Chapter 14… Washington DC!!

September 1971
Steve called me and asked to come see me. I screamed and asked where he was and he said in Oak Harbor!! I was so surprised!! He came over and of course we visited mom & dad and went out on the town. He asked me to go to Washington DC with him. I wasn’t quite sure if I really wanted to commit myself to a relationship like that but I saw nothing but a dead end road here, so I thought what the heck!! Mom and dad gave me their blessings so I packed my bags, grabbed my cat and we left the next day. He said he had to drive down to Portland Oregon to pick up a friend that was going with us. Steve had a pickup truck with a camper on the back. We got to Portland and picked up his friend and his girlfriend. So here are 4 of us (and a cat) and a seat that fits three!! Well we figured they can ride in the back and then we all can take turns sleeping back there and drive straight through. It took us 2 ½ days to get there.
When we got to DC we drove to Alexandria Virginia where Steve had an apartment. He told me when we got there that he had a roommate and he hasn’t told him about me yet. So he asked me if I could sleep on the couch in the living room until the roommate moves out. Well I thought that was odd, but being the naïve girl I was, I agreed. Well it took a few weeks before the roommate moved then I moved into the bedroom. There was a double bed in there, and I was wondering where the roommate slept. DUH!!! Then I was wondering why Steve never came into the living room to sleep with me. Again, DUH!!! I just thought he respected me too much and wanted to wait until the time was right.
I got a job as a waitress and hostess at the Marriott Hotte Shoppe in Alexandria. They paid me 80 cents and hour and I had to declare 80 cents an hour tips which brought me up to $1.60 an hour minimum wage. I made much better tips so I wasn’t complaining! The job was fun. I had to wear my hair up above my shoulders, so I bought a shag wig and put my long straight blonde hair up under that. So here I am wearing a wig & false eyelashes. I thought I was really hip, and living in the big fancy city too!! Whoo Hooo! The situation with Steve was really strange. He was distant, and I was frustrated. He finally got drunk one night and tried to do the sex thing but he got sick and couldn’t do it!! Well that sure made me feel sexy!! Thanksgiving came and Steve’s parents came to visit then invited us to their place. I think they lived in New Jersey. We went to visit, and they put us in their guest room but Steve didn’t sleep in the bed with me. He didn’t want to make his parents think we were “doing it”!! For Heavens sake, we were living together!!! What else would they think??!! The situation never got better, so I decided to bail out of that relationship. He agreed it wasn’t going to work out, so he helped me find an apartment and helped me move in and that was the last I saw of him!! That was back in the days that gays never came out, and I am convinced now that he was gay. He was in the navy and he would’ve been kicked out if they knew, so I see now why he wanted me there. Oh well it got me across country and in a big city!!
I lived about 4 blocks from the restaurant that I worked at, so I walked to and from work. A block away was a little Greek café that I stopped at for coffee. A guy named Denny was the brother of the owner and he had a crush on me. Denny’s brother asked me if I would go on a date with Denny, and I said sure, but why doesn’t he ask me? Well Denny didn’t speak English! That was a fun date!! A cab picked me up and Denny was in the back. The driver took us to a Greek restaurant in downtown DC and there was a Belly Dancer there!! Denny ordered Ouzo and they brought it to us and poured it on ice and it turned white!! It tasted like licorice. I was impressed!! When he brought me back he came up to the apartment with me and we had more drinks. He kissed me and said Amore, come to Greece with me! Marry me! YIKES!! Heck no!!! They want their women barefoot and pregnant there!! So I didn’t date him any more. He was nice, but I wasn’t ready for any of that stuff!!
I was walking home from work one night and heard music coming from the theater next to the Greek restaurant. I walked in and there was nobody at the door so I walked into the seating area. There was a band playing great music and nobody in the audience!! I sat down and enjoyed my private little concert. They had a baldheaded black man that could sing great and dance all over the stage!! Some guy came up to me and asked what I was doing there and I told him so he said I could stay and listen to their practice jam session. I asked who the band was, and he said “Hot Tuna” . I never heard of them, but they were a spinoff of “Jefferson Airplane”!! Papa John Creach was HOT!!! They took a break and we all sat there and drank and smoked pot. Ya think the people in Coupeville would believe this??? NAW!!
I was invited to a Christmas party in the projects at Gail’s house. She was a waitress with me. I had a ball there!! The phone rang every 5 minutes, and I was asked if I wanted to buy a new color TV for $10.00. HUH??? I was the only white person there. Gail took me aside and told me her brothers belonged to a gang and they were selling HOT items. YIKES!!! Ya think the people in Coupeville would believe this??? NAW!! I was told I was drinking booze that was stolen during the DC riots of 1968!! YIKES!! Ya think the people in Coupeville would believe this??? NAW!! Gail’s brother took me home and told me I’d be escorted walking home from now on. He said they would protect me from harm. I got scared, but Gail assured me I was safe.
I had a party at my house and invited everyone from work. I remember we made a big wall of empty beer cans in my living room, and it fell quite a few times. I’m sure my neighbors really appreciated that!! I got really drunk and passed out on the couch. My friend kicked everyone out and locked the door. I woke up the next day naked!! YIKES!! Ya think the people in Coupeville would believe this??? YEP!! I called my friend and asked her what happened and she said I passed out and she kicked everyone out. I asked her if I was dressed and she said yes. Well I guess I must’ve pulled my own clothes off but I never did things like that before.
My parents drove out on a vacation to visit with me and tour DC. My sister drove up and toured with us, then they all drove down to Virginia Beach to visit with my sister. It was fun. I was so busy working that I never really got to see DC so I got the tour!!
I was working one night as cashier and the hostess came out to give me a 10 minute break. I was walking downstairs and she said as I was walking away she turned her head and stared down the barrel of a gun!! She was robbed at gunpoint!! I missed it by maybe 30 seconds!! She stepped back and let the guy take the money!! I would’ve gotten mad and got shot!! The police ended up shooting the guy and killing him after he robbed and shot a guy down the street!! My guardian angels at work again!!
I went on a date with a guy I met at work. He took me to a big lake in DC and it was night. It was really pretty at night with the lights and all. He stole a canoe and took me out in the lake in it. (I really had classy dates, huh?).
In March I was worried. I missed my period. I had cramps but no period. I went to a doctor and told him I haven’t had sex, so he did an exam and told me when the tests came in that I probably had a tumor. I totally freaked out, and called my sister. She drove up and got me and took me to Virginia Beach with her to see a doctor there.

Tomorrow…1972 Virginia Beach!!

Love letter to my Dad!

September 23, 1994

Dear Daddy,

Tomorrow you are being taken to Careage of Whidbey because you have a broken hip. It will only be for two weeks. I know how frightened you are, but please be reassured that we are not putting you away in an old folks home!! I love you too much to do that.

All my life you have been my hero. Ever since I was a baby I had to sleep with your boon-dockers for re-assurance that you were near. Mom said you even had to come home to feed me.

I was so afraid that you would come home from the Ranger Cruise and divorce mom. I prayed that if that happened that I would go with you.

When I started dating I was so afraid that you wouldn’t like my boyfriends.

When I married Larry, I thought I found someone to fill your shoes. He seemed to be a lot like you, but not really. He didn’t do the handy things around the house that you were so good at. After 13 years of marriage I realized it was no good.

You were such a good husband for mom. You sat back and let her do her thing, and waited for her to settle down. I’ve never seen anyone take their marriage vows so seriously. You haven’t even taken off the wedding band. You must have really loved her. I hope she knew how gifted she was to have found you. I’m sure glad she did.

All three of us kids love you very much. Do you realize how lucky you are to have three kids love you? I wish I had at least one!!

When I was pregnant and in Virginia I was so lonesome for home, and when you called me and asked me to come home, my heart burst. You and mom were right by my side through the whole still-born thing. Dad, I’m so sorry I put you through all of that!! I started drinking really hard after that, and I was totally out of control. I know now I must have put you through Hell. I’m so sorry for all of that. Please forgive me. I’ve been sober for 7 years and three months now, and realize that my life was a mess before. I’m trying my best to live a normal life now. Thank you so much for being my dad. I don’t know what I would do without you here.

It breaks my heart to see you laid up with a broken hip. Dad; Mary Lou, Mike and I are right by you to get you through this. Things will work out. I want you to get better, so we can go to Alaska and explore. You have a lot more years ahead of you if you follow doctor’s orders.

Please know we are with you through all of this.

I love you dearly!! Phyllis


I wrote this letter to my father when he was in the hospital with a hip replacement surgery. Mom died in January 1993. They were married for almost 50 years. We didn't show much love or hugs growing up, but we did love each other. I felt the need to tell him how much he meant to me! He died November 7th 1996.
I Miss you terribly dad, and love you with all my heart!!
Thank you for all you did for me!!

Chapter 13…..1971, 21 years old and discovering BARS!!!

I was a waitress at the “Kennel” in downtown Oak Harbor. Oak Harbor is a small town about 4 miles from Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. Well, men are in abundance here, and being 21 and having free reign of the bars, it was heaven!! I had two roommates, Ellie and Ann. Ellie was about 7 years older than me, and Ann was 1 year younger. We would dress up all purty and head to town almost every night! There were dances at the Oak Harbor Tavern, and we would dance every dance!! There was a bald headed Chief (Josh) that would go to town in his dress blues and stand at the bar and drink room temperature Heidelburg beer. When he walked into a bar he would automatically buy the bar a round and every girl in the place a drink. We would know his “route” and would be a step ahead of him. We would go into the first bar and order a Black Russian (Vodka & Kahlua). They were expensive, but were all booze, and we would get at least three free ones at each place. We would watch him, and when he was half through with his second beer we would head to the next bar and be there when he came in to buy a round!! Heeheeheeheeheeheehee!! There were only two cocktail lounges (besides the private clubs) in Oak Harbor, but 6 Black Russians are enough for any drunk for one night!!
I would help out my roommates once in awhile cleaning houses. They were hired by the contractors when they built new houses to clean up after the builders were through. We survived paycheck to paycheck. I never knew what savings were. We would spend all our money in the bars.
There was a house of “druggies” living next door to us, and we would pull pranks on each other once in awhile. One day they were having a party and they all passed out about midnight. I snuck over there and put some wet newspapers in a metal bucket and lit it on fire to smolder a little. Then I pounded on the door and yelled FIRE!! They were all freaking out, and we were rolling in laughter. It sure ruined their mellow “high”. Egads, thinking back on it, it really isn’t that funny, but it was at the moment!! Remember, this is my drunk diary!!

The next day Ellie was baking a German Chocolate cake and I asked her what is was for, and she said for the neighbors, for a “peace offering”. I was feeding the cat, so I looked at the batter and poured some cat food in the batter. We baked the cake and they ate it, saying it was delicious!! We then told them it had “Friskies” in it. They moved a few weeks later. No sense of humor!!

I was at a party at my mom’s house and was driving home drinking a beer. I turned onto my street and I dropped the beer and bent to pick it up and went over the center line. Yep I got my DUI!! They made me park the car right where it was. I asked if I could park it in my driveway about 50 feet away and they said no. I was taken to the Police Station and blew the machine. They made me wait ½ hour and do it again. If I was that high the second time I was going to the hospital!! Heck, I wasn’t even drunk by my standards!! They called my mom to come get me and when she came into the Police Station she was bouncing down the hall screaming for her baby!! She was drunker than I was, and they looked at me and told me to take my mother to my house (a mile away) and keep her there!! (Dad was working at the base as a Firefighter at the time 24 hours on 24 hours off). They towed my car and impounded it, so I had to drive my mom’s car to my house. Back in 1971 a DUI cost me $179.00 which was a fortune to me!!
I was dating a guy in the navy (surprise) and he got orders to Crystal City by Washington DC to train to be an advisor for the Viet Nam war. After he left, one of my roommates got married and the other one was moving in with her boyfriend, so I moved in with my old roommate in Oak Harbor.
I was there about a month when my boyfriend got a 9 day vacation and drove all the way to visit me! He didn’t tell me he was coming. He asked me to go to DC with him, so overnight I packed my clothes and grabbed my cat and told my parents we were going, and off I went on a new adventure!!
Tomorrow….Washington DC!!

Chapter 12...The rest of 1970…

Remember folks, I am an alcoholic, and this is the story of my life as an alcoholic. I am writing this as a recovery tool through the AA steps.
Step 4: Made a searching and fearless inventory of ourselves.
Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Now this isn’t really an accurate step 4 or 5, but it is getting the story and cobwebs out of me!!

The rest of 1970…I was working at the Seagull Café and still living at the duplex at Fort Casey 4 miles away. My roommate moved out and I was in the place by myself. It was an old two story duplex built early in the century used for officers housing. There were four duplexes, and one small house. Mine had a full basement and the first story had a big breakfast nook, and huge kitchen, and a huge living room. Upstairs had two big bedrooms and a bathroom with an old fashioned clawfoot bathtub. Nobody lived in the other side of my apartment, but the next building had the 4 single guys living there. Nobody else lived in the area except my old roommate that lived in a small house at the other end. It was in the country and a spooky atmosphere. Perfect for parties!! Barry got tired of me getting drunk and quit coming over. He still visited me at the Café but knew I was off and running in the party department and he didn’t want any part of that. He was afraid I would end up a drunk like my mother. Well I guess I did, huh? One of the guys next door asked me to go to Seattle with him, so I did. He took me to the restaurant on the Space Needle, and to a concert to see BB King Jr at the Paramount!! It was great!! He had a Volkswagen van. Perfect for 1970!! He took me out on a boat too. We were out in the bay and it started to get choppy, and I started to panic so we came back in. That is good, because I heard it was the captain’s boat from the base!!
I went to parties and dances in Oak Harbor, but mostly stayed in Coupeville for my serious drinking. I was driving home one night and saw a guy walking down the road in the dark. It was three miles from town and near where I lived. I stopped to give him a ride and he said he was going to visit a guy that lived out by me. I told him they were all out on a 2 month carrier quall. He was disappointed because he said he hitchhiked all the way from California to see his friend. I told him he could stay in my basement. (I could lock my door from it). I told him I could not afford to feed him because I ate at the Café where I worked and didn’t keep food in my house. He said he needed a job so I helped him find a job on one of the farms. He stayed with me for a few weeks then disappeared. I don’t know his name or where he came from. When the guys returned I told Mike from California that his friend came by to visit and told him who he was, and Mike had no idea who I was talking about!! WEIRD!! The guy appeared in the middle of the night, I housed him and got him a job then he disappeared. He never seemed a threat at all to me, but I guess I am a very lucky gal!! My guardian angels at work again!! They will all have grey hair by the time they are through with me.
I let my brother who is 6 ½ years younger than me have a New Years party at my house. He invited about 5 of his friends and I bought the beer & wine. A bunch of 15 year old guys drinking it up!! They were all puking in about an hour!! My bathroom, my kitchen sink, outside my door!! Dad came to pick up the boys the next morning and mentioned he liked the new “decorations” on my old Christmas tree that was out by my back porch. I looked and there were chunks of bologna hanging off it!! Yep puke there too!! I guess loganberry wine and beer mixed is not a good drunk for 15 year old boys that had bologna sandwiches for dinner!! HAHAHAHAHA
I moved in to a small two story duplex in Oak Harbor with two other gals. They worked cleaning houses, and I got a job at a bigger restaurant there.
Tomorrow, 1971.

Chapter 11 Back Home!!

This is a hard one to write, so bear with me folks…

Well now I am back home and 1970 is just a few days away. I am living with my parents and no job because I am too pregnant to get work. I still got medical care at the base because I was under 21 and living with my father who is a retired navy man. In February I will be 21 and the navy will still take care of me because it is a pre-existing condition. I was desperate to get back on my own, so I had to swallow my pride and go to the Welfare office! My God, it has come to that!! They accepted me, and I got a small place about 4 blocks from my parents. (Every place in Coupeville is about 4 blocks from each other).
A few girls from school threw a baby shower for me and I got a bunch of cute things. I set the baby’s room up real nice and was awaiting the “time” for it to come. All my drinking friends were off doing other things like getting married and moving away, so I sorta just hung out with my parents, and my friend Barry. Barry was a friend I met while waitressing at the Seagull Café. Barry’s mother lived in the duplex next door to me, and she was an older woman and a drunk. Barry hated drunks, and was upset at me when I drank at all my parties, but when I came crawling back home he was there for me. He was 10 years older than me and never been married. (He later told his sister that if he could find a girl like me he would marry her).
My 21st birthday was February 4th and I was 8 ½ months pregnant. I remember standing outside the Tavern until midnight and then walking in to get my “Birthday” beer. They all yelled at me that it wasn’t time yet, and I almost cried, so they let me in.
I would go to the tavern and sip on a beer once in awhile, or a coke. I don’t think I got drunk then because it made me sick. The baby was due in late February, and I was miserable. I was huge and miserable. It was March now, and still no baby. I went to the doctor every week and he said to come back the next week. The first week in March he decided to induce labor and told me to come in the next week for it. I was miserable, and feeling really weird. When I went in the next week, he said he was too busy, and to come back the next week. The baby was turning a lot and really doing some acrobatic maneuvers inside me. I went home, and three days later I was mopping the kitchen floor and felt a big “pull” in my stomach. It hurt, and the baby was really still after that, so I had my mother take me to the hospital on the base. They did some tests then x-rayed me and came in and told me the baby was dead! There was nothing they could do but send me home and wait for me to go into labor naturally. I don’t remember much after that. I was in shock. I wanted that baby so bad, and planned on raising it myself. Then I went into the guilt mode. Did I do something wrong? Am I being punished for being a bad girl? After all was done, the doctors told me the baby was separated from the placenta and died. If they would’ve induced labor when they said they would, it would not have happened!! I was so hurt and angry!! Barry was right by my side. What a good friend he was. On March 23rd I woke up in the morning and peed my pants. (My water broke). They took me in to the hospital and I had 12 hours hard labor. Mom was in the delivery room with me and Dad and Barry were in the waiting room. They said the entire hospital could hear me screaming. I was afraid and angry, and let the world know!! The baby finally came out and I sat up to try and see it. They whisked it away from me and wouldn’t let me see him. It was a boy weighing 9 ½ pounds. I had to name him, so I named him Michael (after my brother) Lee (after his father’s middle name), then I had to put Bazzell for the last name because my old fashioned parents didn’t want a bastard son named after the family name! (I got over it). I had to sign a birth certificate then sign a death certificate. The following morning I was in bed and there was a gal and her husband in the next bed. She had a miscarriage and the Priest was praying for them. I asked if he would come over and pray for me too, and he asked if I was Catholic, and I said no, and he did not come pray for me. Again, here I was in 1970 and just had a baby out of wedlock. Shame on me!! PRICKS!!! It took me many years to get over the rejection from a man of Faith! I felt so dirty and ashamed, and blamed myself for everything that happened to me.
When I got home the next day I opened the door to the baby's room and it was empty!! Mom & Dad took everything away!! They thought they were keeping me from more pain, but it didn't work. I was so lost!! I had no idea what the baby looked like, where he was and where the baby things were. It was all taken from me. It was like it never happened!! But I know it did, and I was hurting from it!!
To top things off, I got a letter from the Welfare Office telling me that I was no longer eligible for benefits for the month of March because I was not pregnant and did not have a baby, so I had to return the check I received March 1st!! I went to the Seagull Café and got my job back and repaid the Welfare Office. I was on Welfare for two months and swore I would NEVER EVER ask for help again!! I never needed to after that.

Again, Barry was right by my side through all of this!!
He still worked on the Turkey farm and would come to the Café where I worked every night. He would take me to the movies, and have me over for dinner. He was such a gentleman, and always treated me with respect. He was such a good friend, but that’s all it was, a friendship. I moved to a place out by Fort Casey three miles from town, and had a roommate that had a little girl. There was a house next door with 4 bachelors living there. PARTY TIME!!! We had a ball!! We spent a lot of time at the Tavern and then home to drink more. Sometime during this period, the guy that got me pregnant came by and asked if he could see the baby!! I was flabbergasted!! I told him I had no idea where the baby’s ashes were. My parents had him cremated and didn’t tell me where they had the ashes put. He said he didn’t know the baby was stillborn. He left, and that was the last I hoped I would see of him. I don’t know why I was mad at him, I was the one that decided to “do it” with him, and got pregnant. I just didn’t want to be reminded of that period of my life.
Okay, that is enough for tonight. I will get back to the parties tomorrow!
Have a great Friday!!

Chapter 10 Virginia Beach 1969

My sister wanted me to ride across the United States with her and her 2 year old daughter Donna because it is scary driving alone with a two year old. My life was in a shambles at that time and we all decided it was the best thing to do.
Before we left for the East Coast my father brought over a 6 pack of beer to the restaurant where I was working and we sat there and drank it after closing and got drunk together. We both opened our hearts and souls. I told him how I was mad at him for not writing to us kids when he was overseas in 1960 and mom was running around the town. He said he did write letters but never got any from us. Well we figured it out that mom intercepted all the letters. I forgave her for that and so did dad. It was a bad time for them but he stuck by her. What a man!! When I left we were fine with each other and he wasn’t angry with me for not getting married.
We planned to drive down the coast to Bakersfield then to San Diego to visit our Aunts, then over to El Paso Texas to visit our other Aunt, then on to Virginia Beach. We had a friend (Corky) that was transferred to Virginia Beach at the same time, so he said he would drive the same route that we did. (Kind of a like a protector/guardian). My parents asked that I didn’t tell any of the relatives that I was pregnant because it would embarrass them. Being a pregnant single gal in 1969 was not cool. We left Coupeville on Halloween 1969 and drove down to Salem Oregon to visit with our cousins, then on to Bakersfield. We had to stop at a motel on the way, so to save money we all stayed in the same room. It was rather awkward, as Corky was there and we all needed showers. We finally got the showers and jumped into bed and covered up when Corky took his shower. He came out and jumped in his bed and we saw him put a gun under his pillow. We giggled thinking he was afraid of us girls and needed protection from us!! We were driving into Bakersfield and about there is when we lost sight of Corky and never saw him again until we got to Virginia Beach. Just as well, he was kind of weird. We had a nice visit with Aunt Dutch in Bakersfield and Aunt Marjory in San Diego then stopped in El Paso and had a great visit with Aunt Peggy. Her husband was a Border Patrol there. She was involved with the garden club and other hoity-toity societies in El Paso. Her big secret was that she got married in a boxing ring!! Uncle Don was a middle weight in his early years!! The rest of the trip was interesting, and it was fun to hear the southern accents in the deep south!! We got to Virginia Beach and Mary Lou got an apartment a block from the beach. She got married in November to Jim Chandler and he was a good father and husband. He was very fussy when it came to cleanliness. I remember him making a big issue of putting a pull tab in the trash when it was left on the counter. I also remember once Mary Lou telling me about the time he was eating ice cream and started gagging and spitting it out in the sink!! She asked what was wrong, and he told her there was a bug in it. She said geeze, Jim, it’s a cherry!! HAHAHAHAHA
I got a job waitressing in a little Greek restaurant on Virginia Beach Blvd. The “Excellent Café”. The place was run by the Greek owners and only two could speak English. It was getting close to the Holidays so I convinced them they needed to decorate for Christmas. They let me go buy some decorations and we decorated a tree. They taught me how to do the “hanky” dance, and I had a lot of fun with them. They were really nice people. They “adopted” me and told me they would help me when my baby was born. I have always been blessed with good friends!! It wasn’t a sin to drink or smoke while pregnant in those days, but I didn’t drink much during the pregnancy because it made me sick. Well Christmas came and went and boy was I ever homesick!! I was 7 months pregnant and beginning to get worried about how I will survive supporting the baby and making the medical bills. I was talking with dad on the phone and we both started crying. Dad wired me the money for a plane ticket to go home the next day!!
I think it was December 27th when I flew home. I remember flying into Chicago and we had to prepare for a crash landing because of the ice and snow all over the runway!! The plane slid sideways but didn’t crash. WHEW!!
I got home safe and sound and my friend Barry picked me up at the airport and brought me home. I was welcomed with open arms and love!!
Tomorrow the next chapter in my life.

Chapter 9…More 1968

Continuation of my life story....(The story began in May)

About this time I met a friend that we have become lifetime soulmate type friends. Irene. We have gone years without writing, but will always be close friends. Irene lives in Vancouver Washington by Portland Oregon and found me from a forwarded email she got from a friend. My old email address was (Phyllis@whidbey.net). She only knew one Phyllis from Whidbey so she emailed me and we keep in touch now. We used to have ESP together. I would pick up the phone and we’d start talking and about ten minutes later we would say “wait a minute, who called who?? The phone never rang!!” We would head out to some parties in the woods, and I would get my "weird" feelings, and start to panic and we'd get the heck outa there. We drove out one road while the cops were driving in the other road. people started to go by my "feelings". If they saw me start to act weird, we'd move the party. We can’t really remember where or when we met, but it was at some party. She was a year younger than me and lived in Oak Harbor with her parents. She only drank whiskey and coke and that was very seldom. I don’t think I ever saw Irene drunk. I can remember her smiling and laughing all the time. Boy did we ever have FUN!! She always had a Coke. She had as much fun as all of us, but didn’t get sick like me because I always drank myself into oblivion and she stuck with Coke. She was not an alcoholic like me, but she was always laughing at/with me. She met her husband through me. My father was a jailer at that time and the jail was about 4 blocks from my brown shack. My parents lived about 5 blocks away. One night about 4 guys came to my party and said they always wanted to come here. I asked where they heard about my parties, and they said they could hear them from the jail when they were there.
I was having a Keg party once when we ran out of beer. We had bought the beer at the Chiefs Petty Officers club, and called them and asked if we could trade in the empty, and they said to come on over, so 4 of us jumped in the car and went and bought the beer. About a mile from the club I ran out of gas. Along came Officer Sharp asking if all was ok. I told him we ran out of gas, and he looked in the back of the car and noticed the huge keg sitting in the back. I wasn’t worried because it wasn’t tapped. But….we were all under 21!! Four underage people at the party, and it was us that went for the beer!! DUH!! Well he gave us all a ticket for minors in possession of alcohol, and confiscated our keg. (the deputies later had a party with it!!). The guys had to spend a few days in jail because they were just out for other charges. I was having another party and knew the guys could hear my music, so I snuck up to the jail and tied a 5th of vodka from the window of the jail cell window and stuck a long plastic “relief tube” in it and stuck the other end through the window. Dad said the next day that the prisoners were all drunk, and he didn’t know how!! Hehehehehehe. Only in a small town!!!
Those parties continued for a few months. During that time my old boyfriend that was in Viet Nam started writing me and saying he was coming back in a few months. Swell. He showed up one night and didn’t like what he saw. I had long straight hair and wearing flowered bell bottomed hip hugger pants. We went our separate ways. My drinking was becoming a nightly occurrence and I blacked out a lot!! My boss was getting mad at me for coming in hung over and being late. Town was-a-talkin!! The guys got their own place and the parties started to move over there. I was on a three day binge and never showed up for work or went home. When I finally went home it was a shambles. Someone had gone in and threw all my albums out in the yard and really trashed the place. My parents were scared that I was kidnapped or murdered!! I was starting to get ugly in my drinking. I was kinda going with one guy and we got intimate one night. He got a job in Everett and we went different ways. Well a month or so later I discovered I was pregnant, and decided to keep the baby. My parents insisted that I marry the guy and I didn’t want to. He was going on with his life and I was in Coupeville. We were not in love. My sister was driving to Virginia Beach with her two year old daughter to get married about that time and asked if I wanted to go there with her. I jumped at the chance to get away from this small town gossip and parents that wanted to make me get married. So in the Fall of 1969 we went to Virginia Beach Virginia to start a new life!
Tomorrow, Virginia Beach here we come!!!!

I'm Baaaaaack!!

Ok, The fun is over Mary Lou!!
I finally got my computer back after 5 days of being down!! It was a corrupted somethingorother in the whatchamacallit. I paid a guy $100.00 to take it for the weekend and fix it!! He did, so I am back and runnung I hope for a long time!! WHEW!! I was busy all weekend so I didn't really have time to feel lost, but I did feel rather weird!! We sure get hooked on things, huh?
I will get back to posting maybe Wednesday. I found I need to give myself other time to do things. I come home from work and sit in front of the computer and next thing I know it is time for bed, and I did nothing else. I need to manage my time better. HAHAHAHA We'll see.
Meantime, I have alot of reading to catch up on, then try and get back to my life story that I seemed to back off on!! Later, folks!!

PHYLLIS loves Fart jokes....

Man Who Loved Baked Beans


Once upon a time, there lived a man who had a terrible passion
for baked beans. He loved them, but they always had an
embarrassing and somewhat lively reaction on him. One day he met
a girl and fell in love. When it became apparent that they would
marry, he thought to himself, she'll never go through with the
marriage with me carrying on like this, so he made the supreme
sacrifice and gave up beans.

Shortly after that they were married. A few months later, on his
birthday and on the way home from work, his car broke down.
Since they lived in the country, he called his wife and told her
that he would be late because he had to walk home. On his way
home, he passed a small cafe and the wonderful aroma of baked
beans overwhelmed him. Since he still had several miles to walk
he figured he could walk off any ill affects before he got home.
It was, after all, his birthday. So he went in and ordered, and
before leaving had 3 extra large helpings of baked beans.

All the way home he putt-putted. By the time he arrived home he
felt reasonably safe. His wife met him at the door and seemed
somewhat excited. She exclaimed, "Darling, I have the most
wonderful surprise for you for dinner tonight!" She put a
blindfold on him, and led him to his chair at the head of the
table and made him promise not to peak. At this point he was
beginning to feel another one coming on. Just as his wife was
about to remove the blindfold, the telephone rang. She again
made him promise not to peek until she returned, and away she
went to answer the phone. While she was gone, he seized the
opportunity. He shifted his weight to one leg and let go. It was
not only loud, but ripe as a rotten egg. He had a hard time
breathing, so he felt for his napkin and fanned the air about
him. He had just started to feel better, when another urge came
on. He raised his leg and RRIIPPP !!! It sounded like a diesel
engine revving, and smelled worse. To keep from gagging, he
tried fanning his arms a while, hoping the smell would
dissipate. He got another urge. This was a real blue ribbon
winner, the windows shook, the dishes on the table rattled and a
minute later the flowers on the table were dead.

With his blindfold still on, when he heard the phone farewells
he neatly laid his napkin on his lap and folded his hands on top
of it. Smiling contentedly, he was the picture of innocence when
his wife walked in. Apologizing for taking so long, she asked if
he had peeked at the dinner table. After assuring her he had not
peeked, she removed the blindfold and yelled, "SURPRISE!!!"

To his shock and horror, there were twelve dinner guests seated
around the table for his surprise birthday party.

June 12, WORLD Naked Bike Ride Day

Yep, It is!! Major cities all over the world are organizing these bike rides to protest our dependancy on world oil.

Guess I better get my lawn chair ready and park it along the highway so I can watch!



RIDE ON FELLAS!!!

DOWN!!!

Phyllis is DOWN!!! Her 'Puter died!! We do not know the prognosis as yet, hopefully it has just passed out, and is not DEAD! She is waiting for someone to come fix it, but beings as how this is a National day of mourning and everything is closed, and tomorrw is the weekend, it may be awhile! MAy be only an hour or two, but meanwhile, you need to go over to MY BLOG and sign in!! She may come over and update, but don't count on it!

Mary Lou

37 years ago....

I graduated by the skin of my teeth. Coupeville High School class of 1967. The school is a very small farm school, and there were only about 28 kids in the graduating class. (I think I was #20, I didn't do alot of studying).



Ah, to be that innocent and THIN again!!
Hey, I had a long neck then!!! What happened???
Little does she know what lies ahead of her!!
Mwahahahahaha (sigh)

Vacation is over.........WAAAAAA!!

Well it is Sunday night and I am getting the house ready for the work week ahead. I just had two weeks off, and am wondering how it went so danged FAST!! I have another weeks worth of things to do, but at least the floors are put in and the camper is cleaned and put away, the tomatoes are planted, My closet is purged and all my clothes washed ironed and put away!! I have gone through MOST of my junk drawers and piles of paperwork that I absolutely have no idea why I keep them!! I am shredding most of them!! Sheesh, but I sure am the clutter collector, and I HATE clutter!! As I organize and clean, I turn around and generate yet MORE clutter!!
Enough of my blabber. Hope everyone has a great week!! Monday morning is sneaking up really fast!!
Later, folks!!

Floors

Well my floors still aren't done, but very very close!!
He will come back on monday to finish. I can't really put everything in it's place because the trim isn't done yet, and a small spot in the hall needs to be done. There went my vacation! But it was worth it!! It doesn't look like the same place!! I rearranged everything and bought a new fan to put in the kitchen also some small throw rugs for the kitchen.
I sure am spending the money I don't have yet!! HAHAHAHA
I already have the spot picked out for the Christmas tree!! I feel like I have moved into a new house!!

I cleaned out my tent trailer and put it away for the rains tomorrow, and planted four tomato plants in whiskey barrels. I am ready for a relaxing two days before going back to work on Monday!

Now I need to get back to my life story.

Have a great weekend, and remember....If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

Wha the...............????

Of all nights to happen.......I am sleeping out in my tent trailer tonight because the furniture in my house is all piled up in my kitchen and my bed is on it's side in my living room because my floors are still being installed. I left the door to my house and the door to my trailer open so my cat can come in and sleep with me in the trailer, then go to the house to use the litter box if she needed to. My friend made me promise to close the doors because of all the weirdos in my trailer park. Well good grief, I really don't think anyone would bother me, so I broke my promise. I went to bed at midnight and my cat crawled on the sleeping bag with me. I was sound asleep and a bright light woke me up. It sweped by my tent and faded out. Well that startled me so I got up and looked outside. Not a thing was stirring outside, so I went back inside and got back in my sleeping bag. Then KABOOM...crackle...shake!!! Well THAT got me up and out of my tent really fast!!! My cat and I both levitated and she about tripped me getting out of the tent before me!! My heart was thumping out of my chest and I tried to run like Hell but OOOPS!! I forgot about my CPAP machine and the mask on my face!! Okay, got that off and then continued levitating out and into my safe house!! I thought at first it was thunder. Well not a cloud in the sky, and the full moon was shining. Hmmmm, now that got me wondering what the heck it was????!!! I came in my house and called my sister who lives 7 miles away and she heard it too!! I waited ten minutes and called the ICOM dispatcher to ask her if there were any reports of an explosion, and she said yes, there are conflicting reports of maybe an earthquake or a meteor. Earthquake no, my stomach would tell me if it was an earthquake. But meteor, possibly. I did see the bright light before the noise. The dispatcher told me to turn on the emergency radio. Well all I'm getting is a weather report. Now I am WIDE AWAKE and it is 3:30 AM. I need to get some sleep because I am starting physical therapy tomorrow. (1.5 hours of exercising to strengthen my lungs and back). Okay, my adrenaline is down to a wide awake psycho now instead of a raving maniac, so I will try and go back outside where the monsters lurk and get some sleep!! Later, folks!

Still hangin in there!!

Well my floors are about 1/2 done now. It is taking MUCH s l o w e r than I anticipated, but it is going to look great!! My living room furniture has been stacked in my kitchen since Friday, and the old carpet and padding is piled on my new patio!! I guess he will haul it all to the dump when he is through. The sun has finally come out and will be nice for the next few days! YAY!! At least I will have a few good days for my vacation.
I can't think yet to post any more, so I am off to get my hair cut!! That will make me feel better!!
Next week all will be back to normal!! But then WHAT IS NORMAL????

Memorial Day

Today is Memorial Day. Some people think of camping, picnics, a three day weekend, shopping, the beginning of Summer. I think of all that, but my heart is with the servicemen/women that paid the ultimate price for our freedom. God rest their souls!! Without them where would we be? I cannot imagine a life other than the one I am living today. I have the right to choose who and what I am! I can work wherever I want, schools are for my choosing, I can say what I please and go to the Church of my choice!! AMEN!!
Thank you to all who serve our Country!!
My father was in the Navy during World War Two. He joined when he was just a teen. My sister has a picture of him on her site. Go check out that handsome dude!! Hope everyone has a great day!!
I am back from camping and cramped in my torn apart house!! The floors are half done and I am sitting on bare plywood floors with all my furniture piled in my kitchen until tomorrow or Wednesday!! Geeze...but soon it will be done!! I will get back to my story when I am settled in.
Later, folks!!

Remember....Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier'n puttin' it back.

Camping

I am home for a shower and to feed "Punkin". My floors are about 1/3 done and my house is all torn up and a mess!! But.....next week it will be DONE!!!!! YAHOO!!
I set the camp up yesterday and as soon as I got there the sun came out. I sat down and opened the trail mix I made, and two squirrels appeared and demanded food!! After a while we left and when we came back the trail mix that I had in a quart jar was on the ground with the cap screwed off!! The little beggars had chewed around the plastic jar lid and figured out how to twist the lid off!! Now that would've been fun to watch!! For dinner We grilled Teriyaki steaks and had rice, waldorf coleslaw and brocoli salad. It was nice all day and night. I woke up to rain early this morning, but by the time I got up and out of bed the rain had stopped.
Well back to the campsite!!

Yikes!!

Well I woke up today and planned out the day. I ate breakfast and dressed then cleaned out the bathroom and hall. The guys are coming over today to put in the bathroom and hall floor, and tomorrow they will come and rip up the carpet and floor in the rest of the house. NOT!!! They showed up today and started moving things out and said they will rip up everything today!! I wasn't ready at all!! (AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMMMMM.......calm down, Phyllis). Next week will be here and all will be done, so it will all work out!! I just wanted to get all the stuff out of my living room by tomorrow not today. But oh well. I also thought they were going to work through the weekend, but they are only here today and tomorrow, then finish next week. But I have all next week off too, so not to worry Phyllis!! It will be done soon enough, and all I have to do is enjoy the finished product and worry about paying for it the next few years!! I am going to put the trailer in the park tonight, and go camping tomorrow. The weather report.....
Today
Rain at times. Highs in the upper 50s. Southwest wind around 10 mph.
Detail
Tonight
Showers. Lows in the upper 40s. South wind around 10 mph in the evening becoming light.

Friday
Showers likely. Highs around 60. Southwest wind around 10 mph.
Detail
Friday Night
Partly cloudy. Scattered showers. Lows in the upper 40s. Southwest wind around 10 mph.

Saturday
Rain likely. Highs around 60. Southwest wind 10 to 15 mph.
Detail
Saturday Night
Rain likely. Lows in the upper 40s.

Sunday
Rain likely. Highs in the lower 60s.

Sunday Night
Mostly cloudy. Chance of rain. Lows in the upper 40s.

Memorial Day
Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Highs around 60.

Monday Night
Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Lows in the mid 40s.

Tuesday
Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Highs in the lower 60s.

Tuesday Night
Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Lows in the upper 40s.

Wednesday
Mostly cloudy. Chance of showers. Highs in the mid 60s. &&

OH well, it is Memorial Day and that is the norm!! I'm used to it!! The best part is coming home to a shower and a nice comfortable bed!!
Later, folks.

Too Pooped to Think!!!!

Okay, I have been busy the past few days shopping with my sister, taking Hannah out to dinner, getting my house ready for new floors to be installed, getting prepared for the camping trip in the rain, and trying to feel better. I think I got a bug of some kind which isn't surprising as it is my vacation!! Sooooo, I will hold off on my drunken past for a few days!! (I also need to put my mind to work remembering some of those foggy days).
I will pop in once in awhile as I live 15 miles from the campsite and will come home daily to feed the kitty!!
Hope all is well your way, and will be seeing you later!!
Come on over to the campsite and grab a hot dog and some S'mores and a cup of coffee and enjoy the campfire!!
Later, folks!!

Day 8….Back to parties!!!

Now I am getting into some of my foggy years. There are a lot of missing time warps, and as I write, more bits and pieces come to mind. Let’s see, when I went to Seattle I needed some money so I sold my car to my dad, and in turn he sold it. I moved back to Coupeville and got my job back at the Seagull Café. I found a room in a motel 2 miles south of town that rented out for the month. It had a kitchenette and it was sufficient. I would get a ride to work and there was always someone to get me home. I would go to parties in Oak Harbor (12 miles away). I decided to have a party at my apartment, and had someone buy me a bottle of vodka and some roses lime juice. I started drinking gimlets as soon as I got home and by the time the first person showed up, I was drunk!! When I drank, if it tasted good, I would want MORE!! So I drank the entire fifth and when everyone showed up, I passed out. The next day I was told that I can throw a great party! I’ll take their word for it!!
I had a hard time getting rides to work so I found a cheap place to rent in town (Town had a population of 750 in 1967). It was two blocks from work. After work I went to a lot of parties and they usually ended up at my house. In fact many times I would come home from work to a party going on in my house and I lived alone!! I did not own a television. I had a stereo and lots of albums. The best albums were the “Oldies but Goodies”. I met a group of Sailors from New York and they would all end up at my house. We played the “Oldies but Goodies” all through the night and we danced, danced, danced!! That little one bedroom bungalow would cram in 50 people partying through the night!! To this day whenever I hear an Oldie from the 50’s, I get melancholy. Sha Na NA is one of my favorite groups. I remember one night I got a phone call from Vic Seeley the Tavern Owner/Mayor. He asked if I had a party going on, and I said yes, and he sent 9 Green Beret guys over!! They were at NAS Whidbey doing some survival training for Viet Nam and were on a weekend off and went to the Tavern looking for fun and girls. Vic sold them each a case of beer and sent them to my house!! Remember, I was only 19 or 20 at the time!!

I need to go back a year or so. When I was still living with mom & dad we lived in a very old Victorian house on top of a hill. It had a ghost in it. We never saw it, but it would do strange things. Once it locked my bedroom door from the inside. I lived on the second story and there is no way anyone could’ve locked it from the inside and sneak out the windows! It had a hook lock that needed to be pushed to lock. The ghost would turn my light on and off in my bedroom. There was one source of electricity in the room and it was from a hanging bulb from the center of the ceiling. I was afraid of the dark and would go to sleep with the light on. I would wake up in the middle of the night and it would be turned off. This battle went on for months, so we had it re-wired. That did not stop it. The cat would sleep with me and I would wake up to the cat growling staring at the wall. (mice?). We were all convinced there was a ghost!
Once while I was working at the café Helen and I were the only two in there. We were sitting at the counter and two good looking well dressed guys walked in and headed to the back dining room. I grabbed two menus and headed back. I got in the dining room and they weren’t there. I went back out front and Helen was still sitting at the counter. I asked her if she saw them walk out, and she said no. The only two doors were right in front. Helen was sitting there and they had to go by her to get out, I was in the hall and they would have to go by me or walk through the kitchen and come out by Helen. Hmmmmm…a couple of spirits just passing through.

Back to the parties… One night the “New Yorkers” were at my house and were were bored so we all decided to go to an old abandoned house a block away. It was eerie. The grass was mossy and soft, and the windows and doors were nailed shut. We pulled off the boards and opened the front door. The guys of course decided to go in first and my friend Irene and I were right behind them. As we all entered the house a Rainier beer bottle came rolling down the stairs!! (We were drinking Olympia). Well those big brave men flattened me trying to get out of the house screaming like little girls!! I got the giggles and couldn’t run! I was rolling in the front yard laughing hysterically. One by one they all came creeping back sheepishly. We went back in looking for the source of the bottle. Upstairs was kinda spooky. Well okay, the whole house was kinda spooky!!
I went in one of the rooms upstairs and there was a rocker in the middle of the room rocking all by itself. This time my eyes popped out of my head and I turned to run and noticed that again I was the last to leave!! They guys were a block away screaming by the time I got to the front door. Again I was rolling in the front lawn laughing hysterically. I think I peed my pants that time!! To this day I love to get scared!!
(adrenaline junkie).
Tomorrow…more parties!!

Day 7...City Slicker!!

1968….I decided living in Coupeville was BORING!!! I thought I’d go to Seattle and look for work. I stayed at a friend’s apartment and she helped me find a job at the Vernell’s candy factory. Now that was hard work!!! I would station myself at the end of the conveyor belt and inspect the mounds of chocolate that would come down the belt and into the boxes. When the boxes got full I would pick them up and put them in a pile and go back to the next box. If the mounds came out with no chocolate, I was to push the emergency stop button to cancel the conveyor belt and refill the chocolate. Have you ever seen the segment on the “I Love Lucy Show”? Lucy and Ethyl working at the candy factory and eating the candy and stuffing them everywhere when the belt started going faster? Yep. That was me!! I lasted two days at that job!! I could hardly make it out of bed the next day, and crawled to work and just couldn’t make it the full day! I moved back home and was working in the beet fields and was pushed off the tractor by a big dirt clod!! I tried Seattle again and found a job at the “Fred Astaire Dance Studio” as a dance “instructor. I was 19 years old and they told me I would travel around and possibly go to Vegas and the clubs. I told them I was under age, and they said no problem, they would get me a fake ID card. I told my dad (the cop), and he put a halt to that right away!! It was a Call Girl ring!! Now that would’ve been exciting!! I was so naïve in those days. I had “Country Bumpkin” written all over me!!
I stayed at the YWCA in Seattle for a few days while looking for work again and took a test for the Bell Telephone Company. While waiting for the test results, I went across the street on First Avenue to a café for some coffee. The owner came up to me and offered me a job if I didn’t get the job at the Telephone Company. I was really excited for that!! He asked me to come back that evening to look at an apartment he would let me live in if I worked for him. Luckily I got the job at the Telephone Company. I was told later that he was a pimp!!! (Country Bumpkin again!!). To celebrate the job at the Phone Company, I went out with a gal I met at the YWCA to a dance. I was dancing and met a neat guy. We went walking the City after the Dance then he walked me back to the YWCA. The doors were locked. I didn’t know the rules there were so strict that they locked the doors at a certain hour. He said I could stay at his place and he snuck me into the YMCA. I got scared so we left there and ended up at the Space Needle area, and found a shack to go rest in. We fell asleep and a guard woke us up in the morning. I felt really cheap then!! We didn’t do the no-no, but I still felt cheap!! My make-up was smeared all over my face, my dress was all wrinkled, and I really looked BAD!! I got back to the YWCA and got cleaned up then went home.
I found an Apartment in Seattle two blocks away from the Greyhound Bus station. The Telephone Company was on Third Avenue 11 blocks away. I could take a bus home. The gals there would teach me how to apply make-up, and put on false eyelashes. I remember once I was on the bus and it was HOT!! I smiled at everyone and they smiled back and looked away. My eyes felt sticky from the eyelash glue and the heat. When I got to work I looked in the mirror and noticed the eyelashes stuck to the upper lid of my eyes instead of down by my eyelashes where I glued them!! HAHAHAHA. No wonder everyone was looking away smiling! I thought they were just thinking “what a nice gal”!! HAHAHAHA!!
I went to a party at a girl’s house that I worked with one night. We had beer and wine and then we all sat on the floor in a circle and they brought out a pipe. They lit it and passed it around. I thought that was pretty weird!! I smoked Marlboro’s. City people do strange things. They told me to take a puff when it came around so I did then blew it out. They said NO!! Ya gotta keep it in your lungs for as long as you can!! So I did, and it made me dizzy. I got the giggles and couldn’t stop laughing. I was told I now smoked pot!! OH MY GOD!!! I got really scared!! I had no idea what that was in 1968!! It just wasn’t in the town I was from. I walked home that night alone in downtown Seattle. Walking through the city was weird. The nightlife was all over the streets. I stopped at a place for coffee and watched the action on the street. 5th and Pike Street was the place for prostitution!! I was fascinated!! I somehow got home safe and sound.
Another night I was walking home and noticed a man behind me. This was a dark street one block from my apartment, so I started walking faster. He started walking faster. I slowed down, he slowed down. I got scared and started walking faster then ended up running to my apartment building. I got to my door and looked down the hall. He was coming at me pulling his penis out of his pants!!! I got in my apartment just in time and slammed the door. I didn’t have a phone, so I pounded on the wall for the neighbors and yelled to them to call the cops!! The Police showed up and I let them in. My apartment was a studio with a fold down bed, and long narrow kitchen with the refrigerator at the end of the kitchen, and a small bathroom. The one cop came out of the kitchen and asked if I knew there was a kitchen door. I said NO!! Behind the refrigerator was another door that opened up to the hall. It was wide open!! Thankfully the Police were quick to respond and must’ve startled the guy as he was getting my kitchen door open!! I described him and they showed me a picture of him!! I said YES that was him!! He had raped and murdered a woman the week before, and raped another one. Bud Buttendahl (one of the cops with beautiful blue eyes) met me after work every night to give me a ride home. I started dating him. He was a real sweetheart!! After two months of working at the Phone Company I came down with strep throat. I tried to call in sick but I did not have the time in the books, so I went to work. They sent me to the doctor and he said I wasn’t allowed to go to work because I was contagious. I went to work to tell them, and they said well I guess you don’t work here any more!! So that was the end of my career at the telephone company and my life in the big city!! I was actually happy to get back home to my comfy little safe town!!
Tomorrow….Back to Parties!!!!!

Day 6…Freedom!!

I was working full time at the restaurant now. I moved into a little one bedroom apartment with my friend Carrie. The apartment was a remodeled garage behind a two story hundred year old Blockhouse Inn on Front Street in Coupeville. We paid $50.00 a month rent plus electricity and phone. Remember now, this is 1967, wages were $1.25 an hour. For a 30 hour week I would take home about $55.00 every two weeks, plus tips. I made about $5.00 & 8.00 a night in tips, so I brought home about $250.00 a month. I bought an old car, a 1949 Nash Rambler convertible for $150.00!! So now we had our own place to live, wheels to get to the dances in Oak Harbor 10 miles away, and we were young and life was gooooood!!
We were the talk of the town! Girls did not live on their own in Coupeville in 1967. That means trouble, for sure!! Let me go back 6 months….I cleaned a house for an elderly lady after school for about 6 months. She was a sweet little old lady. Her name was Ida Mae Sill. Her father was the first white baby born on the Island. His last name was Alexander. They have an old blockhouse named after him here in the town. A blockhouse is a log structure about 12’x12’ and two story. It has little square holes in the sides for guns to poke through in case of Indian attacks. The Indians on the Island were friendly but the ones from Vancouver Island were the renegades. Anyway, Mrs. Sill was a friend of mine and was thrilled that I moved in next door to her!! Her house was one up from the Inn. The Blockhouse structure was next door to the Inn. Her thrill didn’t last long at all. I was too busy to visit with her, as I worked until 9:00, went to the dances, came home around 3:00 or 4:00 am, slept until noon and went to work. This was a daily routine! I didn’t have time for my sweet friend. Dang, I feel bad about that now.
The guy from Texas I dated was too busy getting drunk in the bars (he was 21) and chasing other women, so we kinda split our ways. In other words, he quit calling me. He was sent to Viet Nam in November. I never heard from him until he was ready to come home two years later.
We had a Christmas party for work, and we all exchanged gifts. Barry, the guy that worked on the farm was invited which thrilled Carrie and I. I drank a lot at the party and was sooo sick the next day! Everyone thought it was cute. Barry laughed at me when I was drunk. Well okay, everyone laughed at me when I got drunk! I was sick for about three days after that party so I went to the doctor. He said I had an allergic reaction to the alcohol I drank. I asked if that meant I couldn’t ever drink again, and he said “no, but you will have bad hangovers if you drink too much”. Oh, okay!! So for twenty years I had bad hangovers. I almost wish he would’ve told me “no, you cannot drink again”. But then I wouldn’t be writing this drunk-a-log now would I?!!
Work…dance…PARTY!! We met a bunch of guys at the club that played guitars, and they would bring their guitars over to the house and drink beer and wine and play music.
Carrie and I worked different hours, and sometimes I would come home to a party going on. There was never a shortage of men on the Island.
Helen put me on the morning shift at the restaurant. I hated mornings!! I would sleep in and Helen would call me to get to work, and I was in deep trouble. Once she didn’t call me, and I was replaced by another gal. I was called the next morning and she told me she would give me another chance. I was fine as long as I worked the evening shift, but she would put me on mornings again, and then fire me for sleeping in, then hire me back!! Geeze, she should know that I stayed up all night drinking and partying, how the heck could I show up for work at 7:00am??? Nobody liked the change that was happening to me. I was hanging out with sailors at my house at all hours. The busy bodies just knew we were having sex orgies there. My mom was a drunk, and so I will end up just like her so they said!! Barry would get disgusted with us for hanging with the sailors and getting drunk. The more people talked the more I partied!! I was getting disgusted with this town any way!! What the heck do they know?
Carrie got pregnant and married her boyfriend, so I was living alone at the place now. I started going to the clubs again and met new friends, and new parties. It just wasn’t the same though, all my friends I hung around with were all married now and had babies!! And the cheese stands alone………More tomorrow.

Looooong Day!!

I just got home from work an hour ago, (13 hour day)and just don't have time to write in my blog. So I am giving y'all a break for a day or two.
Going to shower then to bed to read.
Tomorrow is FRIDAY!!!!! Then I am off for TWO WHOLE WEEKS!!!!
Gonna camp for 4 of the days then have my carpets pulled up and have laminate floors installed maybe June 1-4. Lots to do!!
Later, folks!! And remember......Always drink upstream from the herd.

Day 5…Dance the night away!!

Let’s see, it is 1966 now and I am a Junior in High School working part time at the Pharmacy and also at the Seagull restaurant. I would get off work then run to the dance at the “Kon Tiki” and get home around midnight or 1:00 am. I would go to school in the morning and then go to work after school, to the dance, etc. Mom told me if I ever stayed home from school because I was tired, I would not be able to go to the dances. I would be so tired in school that around 3rd period I would go to the nurses station and tell her I was sick again and she would let me sleep in the sick room for an hour. I told the nurse that I had a heart condition and tired easily and had the nurse convinced that mom would make me quit my jobs if I went home sick from school, and I needed the jobs desperately. HeeHeeHee Mom never knew that until about 15 years ago!! She got mad when I told her!!
I had a 4th of July/Birthday party at my parent’s house for a friend of mine. My sister and her boyfriend were the chaperones, and mom and dad were at the Tavern. We found dad’s stash of apple cider he was brewing, and passed it around. We all acted drunk on it, but got diarrhea from it. It was pure vinegar!! HAHAHAHAHA My sister was in a car wreck later that night.
The dances on the base were so much fun!! During the summer of 1966 I started working full time at the restaurant and quit the Pharmacy. There were some cute young construction workers that would come to the restaurant for dinner. I had a crush on just about every cute guy that came in there. One was Barry. He was an “older” guy that worked on the local farm. He was 28 years old. Carrie and I both had a crush on him. When we cleaned up the restaurant at night Helen would call next door to the tavern and ask for a 6 pack of “strawberry soda” (Olympia Beer), and Vic Sealy (the mayor and tavern owner) would send someone over with it. It only cost $1.25 a 6 pack then. She would let me and Carrie drink a beer while we cleaned up. Then we’d head to the Kon Tiki!! The bartenders knew when we ordered cokes, and once in awhile would send over a rum and coke!! I was too busy dancing to bother getting drunk. Believe it or not, I was painfully shy. Working at the restaurant helped me get over the shyness. The summer of 1966 was good!! I slimmed down and bought grown-up dresses, hemmed them up to make them into “mini” skirts, and had a ball!! I started out my Senior year a happy girl. I was becoming popular in school, and had a fun job and went out dancing 4 nights a week!
I remember Christmas of 1966 as a really bad one. Mom and dad had some guys over from the Tavern and they all got drunk. I was asked to take this drunk old man (probably 35) back to the base, and on the way he tried making passes at me. I whopped him a good one!!
When I got back home dad was in bed and mom and Hobart were drunk. I went to bed and woke up around 8:00. Dad was gone to work (he worked 24 hours on and 24 hours off as a Fireman) and mom and Hobart were drunk and passed out under the tree. I ran to my sister’s house and got her to help me kick Hobart out of the house and told my little brother (12) to get back to bed. I pulled mom to bed and found all the presents and wrapped them and then got my brother to come down to open them. Merry Christmas!!

In the Spring of 1967 there was a beauty contest on the Naval Base. “Miss NAS Whidbey”. I was informed that I was nominated to be a contestant!! WHAT??? ME??? I found out the Marine Corps Barracks nominated me!! (GET THIS STRAIGHT, I HAVE NEVER BEEN IN THE BARRACKS IN MY LIFE)!! The guys would come over to the dances, and thought I was cute I guess. Any way, I was honored!! I had to go to Seattle to buy a formal, and get my picture taken by a real professional photographer!! They held the contest in the Theater, and I was on stage with about 20 other gals. I had no hopes at all to win, but I felt so wonderful to just be on that stage!!! MY GOD, ME???? I didn’t win, but I had the time of my life!! I felt like royalty. (oh my gosh, if they could see me now!) I started dating this tall cute guy from Texas, and he had to go to work on the flight line at midnight, so once in awhile he would take me out to where he worked and sneak me in the hangar. I remember climbing up into an A-6. (now I know why…so they could look up my skirt). I also went out in the red-eye truck on the airfield once while they brought in an airplane. My dad was working as a Firefighter on the base by now and found out I was sneaking out there, and gave me the riot act!! He had some really strict rules and made me abide by them as long as I was living in his house. I was counting the days until I could get my own place in June when I graduated from high school. I went to my senior Prom with a sailor, and that was frowned upon by the rest of the class so I left early to go to the Kon Tiki and get some real dancing in!!
The night before Graduation I went to the dance at the club and then went for breakfast afterwards. We were all sitting there talking and before we realized, it was 3:00 am!! Carrie was still living at home too, and we were in big trouble!! We had a 2:00 curfew!! She was scared, so we went out on the road and gave the car a flat tire then called her parents. She didn’t get in trouble because her parents believed her. Well my parents knew better!! I told them the truth that we flattened the tire on purpose. I was on restriction on Graduation Night!! I found an apartment a block away from where I worked and I moved out of my parent’s house the next week and was on my own!!
Tomorrow…FREEDOM!!!

Day 4...Beginning my work history

I am trying to capture the jobs I had during my lifetime. I will probably jump around, but my mind does that once in awhile. Well ok, it does that a lot!!
When I was 13 & 14, I worked in strawberry fields in the summer picking (and throwing) strawberries. I threw a big grey moldy one and hit the field boss! I was fired from that job and went to the next field. It was dirty hard work. I remember the mornings being cold and damp. The smell of the dirty and moldy berries, crawling on your hands and knees in the mud, picking the berries really sucked. In the afternoon it would be HOT and dusty!! I would save some berries in my pockets for throwing out the windows at tourists standing on the bridge when the bus drove over the bridge! I remember one old woman screaming and grabbing her chest when a juicy berry hit her in the back. oooops!! HAHAHAHAHA OOPS fired again!! I also babysat at night. When I was 15 my friend Loraine got me a part time job after school sorting laundry in a dry cleaners. I worked there a few months until I sorted a red towel into a Navy chief's white shorts and t-shirts. Whoops!! They all turned out pink!! I think I was asked not to come back. I can’t remember.
When I was 16 I was shopping at the local drug store and the owner, Ted Christianson, came up to me and asked me if I would like to work for him. I told him I was on probation for stealing, and he said he knew that but would give me a job if I wanted one. I was flabbergasted!! I started working for him in the drug store and the clothing store attached. I learned how to wrap presents there, and to this day I love wrapping presents! This man I will never forget. He saw a teen that was going through troubled times and gave her a chance!! God Bless you Ted!! When you think that you can’t make a difference, think again!! That one kind gesture 40 years ago influenced my life!! I in turn look at troubled teens and see potential not doom! I try to encourage them and give them something positive to aim for. I like to tell them I was right where they are and I got out, and so can they. There is hope for you kids!! Of course they roll their eyes, give me the finger and walk on! Hahahahahahahaha
Let’s see, I was 16 years old when I went to pick up my sister on the Navy Base. She worked in the cafeteria and on the other side was the Enlisted Men's club. I walked in the front door of the club looking for her, and she pushed me into the restroom and told me to take out the curlers in my hair and put on some lipstick. I did, and we went out and sat at a table and ordered Shirley temples. Ooooooooo I felt like such a grown up!! Sailors would come up to our table and talk to us, and buy us some Shirley Temples!! I think the next day I aged 5 years!! I was suddenly a grown woman wanting to look pretty and go dancing!! So I did! I found out there were dances Thursday Friday and Saturday nights. Mom said as long as I don’t miss any school I could go to the dances! I bought some pretty dresses at “Gloria’s” where I worked, and grew into a young lady!! I really loved the attention I was getting at the dances!! The boys in my school had no interest in me, but at the base, well I was eye candy to the sailors. I can remember walking in the front door and hear wolf whistles!! Woohoo!! HEAVEN!!!! When the band would start guys would trip over themselves trying to get to our table first!! (we were the only girls there). I remember my sister had two friends that took the job of being my “big brothers” Joe & Gomer. They would not let me date certain guys because of their reputations. They called me “princess”. I was chubby when I started going to the club but lost 60 pounds right away!! The dancing and the attention gave me incentive!! Some of my girl friends at school found out where I was going and wanted to go with me. Cheryl, Carol, Linda, Heather and Cathy all started going to the club with me. Well in school we got the reputation of being “sailor bait” right away. That was not a good name to have in Coupeville, ‘cause that meant you were “easy”. Heck, I think I was the only virgin at graduation! I was having way too much fun teasing the guys to stick to just one!! There was a band called the Sceptre’s. It consisted of 4 sailors from Heavy 10 squadron. Paul, Harvey, Ken & Dave. I think I had a crush on all of them at one time. They had a small house in Coupeville and us girls would go to their house and listen to them practice!! Carol ended up Marrying Ken, Cathy (her father was Ted that owned the store I worked at) married Paul, Heather went with Harvey and a gal that worked with me married Dave & Linda married a sailor that worked in a gas station in Coupeville.. I was dating a guy from White Deer Texas I met at the club. Life was gooood!!
In the summer of 1966 I went to the Seagull Cafe on Front Street to visit my friend Carrie while she was waitressing. I was sitting at the counter, and she told me to go in the back and help them wash dishes because they were so busy they needed help. I did, and Helen hired me to wash dishes on the weekends. It was back breaking work!! I would take a big grey tub out to the tables and fill the tub with the dirty dishes, then lug that heavy tub into the kitchen. There were three big stainless steel sinks, (no dishwasher machine) I scraped the food off the plates, washed them in the hot water, rinsed them in the middle sink and sanitized them in the third sink then stacked them on the drainer, then put them away and I’ll be darned if that danged Helen would pick up those clean dishes and start all over again!! During the slow time I would peel potatoes and put them in the French fry cutter and put them in stay fresh in a 5 gallon bucket. REAL French fries folks, not those frozen mushy fake things! And when we closed, the pans rolled in!! YUCK!!! Then I had to sweep and mop the floors. Hard work!! Later on in the summer Helen threw a ticket book at me and told me to get out there and take some orders!! I had no idea how to do any of that, but learned real quick when I saw the tips rolling in!! In August the band played at the local Island County Fair in Langley, and us girls go-go danced on the stage with them!! Woo hoo!!
More tomorrow….

Day 3...My teen years.....

Like I said yesterday, I don’t want to paint a bad picture of mom, but I am telling it like it was. Everything that happened in my childhood made me who I am today. I love my mother and father dearly and do not carry any resentment whatsoever. I have forgiven and let go.
Dad came home from the cruise and we thought everything would be better now. Mom was well into her alcoholism and refused to quit drinking. Dad was angry when he came home and found out mom had hocked anything of value so she could go out on the town. I don’t remember too much of what happened after that, but I guess dad thought if you can’t beat them join them. They were out on the town most of that time. I think she even introduced Herb (her special friend) to dad. Dad was a man that took his marriage vows seriously. He loved my mother for better or for worse. He never took off his wedding band. He stood by her through all of this and waited for her to come to her senses.
We moved back to Whidbey Island in February 1961. Mom got a job on the base as a secretary and then at Public Works. They continued their drinking nightly. I had a hard time making friends when we came here. I was kind of a nerdy clumsy kid. I started Junior High School in 1962 in a brand new Junior High. I thought great, a new beginning with everyone!! But everyone already had their “clicks” and I was still the new nerdy kid on the block. I remember ruffled blouses became popular and asked if I could get one, and mom got me one from Sears and it was with the small ruffles not the big ones that were popular. I just didn’t fit in and I didn’t feel good in my skin at all. Those are rough years for any kid. In 1963 we moved to West Beach (5 miles away) I met some kids about my age that lived out there, and they were the “hoods”. Loraine taught me that smoking cigarettes was “cool”. So I would steal some of mom’s cigarettes when she was sleeping and we would walk down the street smoking. I stole a couple of beers and took them to school to be “cool”. I heard there was going to be a locker inspection so I took the beers to the woods and poured them out. Loraine’s brother would drive us to school instead of riding the school bus!! I felt great!! After school we would stop at a store and the guys would get out to “steal” some stuff. I was taught to go in the store and ask the clerk some questions to keep her busy while Terry J. and Rich P. would go to the back of the store and steal some wine. We would get in the car laughing our heads off!! I was quickly becoming an adrenaline junky!! We stopped at an auto parts store and I stole a big bag of lug nuts. I didn’t even have a car, but the guys thought it was really cool that I did that! I was finally fitting in!! One day I was babysitting for a neighbor and the kids were outside. I went up in the master bedroom to vacuum the carpet. I was putting stuff away and saw this gallon jar full of coins. I was curious as to how much was in there, so I poured it out on the bed and started counting it. The kids came running in yelling that they heard mom’s money jar! I panicked and stuffed it all back in the jar and was straightening out the bedspread when they came running in the bedroom. I noticed that there were about 6 quarters on the bed, so I grabbed them quick and hid them in my pocket. The kids never left my side so I had no chance to return the quarters to the jar. The woman came home and paid me and I went home. She called me later and told me I stole some money. I went to her house and explained what happened and gave her back her 6 quarters. She said I stole more than that and I said I did not. She told me she felt sorry for me because my mom had guys over to the house all the time and was a drunk! That really pissed me off and I told her to go fuck herself! She canceled the check that she paid me with, and I had to go to the store that I cashed it at and pay them back the $8.00. She reported it to the Police and I was put on 6 months probation. We moved to Coupeville (10 miles away) in January 1964 but I continued going to Oak Harbor School. Dad was retired by then and was working as a Jailer at the Sheriff’s office. I was at the High School by then and still hanging with the “hoods”. I went to the restroom during a class and went through a locker. There was a paper bag in it and I knew it was someone’s lunch. I took it and went to the restroom to look through it. I was always curious as to what is in a person’s purse, lunch, closets, medicine cabinets, etc. I have no idea why! Well a teacher came into the restroom and caught me. I was expelled from school and my father had to come pick me up (in his Deputy uniform!). I was then made to go to Coupeville Schools!! What a shock!! I always went to school in a Navy town and most of the kids were transients like me. Coupeville had a bunch of farmers and the kids all went to the same school from grade school on. They all knew each other and I was the strange one (again)!! I had a bad reputation from the get go. I dated a guy that had dropped out of Oak Harbor School then came to Coupeville to graduate. He drove a black & white 1957 Chevy. He smoked cigarettes and had his hair slicked back on the sides and a flat top. He was COOL!! My sister found out I was dating him and told me I was going to be pregnant before I graduated! (I proved her wrong). Rex M. graduated and joined the Army and moved away. I finally started making friends with some gals in the school.
More tomorrow……

Day 2...The continuing saga of "As the Cork Pops"...

Growing up a navy brat was interesting and very dysfunctional! Mom was a stay at home mom for the most part. Our early years were pretty much normal that I can remember. Mom took us to Church on Sundays. Dad stayed home, he said he was raised Catholic and was forced to attend Church as a child and quit going as an adult. I can never remember dad ever going to Church. Mom was raised Methodist and took my sister and I to that Church. My sister and I were baptized in the Methodist Church. When my brother came along mom had quit taking us to Church. Mom and dad had started going out quite a bit at nights leaving us kids alone. My sister was the oldest; therefore she was to keep watch on us kids. Now that is where we started our love/hate relationship! She loved to boss me and I hated it!! Have you seen the car commercial where there are two kids in the back seat and the little boy reaches over to touch his sisters leg, and she yells “stop it!” and he would say “What?”, then he would do it again and again irritating his sister more and more, making his parents roll their eyes and tell them to stop? Well that was me and my sister. She would touch me and give me “cooties”!! hahahaha
Dad moonlighted at night as a bartender and mom would go drink and dance. Mom and dad both loved to party!! We always had booze in the house and as far as I can remember it was a way of life. I can remember looking out my bedroom window into the yard at night and see the glow of cigarettes and hearing laughter. Mom and dad would have neighbors over for drinks outside. We had a lot of laughter growing up. My dad was a real practical joker, and poor mom took the brunt of most of them! I think I take after my dad I get myself in more trouble with my sick sense of humor.
Moving around a lot as a kid, I never had any real close friends. I would go to a new school and I remember the kids staring at me wondering what I was like. That was about every year and a half. We went to the schools by the base, so most of the kids had the same kind of life. I don’t ever remember fitting in. I always felt like I didn’t belong anywhere. I had a bad skin condition, and the kids would tease me relentlessly about my pimple face!!
My brother was born in 1955 on Whidbey Island Washington. From there we moved to Southern California then to Hawaii. When I was 10 years old in Hawaii I was at school and told the teacher I didn’t feel good. I was sent home and the next morning I woke up with my ankle swollen about as big as a football!! Mom rushed me to the hospital, and they took a lot of blood tests. Mom cried every time they poked me in the arm!! I was admitted to Tripler Army Hospital with Rheumatic Fever and was in the hospital for three months. When I came home from the hospital I remember mom had fixed up our bedroom with matching pink and white bedspreads with ruffles!! It looked like a normal little girl’s bedroom!! Dad had made a dresser out of orange crates and mom made a ruffle to go around it. I felt like a princess!! Mom made most of our clothes. She made gathered skirts and put a waist band on them but never did finish putting a button hole and button on them so we used safety pins to hold them up. OUCH!!! Once in awhile a pin would pop open and poke us!!
We moved to Alameda California in 1959. That is when the laughter stopped. Dad had sea duty and was gone for 9 months. Mom went out to the bars a lot then and left us kids to fend for ourselves. Mom met a man and they were very close and she would be gone for a few days at a time. I remember writing my dad and telling him everything but I found out years later that he never received those letters. Mom didn’t mail them. I don’t want to paint the picture of mom being a bad person. She had her own demons to live with and I understand now that alcohol was the culprit!

More tomorrow………

Day 1...My Alcoholic Diary…

What it was like:
This will be a nutshell of my life. I am not a great writer, but a few people have asked me to “tell my story”. I am not ashamed of anything I have done nor do I wish to shut the door on my past. Everything I have done has made me who I am today, and I like who I am now.
My mother was born in Oklahoma in 1923. Her family moved to California during the dustbowl days. My mother’s mother was in her 40’s and going through the change of life when she had mom. Grandma was put in a sanitarium for “mental illness” when my mother was very young. Mom was raised by her sister that was 20 years older than her. Aunt Margie and Uncle Bob had no children of their own, so mom was raised an “only child” in San Diego. Mom was raised in an upper middle class neighborhood and attended college in La Jolla. Mom met my father at a USO dance in San Diego. Mom was a classy educated city slicker, and dad was a farm boy from Oregon that dropped out of 8th grade and joined the Navy to see the world. Dad was drunk and asked mom to dance and she snubbed him, so he poured a beer over her head and a year later they were married. They had their first baby, my sister on January 11th, 1946 I came along three years later on February 4th, 1949 then my brother was born September 12, 1955.
Mom said I was a happy baby, and giggled a lot. Mom and dad would have a party and I would wake up in the morning and drain the “orange juice” from the glasses left on the tables. From the start I was an alcoholic. Mom and dad drank a lot as did most people in those days in the military. We traveled a lot in our young years. In 1950 we moved to Guam and then to Hawaii, back to California, back to Hawaii, back to California, to Whidbey Island, back to California, back to Hawaii, back to California, then finally back to Whidbey Island Washington in February 1961!! I don’t really recall how many times and the years we moved, but it was close to what I just said, I’m sure my sister recalls the years. It is not important, but it kind of shows that we were moving about every year and a half. I was 13 when we made our final transfer to Whidbey Island. I went from the 5th grade through my senior year graduating (barely) from Coupeville High School in 1967.

Tomorrow I will try to recall some of my teen years.

The sounds of Silence..

Well tonight is a big night on television, and I am overwhelmed with what to watch, so I decided to set my VCR and tape what I want to see, and I turned the tv off!! I really would like to see Frasier's last episode, but then I need to tape Kingdom Hospital, then the Season's ending of ER!! So I just tired myself out trying to figure which one to watch, that I am heading to the shower and then to bed to read!!
Tomorrow I go to the next County to be on the interview team for Operations Manager for their Transit. I was Operations Manager here, and now I'm the Service Development Manager. It is always humbling interviewing people that want a job!! I am so fortunate to have the job I have and work with the people I work with!! Whew!! I pray we have enough oil to last until I retire. What I heard on the news last night, we might run out of oil in 10 years. Swell!! I just bought a new van!! Time to look at alternative fuel, folks!! This could go into a big rant, and I am too tired for that now. Maybe later!
Until tomorrow.....

Sick to my stomach!!

I am sickened about the last few days of the news!! What we have done to the prisoners....Shame on the people that did it!!! As for blaming the president, well....that is like arresting the parents if their kids are caught doing drugs!! I mean really, isn't it the parents at fault for raising dopeheads? (Not...well I guess some are). The guilty should pay for their crimes!! I feel bad for their families. Double shame on the news media for showing the pictures over...and over...and over...and over!! They are as guilty as the accused!! Now the terrorists are trying to put the blame on that for the beheading execution of Nick Berg. They were going to kill him no matter what. As far as the news letting the world know the murder is on the internet, well congratulations, the terrorists get their way after all!! That is what they wanted, notoriety for their deed!! I refuse to watch that movie clip.. I do not need to watch and hear the last screaming moments of a defenseless young man's life!! People are watching the video and getting mad as hell. That is what the terrorists want!! I refuse to play their game!! Enough of this!! I put the world in my prayers and trust in God now.

I think I will just post fun things from now on. I much rather smile than frown.

Well now I have to go look for some fun things to post!!

Remember.....There are 2 theories to arguing with a woman...neither works.

You might be from the Pacific Northwest if:

Okay, enough of the serious stuff!! Here is some Northwest humor!!
Oh, I can so relate to these!!!
According to Jeff Foxworthy...You might be from the Pacific Northwest if:

1. You know the state flower (Mildew)

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

3. Use the statement "sun break" and know what it means.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee. (YEP!)

5. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners. (wHAT'S AN AIR CONDITIONER?)
6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant.

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the "Walk"
Signal. (YEP!)
8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it is
not a real mountain. (YEP!)

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle's Best, and
Veneto's.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho, and Sockeye salmon.(YEP!)

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup, Issaquah, Oregon, and
Willamette.(YEP!)

12 You consider swimming an indoor sport.

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.(YEP!)

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark-while
only working eight-hour days. (DOESNT EVERYBODY??)

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.(DOESNT EVERYBODY??)

16. You are not fazed by "Today's forecast: showers followed by rain," and
"Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers."

17. You cannot wait for a day with "showers and sun breaks."

18. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.

19. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon and not just a state of mind.

20. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see
through the cloud cover. (YEP!)

21. You notice "the mountain is out" when it is a pretty day and you can
actually see it.

22. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still
wear your hiking boots and parka.

23. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks
on. (DOESNT EVERYBODY??)

24. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain. (DOESNT EVERYBODY??)

25. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists. (YEP!)
26. You knew immediately that the view out of Frasier's window was fake.(YEP!)

27. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you can't find the old ones
after such a long time. (my persona1favorite!)

28. You measure distance in hours.

29. You often switch from "heat" to "a/c" in the same day. (YEP!)

30. You use a down comforter in the summer.

31. You carry jumper cables in your car and your wife knows how to use
them.(YEP!)

32. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat(YEP!)

33. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still
Raining (Spring), Road Construction (Summer), Deer & Elk season (Fall).

34. You actually understand these jokes. (DOESNT EVERYBODY?)

Dear Mom

Hi Mom, Happy Mother's Day!!
Just letting you know I love you.
How long has it been since we talked? January 30, 1993. That seems a lifetime ago, and yet it seems just like yesterday. I actually talk to you all the time, but I miss talking with you in person. I'm over the shock and anger of you leaving us at a much too early time for your death!! Of course I blamed your drinking and lifestyle for your death. I have forgiven you everything. I am actually very glad you are my mother, and thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything you did for us!! I read Leslie's site and cried for her because her mom and her did not have a good relationship. I count my blessings for you!! You taught me (or tried to) how to be a lady, taught me to respect my elders. I inherited your compassion for old folks. Two of my best friends are Hannah, 88 years old, and Florence 87 years old!! You dressed me in frilly clothes as a young girl and I ended up ripping the waist out of most of my dresses. I was such a tom-boy!!
Life doesn't come with a guarantee or a manual, and you did the best you could for us. I miss you deeply. I gave you a bad time as a young gal and I apologize for that. I was going through a tough time and so were you. I was mad at you as a teen and became a rebel. I expected a mother like Mrs. Cleaver and was disappointed. You expected a perfect smart daughter, and got me!! Ok, we're even!! I understand now what you went through. I understand the horrible disease of alcoholism and see what it does to so many families. We were the lucky ones. You loved us kids, and we all know it.
In my adult years we became best friends and drinking buddies. I sobered up in June 1987 and you told me not to try to pull you into AA with me!! Oh how I prayed you would come to sobriety with me, but it just wasn't in the big plan. When you had your Mastectomy we were going to bring you home and nurse you until you died of the horrible cancer you had! But God decided to give you a bleeding ulcer instead and you almost died of it! You were in a coma for a few days then came out of it and started recovering. Then God decided that you needed to die that night instead of suffering another 6 months in agony.
I gave you this prayer the day before you died. You read it and cried. I told you I love you and forgive you. I am so happy we had that exchange!!

PRAYER OF FREEDOM

I free you from my anxiety, from my personal idea of what constitutes happiness for you. I trust the spirit of God in you, to guide you, to show you the way that is right for you, your highest good, the way that means happiness and success for you.

I place you lovingly in the hands of the Father. I stand by in faith, I refrain from imposing my will on you. You are God’s child. You are here to fulfill your own purpose. As close as I am to you, as much as I love you, I cannot live your life for you. Your destiny, your place, your fulfillment is between you and God.

I know that we are one in God and that as I trust God in my life and trust Him in your life ALL WILL BE WELL!
Amen

I got a call at 8:00 the next morning telling me my mom passed away.

Thank you mom for being who you you were and giving me life. I am very grateful for it all. I love you dearly and miss you!!
AMEN!!

Three Questions

Okay, Here are my three questions to y'all.
1. If you could have anyone in history over for dinner one night, who would it be?
2. What is your biggest fear?
3. What is your happiest memory?

Remember............Never kick a cow chip on a hot day.
I can't help it, Joe's site is cute!! I love his grandpa!!

Busy week!!

Well this is a very busy week. I got home late on Tuesday, and Last night I didn't get home from work until 10:00PM and now I am heading back to work. I will post later. I miss reading everypone's blogs, so will catch up soon.

Remember.... Never slap a man who's chewing tobacco.

Later, folks!!

I'm off to the mountains!

Well I am off to the Mountains for three days.
My chores are about done and I am off to bed. Church in the morning then leaving at noon. I will be back late on Tuesday, so you won't be hearing from me for a few days. I'm sure my sis will do something while I am gone. I can hardly wait and see!! HAHAHAHA Be kind everyone!!