word essay on why she thinks she would succeed in Hollywood. I had to read the booklet, including the price list for Development classes, averaging about $100 a week for 20 to 150-week commitments. (Fortunately on the drive down, LO and I had had a chat. I had explained to her that this might be the case, that they would tell her how great she is, she is almost ready for Hollywood, that she just needs a little schooling for so many thousand dollars. We had a good discussion about and she understood that if that were the case, we would laugh and say no thanks, but we had a great time.)
Finally, at 10, The Show began. Extremely attractive people spoke in extremely loud voices (there was quite a crowd, about 200 families) to talk about how much determination and commitment it takes to work in Hollywood. They only accept students with a 3.0 gpa or above, as your grades are a good indicator of how hard you work. They asked questions and had the crowd yell answers, mob-mentality-style. (I do not respond to this tactic. I sit quietly.) Finally, we lined up, in the order in which we arrived (thank goodness) and waited to go into the office of producer #1 for a brief, make that, extremely brief, interview. Mr. Extremely Friendly asked her some questions and made glowing remarks about her self-confidence and maturity. He asked me why they should accept her and I made appropriately glowing remarks about her.
Next we lined up for an on-camera audition where she had to slate (state her name and age) and read a 10-second commercial. The four little girls before her were quite young and barely whispered their lines. Then LO strode to her mark on the stage, gave her lines with expression, a radiant smile, tossed her hair over her shoulder, and strode off. The crowd smiled and laughed. The producer was chuckling as he made his remarks on her paper.
We were to call back at 9am today to see if she had "made" callbacks. I called at 8 and asked if we could find out early so as to not have to step out of church to call at 9. We were put on hold for a few minutes and then connected directly to Mr. Extremely Friendly. "She made the cut! Congratulations!" I asked what the next step might be. "You just need to stop in today and sign up for the 20-week class." "Well, thanks, but our family is not prepared to make such an investment at this time. We had..." I was trying to say, "We had a great time," but Mr. E.F. had already said, "All right, Goodbye," and hung up the phone.
We really did have fun.
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