As stated before, Allen and I are different in many ways. I like both planned and spontaneous events. He prefers to plan things out. I've seen him start packing what he needs for deer camp as early as a week ahead of time. While it's true, he tries to be prepared, he always ends up leaving something for the last minute.
Me, if I know what I have to do, I can be ready and out the door from sleep to gone in approximately 30 minutes. No major preplanning, unless I'm gonna be gone for a while~a week or two~ then I'll start getting ready a day or two in advance. I know, blabla details, but, they will become important details very soon.
One of the things I love the most about Allen is his knowledge and love of nature. He is like a (almost) 40 year old boy scout :) He can identify animals by the way they shit or mark a tree. He knows what plants and mushrooms are safe to eat and what is not. He has a very good sense of direction in places where all of the trees are the same and you lose the sky. If I were stranded in the jungle, I would want my own Allen with me, I know I would get out alive with him by my side.
We live in the Northern lower peninsula in Michigan. We have all kinds of lakes and woods around. We also have Pere Marquette River, which, I believe runs across about a third of the state. It's beautiful. There are parts of the river that have homes, but there are a lot of places where the river is uninhabited by people because of the beautiful Natural Marshes. These marshes are known as Neeland's Marsh. You can get lost fairly easy in the marsh, a fact that would have been nice to know before pushing the issue of taking this particular trip.
There is nothing better than paddling down river in a canoe, just me and him. It's like a little slice of Heaven right here on earth. Just the two of us, and nature. That's one thing that does keep me in Michigan. We have a very diverse eco system with all types of wildlife and many areas to experience nature in the raw.
So... the first time we went canoeing together, was around 2005. It was a well planned group event. Me and Allen in one canoe, his parents in another, and a couple we know in a third. I was nervous, I had been tubing down the river, but the thought of tipping the canoe made me nervous. I don't know why, I am an excellent swimmer, I would be fine even if we did tip over. Allen spent hours getting extra clothes, blankets, cellphones, radio, and food, all vaccum sealed and water proofed. He insisted I wear pants and a long sleeve shirt over my bathing suit, and tennis shoes. I was becomming irritated with all of the preparations. But, knowing him the way that I do, I did what he said. I took shorts and a tank top to change into when the time was right, which had to be vaccum packed as well. I thought he was nuts.
It was an awesome trip. I'm glad I listened to him. I don't know mileage, I know hours. We started in a town just east of us, and it was about 5 hours with about a half an hour stop for lunch. I instantly fell in love! We went one more time that year with the couple that had gone on the first trip. That was hilarious! They tipped their canoe 3 times during the second trip, Allen and I have yet to tip over :) He is a fine canoe instructor.
Both of these trips were well planned. We had everything we needed, right down to water proof matches and dry wood incase we chose to stop and cook hot dogs on the river bank somewhere. We also started from the same spot each time. I love all of the wildlife. I have photographs of dragon flies, birds, deer... even turtles and fish. I like the way the river changes trees as well. Exposed roots make very interesting landscapes.
The summer of 2008 was very busy for Allen. He is a general contractor, but in 2008, he was primarily roofing. He had so many jobs that year, he was working weekends almost every week. We had discussed camping and canoeing, but everytime we tried to make plans, a job would come up. Or, the people we asked would not be able to go that weekend. It just wasn't happening. Allen was insistant that we not go alone. I had been nagging and said, "why do we need other people to go, let's just go!" He said it was far better to have someone else to go incase something went wrong. I just thought, "wuss!" Here he is, the great white hunter/fisher/nature man, and he won't go down the river without company.
I wanted to go dammit!!! He had promised to take me a little further East to a place locally known as Rainbow Rapids. We were coming to the end of the season, and I was going one way or another. I finally talked him into just the two of us going. We were gonna go on a Saturday morning and spend the day on the river. He worked late all week. He said we probably were not going to be able to go. I wasn't having NO!
He ended up working late that Friday, and when he came home, I informed him that we would be going canoing in the morning. He said, "we'll see, I gotta work until about noon, I'm sorry baby". Nope, we're goin. I was ready when he got home. This is what I had prepared:
1.Cooler w a sandwhich each, some chips, two waters, and two pops
2. Two Towels
3. Radio, cell phones, cigarettes, and lighters.
Nothing was in plastic. Nothing was waterproofed, I said, " We haven't turned a canoe over yet, why start now?" Against his better judgement, we went. It took a little over an hour to get ready and get out there, and the whole drive, his dad kept saying, "are you sure you wanna start this far out this late in the day? You'll never make it before dark." At this, Allen replied, "You're crazy, we'll make it. It's not that far." THE WHOLE RIDE. They kept going back and fourth about how many hours and miles it was. I had no idea who was right. I piped up, "what the hell, if we get stuck, the bears will keep us company."
We get the canoe in the water a little after 2p.m. with one final warning from pops. Allen assures him we will get where we need to be before dark, it's just not that far.
So here we go.... It's a beautiful day, the sun is shining and the animals are everywhere. Me in my bathing suit and a tank top. Fishin poles at the ready. There are a couple of people in kayaks setting out at the same time as we are, I figure this is a good sign.
This is a different part of the river that I have not been to before. It's beautiful! The trees are so tall and full of leaves that they are like a huge canopy across the river. The sun is shining and the birds are singing, even the fish are jumping. It's like a movie. It's so serene, that I forget all of the stresses in my life and just listen to nature.
We are just floating down the river, talking about nothing and enjoying each others company. We come to a place in the river where there are small seasonal cabins and boat docks. There are people grilling with their families and fishing off of the docks and dogs running in yards. It's all just so peaceful. I notice there are a few places where people going down the river can dock and set up camp in the State Forest if they chose to. I told Allen, "Next year, we should plan an overnight trip and stay at one of these little access spots. We can just bring a tent and stuff and pick a spot and stay the night." He agrees that would be fun.
About two hours into the trip, we are back in an area where it's just us and nature. No houses, no people, not even a sign of the kayakers that had shoved off the same time we had. We come to a nice little bend in the river, and I am ready for a stretch.
While we are stopped, I want to try to catch a fish. Allen says, "we can stay for a few minutes, but we need to keep going, so we don't run out of daylight."
"What do you mean, run out of daylight? Are you scared? I thought you were the great white hunter! (laughing) are you afraid of a lil ole bear? I want to catch a fish!" And then I did. I caught my first Rainbow Trout. It was beautiful. All of the colors, we released it because it was too small to keep, but atleast I caught one! Back in the canoe we go. I'm happy, we stretched our legs and I caught a fish. This is a good day.
I had no idea that when we had gone past the cottages, that was the end of civilization for the rest of the trip. As we paddled down the river, it was more and more beautiful. Ahead of us the water had white caps. We were in the rapids. Now, I have to tell you, I was expecting something else. I was thinking in my head big roaring waves crashing against our canoe and yelling over the sound of the water. What I saw ahead of me was beautifull, but didn't LOOK like it was anything serious. Then we hit the middle of the rapids. It's amazing how gentle waves can look and how strong they are when you are in a canoe. It was awesome! We were getting hit with waves on both sides of the canoe, and water was splashing up everywhere. It got a little harry at one point, I was getting excited and not paying attention to how I was supposed to paddle, and we got hit by a wave that almost knocked us over, but once again, Allen saved us. Once through the rapids, we came to a spot that was really wide and surrounded by tall reeds and river grass. The sun was bright and the sky was so blue. All of a sudden, I heard a huge racket in the marsh right beside me. Out of the reeds with alarming sound came a great white crane! It was huge! And so close to my end of the canoe, I damn near jumped out! Allen was laughing so hard he couldn't paddle.
Still enjoying the serenity of the river, we come to a place that Allen thought should be a y in the river, but there is a third branch. I was a little concerned that Allen was questioning himself about which way to go. We took the furthest left branch. We canoed for about forty five minutes down this branch when we came to a place where it was too shallow for the canoe. Now, he is certain he made a wrong turn and we have to walk the canoe back out to where we got off. Begin irritation cycle. I am prone to anxiety attacks, and this was a prime situation for an attack.
It's starting to get dark too. Allen can't tell me how far we are from our destination, but thinks we "may" make it before dark. As we are walking, I notice how dark it is, it's after seven now, and we are in the middle of the marsh. No signs of roads or homes, but plenty of trees, reeds, marsh, and animals. Not to mention, I am now walking in the water and can't see through the water, something I dislike very much! This is where the adventure begins.
I'm hungry and beginning to feel a slight panic. The ground below me is murky and slimy and I am so not impressed. Allen is pulling the canoe, and I am pushing. He says, "when you get up here, watch out on your left..." and it happened. I hit a sink hole with my left foot that swallowed me to my ass! I don't know if there was a bottom, I didn't feel one! And que the attack! Immediately, I am pissed! I'm soaked, I know there are leaches in the river, and a sink hole is the perfect place to find them, my shoe came off in the hole, no hopes of retreiving it. Tears are welling up in my eyes, and HE'S Laughing!!! Crying and bitching, he comes to the back of the canoe and helps me out. Pulls me together and we start moving again. Finally, we come to the entrance of the branch and can once again get into the canoe.
Now it's dark. Not pitch black, but dark enough that it's getting hard to see. My job is to warn him of trees and other obstacles in front of the canoe, as well as help paddle. We decide to go down the right branch of the river, he knows he has to take a side branch, and figures he just took the wrong side. It's getting dark fast now. We are going down the right branch and I am starting to freak. I am telling him it's too dark to see, and we need to find a place to stop. He is telling me that as long as we are in the marsh there IS NO place to stop. Then, I spotted a tree, just in time to miss being hit square in the face. "THAT'S IT!!!" I don't care where we stop, we are stopping before one of us ends up dead!
We paddle back up the river, blindly, until we come back to the three branches. I said, "just go down the middle until we can find somewhere to stop, it was the widest of the three branches, it's gotta be the safest." We go for about fifteen minutes and we come to this little piece of almost dry land. It was just big enough for a fire and the two of us. It was like a little island, but a sponge as well. Allen said,"Stay here in the canoe, I have to try to find some kind of burnable wood. I'll be right back."
As I said, we were unprepared, we were using our cell phones as flash lights! Now, I was alone in the canoe, and his light disappears. I can hear rustling in the reeds, but can't see anything. I'm sitting there and I realize that it's darker than dark. It looks like what a person with sight would imagine blindness is like. I can't even see my hand in front of my face, literally! Something in my brain was like "light bulb! Look up!" No Moon! And the stars are obviously behind clouds. I have spent a huge part of my life camping, and can honestly say I don't think I have ever been in Complete Darkness before that night. It was kind of amazing.
My phone rings, it's my mom, she was babysitting my son for the "day". "Where are you guys? I thought you were going to pick Steven up when you were done?" I just chuckled, "Mom, we are still on the river. Looks like we're gonna have to spend the night." Instant panic, "What!! You can't stay out there all night! Do you have blankets? What part of the river are you on? What will you do about the animals? That's it! I'm calling the state police, they gotta come and get you outta there!!!"
While she is having this conversation, I'm trying to tell her that we will be fine, and DO NOT call the police. They would never find us before the sun rise anyway, "Mom, we're in the middle of Neeland's Marsh, We're fine, we just have to wait for the sun" I got her calmed down. Mind you, this is a woman that hitch hiked from Michigan to Key West, Florida in the early 70's and then out to California, where she rode with the Hell's Angels. I would think this little adventure would be exciting for her.
Anyhow, as soon as I am done convincing my mother not to call the cops, Allen's mom calls. She is a little more relaxed, and even laughs a little. She knows Allen can get us through the next six hours or so, and we will be fine. Then his mom and dad decide they are going to come out because we have to be close to the bridge and maybe they can spotlight a trail for us. About 45 minutes later, Allen's got a pretty good fire built, and we are beginning to laugh and joke about the situation again. We're talkin and just watching the stars appear and disappear when I hear a familiar sound. It's Allen's dad's truck! I can see the lights too. They are on the bridge. We can see the light, but not well enough to go anywhere. We can yell back and fourth, but all that does is spook the critters. Allen tells them to go ahead and go home, and meet us at the bridge in a few hours. Now, it's like salt in a wound. We are minutes from off of the river, but can't go anywhere. It's just too dark to take a chance. Log jambs can become deadly in the dark.
Allen says I should climb in the canoe and get some rest. He'll keep the fire going. So I do. I climb in, it gets quiet, and then I hear them. Coyotes... yes, a pack of coyotes. Then it hits me. BEAR! This is why Allen is keeping the fire going. It's also why he insisted that any food type of stuff was back in the sealed cooler. I just close my eyes and hope to sleep. It worked. I guess I was sleeping pretty good and talking in my sleep, as I often do. He said I was talking about all kinds of crazy stuff, then suddenly sat up, eyes open, looked at him and said,"Yup, We're still on the F#$king River, and layed back down.
When morning came, he informed me that we were going to have to paddle back up river a ways to get where we needed to be. I looked up at the sky, it was gray and full of clouds. I said, "That's not cool, the last thing we need is for it to rain!! I just want to go home!" As soon as the sentence left my lips, the first raindrop hit my sunglasses. I couldn't even get mad! The wind was blowing with the current we were now paddling against, and the rain was threatening to down pour at any second. We went about twenty minutes up the river, and I heard dad's truck. We could hear them yelling to us, I guess they could see where we needed to be.
We got the canoe turned around, and went right passed the little island we had spent the night on. We went around the bend where Allen had collected wood all night, and there was a log across the river. Allen jumped into the water and pulled the canoe over the log, open full width river! Not even five minutes from where we had spent the night!! Not even ten minutes later I saw the truck, the dock, and his mom with a giant quilt. It was still sprinkling, but I was finished canoing! Our destination was still about half an hour from where his parents' had met us, but I decided they could drive us to the van. I just wanted heat and dryness! It was an adventure, and I called in to work that day, I didn't even try to lie, the truth was too crazy not to tell!
Now, when we canoe, I will let him pack everything he wants, and I find myself adding things. Our canoe is definately full when we go! All I can say is, Yea, I'd do it again......
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day has come and gone, and I've been doing some thinking. Allen and I come from two similar, yet very different families. My family is large, his is about half the size of mine. I have 7 siblings, he had 2. My parents celebrated EVERY holiday that makes it on the calender. His family, not so much. Birthdays are the same way. My mom still bakes a cake and we all get together for my 41 year old brother. Allen doesn't like having a birthday party for himself. I know some people say that and don't mean it, but he truly looks at it as just another day.
In the early years together, I went to ALL family functions alone. In the past six years, he has started to celebrate some things. I can get him to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and most birthday parties now, but Valentine's Day means nothing to him. It used to upset me. I was so saddened by the lack of enthusiasm for these events that we would almost always fight about it.
He does a lot of little things all year long though. Like, instead of buying me flowers, I have so many rose bushes that I wake up to flowers almost every day that they are in bloom. Sometimes, they are accompanied by a little note. We go out for dinner on occasion, but usually, he'll just make me dinner. When he makes an "I Love You" dinner, he goes all out! We're talkin' Steaks, Baked Potatoes with all the fixins, some kind of vegetable, he'll even bake a cake or something for desert. He even makes and serves the plates.
I am a simple person to please. I like the little things in life. Seriously, diamonds and roses are pretty, but a simple "I love you" works just as well as me. I enjoy dinner and a movie, but can think of better things to spend money on. A kiss on the cheek and "good morning sunshine" may sound corny, but that is when I love him the most.
He paid for the trip we took to Illinois to see Ozzfest for the second time. That to me, is worth a dozen Valentine's Days!! He paid for the first Ozzfest we went to a couple of years earlier in Detroit too. Seeing Ozzy in concert was on my "bucket list", I had watched Motley Crue in 89 and felt like a kid again when I saw them in Detroit. The only regret from that trip to Chicago, was that Aerosmith was to play the day we had to leave! If we had known that, we would have made arrangements to stay one more night!!! So, we just have to catch Aerosmith this year ;p
In fact, this year, we plan to travel around Michigan and stay in a couple of different state parks, just for the hell of it. He works pretty steady all summer, so we'll have to stay within a few hours from home, but just one or two days will be nice.
We like to canoe,as a matter of fact, I have an awesome story about a last minute canoe trip we had three or so years ago, but you'll have to read THAT post when I do it.... (gotta keep ya readin somehow). We fish for all kinds of fish....Salmon, Steelhead, Rainbow Trout, Crappies, Suckers, Pike, Bluegill, Perch, and opening day of Bass, it's tradition, Just me and Allen in our boat, against his dad and his brother in their boat. You would be amazed how much two people can grow together spending time fishing just the two of them. It has actually become one of the things we enjoy doing together most. I DO NOT take the fish off of the hook, although, I have no problem baiting the hook.... he babies me...LOL.
We also enjoy a good demolition derby or off road race! Swimming in the Mighty Lake Michigan down the road on sugar sand beaches that easily compare to Florida or California.... just not quite as hot, no sharks, no salt. You don't see too many surfers, but boogie boards work well. Picnics, music, family, friends, and frisbee! I gotta say, I think I get more than most when it comes to fun and love. I have gotten over the whole Valentine's and Sweetest Day things. I am glad my son gets into it, but Allen will bring me a gift just because at a random time. I know he loves me, I don't need an international holiday to prove it.
That doesn't mean I think other people shouldn't celebrate it, it just means, I have learned not to be upset that we don't.
I know the reasons why he feels the way he does, and the fact that he celebrates Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween, and Birthdays with the family, I guess I can give him a pass on the whole candy hearts and $6 Hallmark Cards...LOL.... for those of you who celebrate, I hope you had a beautiful day!
In the early years together, I went to ALL family functions alone. In the past six years, he has started to celebrate some things. I can get him to Thanksgiving, Christmas, and most birthday parties now, but Valentine's Day means nothing to him. It used to upset me. I was so saddened by the lack of enthusiasm for these events that we would almost always fight about it.
He does a lot of little things all year long though. Like, instead of buying me flowers, I have so many rose bushes that I wake up to flowers almost every day that they are in bloom. Sometimes, they are accompanied by a little note. We go out for dinner on occasion, but usually, he'll just make me dinner. When he makes an "I Love You" dinner, he goes all out! We're talkin' Steaks, Baked Potatoes with all the fixins, some kind of vegetable, he'll even bake a cake or something for desert. He even makes and serves the plates.
I am a simple person to please. I like the little things in life. Seriously, diamonds and roses are pretty, but a simple "I love you" works just as well as me. I enjoy dinner and a movie, but can think of better things to spend money on. A kiss on the cheek and "good morning sunshine" may sound corny, but that is when I love him the most.
He paid for the trip we took to Illinois to see Ozzfest for the second time. That to me, is worth a dozen Valentine's Days!! He paid for the first Ozzfest we went to a couple of years earlier in Detroit too. Seeing Ozzy in concert was on my "bucket list", I had watched Motley Crue in 89 and felt like a kid again when I saw them in Detroit. The only regret from that trip to Chicago, was that Aerosmith was to play the day we had to leave! If we had known that, we would have made arrangements to stay one more night!!! So, we just have to catch Aerosmith this year ;p
In fact, this year, we plan to travel around Michigan and stay in a couple of different state parks, just for the hell of it. He works pretty steady all summer, so we'll have to stay within a few hours from home, but just one or two days will be nice.
We like to canoe,as a matter of fact, I have an awesome story about a last minute canoe trip we had three or so years ago, but you'll have to read THAT post when I do it.... (gotta keep ya readin somehow). We fish for all kinds of fish....Salmon, Steelhead, Rainbow Trout, Crappies, Suckers, Pike, Bluegill, Perch, and opening day of Bass, it's tradition, Just me and Allen in our boat, against his dad and his brother in their boat. You would be amazed how much two people can grow together spending time fishing just the two of them. It has actually become one of the things we enjoy doing together most. I DO NOT take the fish off of the hook, although, I have no problem baiting the hook.... he babies me...LOL.
We also enjoy a good demolition derby or off road race! Swimming in the Mighty Lake Michigan down the road on sugar sand beaches that easily compare to Florida or California.... just not quite as hot, no sharks, no salt. You don't see too many surfers, but boogie boards work well. Picnics, music, family, friends, and frisbee! I gotta say, I think I get more than most when it comes to fun and love. I have gotten over the whole Valentine's and Sweetest Day things. I am glad my son gets into it, but Allen will bring me a gift just because at a random time. I know he loves me, I don't need an international holiday to prove it.
That doesn't mean I think other people shouldn't celebrate it, it just means, I have learned not to be upset that we don't.
I know the reasons why he feels the way he does, and the fact that he celebrates Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween, and Birthdays with the family, I guess I can give him a pass on the whole candy hearts and $6 Hallmark Cards...LOL.... for those of you who celebrate, I hope you had a beautiful day!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Awake at 4AM: Insomniacs Beware
Awake at 4AM: Insomniacs Beware: "The posts in this blog could end up being Absolutely Anything!!! When I can't sleep, I reflect on things, when I reflect, I write. Blogging ..."
Friday, January 21, 2011
Healing.....
I never thought that I would be trying to figure out how to live without my dad. I am not old, but I'm not exactly young either. I'll be 35 in a couple of weeks, in my family I am beyond middle aged, but I though he would at least see my son graduate high school. I talk about him a lot, I blog about him often, and I Never stop thinking about him. I see, hear, and smell things that remind me of him all the time. My birthday is February 10, his was March 8 (he would be 64 this year), and my older brother will be 43 on March 10th. They were both William, but dad wouldn't do that to a daughter. My brother and I are our father's first born children. See, my brother is the oldest of my dad's first marriage, and I am the oldest of his second marriage. (we both have an older sibling from previous marriage on our different mother's side of the family). Are you getting dizzy? I have seven siblings. I only have one that is full blooded, she is younger than me by 2 1/2 years, and my best friend in the entire world. We have taken care of each other our entire lives, and will until one of us is no longer here. Not something I wish to think about.
My family has been plagued by various forms of cancer for the past fifteen years. I'm not sure why, but I guess it has to be somebody right? Actually, I can't remember not going to a funeral at least once a year since I was about 7 years old.
Most of the early ones were great grandparents and such. People that were "old" and "ready" to die. Then, I found out you don't have to be old to die. My Aunt had a daughter that passed of SIDS. I wasn't allowed at that funeral. But I remember the family devastation. I had an Aunt that was paralyzed due to a blood clot at the base of her brain, and after 15 years in a hospital bed, at the age of 33, she refused life preserving treatment and ended her own life. We used to visit her all the time, I believe I was about 9 years old. I remember, we had to go to the nursing home with the rest of the family and say goodbye to her, then we waited in a little lobby until mom and dad were ready to go home, a few days later we were at her funeral. My dad's granny passed shortly after, then my mom's. It was fairly normal by the time I was 10 years old.
It made for a bit of a grim attitude about life, I'll tell ya. But still, these people were either sick or old, I understood that. Then, I had a friend commit suicide... something I had considered a time or two, but was too afraid of. My family believes that if you kill yourself, you have committed a crime against God and you go straight to Hell, do not pass go. Thank you for that.
When I was 12 or so, my mom's fiancee was murdered, and yet another of my friends died. My friend had been at a party where he passed out. Someone, of course no one knows who, thought it would be funny to blow coke up his nose while he was passed out. They figured it would wake him up, instead, he suffered an overdose. When I was 14, my dad called me to tell me that my favorite "Uncle" had passed away. He was 40 and in a nursing home, the first person I knew who had this horrible disease, cancer. A few weeks later, we had an assembly at highschool about a "new disease" caused by monkeys and passed around by the gay community and needle users. I distinctly remember sitting there and thinking "yea, whatever..... " and something that woman said still sticks in my brain. By the year 2000 you will know at least one person with HIV. She said it would be a far more serious than any type of cancer.
She was right and wrong. About a month later, I got a call from an old friend in my home town. A close friend of ours had died. He had been knifed in a fight in Texas, and received a blood transfusion. Six weeks later he was dead from full blown AIDS. So there it was, She was right.....I was early, but I had someone close to me contract this new disease and it had taken his life. He was 23 years old. The same summer, a girl my sister and I had been good friends with was found raped and drowned in a popular fishing spot, my would be brother in law was murdered, and another friend was run over and dumped in the river. It seemed like my home town was on fire. Even the man who would have been my brother in law today was murdered in 1990, along with my step dad, and a close friend. Not at the same time, about two months apart.
My mom's mom passed away in 1996, she came home from work on May 3. Went to bed, and for some reason, she didn't get up for church. Two things Grandma never missed were church and work. She hadn't called in one single day in over 45 years.
Then, my mom's sister. They were less than a year apart. They had become very close and were both 49 when we found out. She had something called Acute Lymphomatic Leukemia. There wasn't much that could be done. She did what treatments she could, but ultimately lost her battle just after her 50th birthday. It was devastating. My mom had so wanted to be 50 together, they had some big secret plan, but it never happened, and has never been revealed.
It did quiet down as far as actual blood relatives for a bit. However, the void was filled with friends. In one year, I buried five people I knew because of cancer. It felt as though every time I got close to someone, they would get their expiration date. People have asked forever, "If you could know when your last day would be, would you want to know?" I still can't answer that.
Four years ago, my "favorite" Aunt was diagnosed with colon cancer. They removed 18 inches of her colon. She went through radiation and chemo therapy for about 9 months, and has been cancer free for two years now. When my Aunt, who by the way is only 47 now, was diagnosed, the family was alerted that all women needed to have colonoscopy's. Remember my little sister? She had four polyps that would have absolutely become cancer, and because she was only 30, they said she would have never found out until there was nothing that could be done. Each polyp would have become a different form of cancer.
My sister became pregnant in 2007. She was so excited! She miscarried her twins with a month between the two of them. One in July, the other in August. It was a devastating blow to the whole family. Dad was having his own problems as well, and they discussed him moving in with her which would help them both. He moved in around October or so (with his wife). Things were getting better. Dad had an awesome sense of humor, and was the perfect person to have around if you needed to laugh.
In March of 2008, after dad's birthday of course, my sister and her husband, their two kids, me, and my son went to Florida. It was a two week vacation.... dad called every day, and we sent postcards too. We went to Disney for three days, then over to Cocoa Beach, I even got a photo of the space shuttle launch pad. It was like leaving earth. No problems, no worries, just fun and sun.
My sister had told me that something wasn't right about dad, but she wasn't sure. I had suspected cancer for a while, but never knew how to bring it up. I had told my fiancee for the past few years that I knew dad wasn't going to get "old", it's not in the family line. My Grandpa was the oldest of 6 when he died and he was only 72. Plus, I learned to weld, and knew that my dad's years of welding in a Hane's t shirt was bad. Not to mention cutting galvanized steel without any kind of mask. I told Allen more than once that my dad looked like he had cancer.
My dad didn't believe in doctors. He believed in working and paying his bills and drinking beer. He quit drinking shortly after he moved in with my sister. That was crazy! I knew something was up, but I guess I didn't want to accept it. When we came back from vacation I was giving him a hug and said "where the hell is the rest of you?" When I put my arms around him, he was just skin and bones. My dad had always been 6'2" and 190 solid pounds. This was a scrawny, toothpick of a man I was hugging. I came home that day and told Allen I was scared. My sister and I talked, and she had him almost convinced to go to the doctor like six months earlier, but when his wife got health coverage "It was too expensive to add my father". When you see the post "fat bitch" that's coming up, you'll know who I am talking about.
On May 3rd 2008 I was picking up my son and my sister's kids. Evidently, she was having back trouble as dad was leaving for work, so my mom had her kids. It was a sunny Sunday, and dad worked until about noon on Sunday's, then went to his mom's for a few hours, the bitch was the reason he had to go through this, she was abusive to my grandma, and dad was being pulled between a promise he had made to each woman. He had offered to help my sister out of bed, but she said no, so he brought her food and water..... it was a dog dish! LMAO!!! "In case you get hungry before I get back" he told her. He came home, she was still unable to move. He came in and checked on her and said he would be back early from Grandma's and headed out the door.
When the truck didn't start, my sister, who has a kind of intuition that many don't believe in, had a bad feeling and suddenly the strength to RUN out the door. She found dad in the middle of a seizure in the truck. His "loving wife" was chasing her fucking Chihuahua around the yard instead of calling for help!
I was calling to see if my sister wanted me to take her kids to my house until her back was better, but when my brother in law answered the phone, he said an ambulance was coming for my dad. "WHAT!!!" My dad hadn't been to a doctor since 1974! I left all the kids at my mom's and drove straight down the center lane, horn blowin, flashers going, no stoppin for red lights, just goin! When I got there, the ambulance had just pulled in. I was 5 miles away, the hospital was less than half a mile away... Dad was alert, and had refused to get into the ambulance. At this point, the paramedics could not take him.Then, a second seizure came and went, still, can't take him, he is still alert. Then a third, and he was out. I said "I'm his oldest child here and he is unconscious, if you don't put him in the back of that fucking ambulance, I will! FUCKING MOVE!" At that point, he looked as though he was dead. His eyes were open, but he just wasn't in there. I don't know what happened in the ambulance, but I think he had to be revived more than once. If I had know what we were looking at, I would not have insisted on him going. He just kept telling us not to cry and to let him go. He just wanted to go in the house and lay down and let go. It was truly like a dog laying down in a dark place to die.
All I could think was, maybe it's his heart, they can fix a heart, hell, he can have a new one if he wants to go electronic. I did not want to lose my dad and wasn't going down without a fight!
I drove to my Grandma's which was just across town, she wasn't home. I called my Uncle, he wasn't home either. Ok, go to my brother's his wife is there, he's at work. They were at the hospital within half an hour. First time in ten years all of my dad's kids were in the same place. They have a three visitor limit at the hospital, but never once tried to get one of the twelve people around his bed out.
They ran tests, and did x-rays, and he just wanted to go home. Finally, after about four hours of shit, they came back." Well Bill, You have cancer in your lungs, liver, spleen, pancreas, and brain as far as we can see. We can do a biopsy and may be able to do something, but won't know until we do the biopsy." My dad refused. I was immediately pissed off, terrified, and I don't even know what else. He was down to 130 pounds, and in no shape for any kind of surgery. Anaesthesia would have killed him. I have some medical background from college as well as watching fifteen other people die of this disease.
In the hall, my little sister grabbed the doctor. She said, "He lives in my house, you gotta give it to me straight. What are we looking at?"
That arrogant bastard had lied to my dad. My sister called the rest of us out and made the doctor repeat what he had told her.... "Your father has two weeks, maybe two months left. If we could get him to do the biopsies, we could really use the information for the hospitals research department" You wanna talk about pissed!!! My dad was not a guinea pig! The doctor told us kids that there was very little chance he'd make it through surgery, I'm glad his sick bitch wife was too afraid to take us on. We helped him get home. The doctor never did tell him the truth. My little sister did. I moved out of my house and in with them. I spent every single minute I could with dad.
He stopped being able to eat about three weeks after the hospital. He had seizures for the first two weeks because the doctor "lost" his blood work. They said he had thrush, which was making it to difficult to eat, later we found out that his mouth, throat and lips were busted open because it was cancer coming out on his skin.
His wife would leave when he was up and around, but made sure she was there when a home nurse showed up. My sister and I took care of him. LOL. we even took turns sleeping between him and her. She was not allowed to administer his medications. The day after he was diagnosed, she was at the social security office finding out what he was worth to her dead. If I didn't believe in God I would kill that bitch myself!
Those of you that read my blogs, may have heard this before, and you'll probably hear about it again. I was so close to my dad, and am that close to my mom, I keep waiting for it to get easier, but it doesn't. Dad passed away at home on June 30, 2009.
I got my Associate's Degree in 2003. My dad came to my graduation. He didn't even come to my first wedding, but he was at my graduation. He was there long enough to watch me accept my degree, winked from across the room and slipped out the side door. When he passed, my sister got his wallet. He had 8 kids, 29 grand kids, and 6 great grand kids, the only picture in his wallet was my graduation picture. I miss him more and more everyday, and no longer look forward to spring at this point. I feel him around me sometimes, I even smell him. I know I will see him again, and I know that God will make things right with those that did him wrong. It's still very hard. In late 2010, my dad's sister in law passed away 3 weeks after being diagnosed the same way. My Uncle..... I don't know. He had done his best to take my dad's "responsibilities" over, but now, he's lost his wife of 35 years and is just beside himself. He doesn't share the same faith in God as I do. He's angry, my dad and my aunt were my Uncle's best friends. Now he is alone. I don't get to see him very often, but try to keep in touch with him on the phone. I just wish it wasn't so difficult. My youngest nephew is just five years old, he has his grandpa's sense of humor, and looks just like him. It's to bad he didn't get to know papa better. I know I'm rambling a bit, but you would too. The point of all of this, Please, do not take for granted the time you have with the one's you love! When I asked my dad how he felt when my sister told him how much time had been predicted he said, "You only get a certain number of breaths to take, guess I used all mine. I thought it was Leukemia. I figured I had another ten or twelve years left, guess I came up short BJ". After all that I have witnessed, I would think I would be better at greiving by now, but it's different when it's your parent. I wrote his eulogy, but couldn't read it. I couldn't say anything except "It's official, we no longer have to respect Donna Lemere! As long as I'm concerned, she never existed! Who's with me?" My family cheered, and I haven't ran into the bitch again! Cold, yes. My next blog will explain her...... goodnight.
My family has been plagued by various forms of cancer for the past fifteen years. I'm not sure why, but I guess it has to be somebody right? Actually, I can't remember not going to a funeral at least once a year since I was about 7 years old.
Most of the early ones were great grandparents and such. People that were "old" and "ready" to die. Then, I found out you don't have to be old to die. My Aunt had a daughter that passed of SIDS. I wasn't allowed at that funeral. But I remember the family devastation. I had an Aunt that was paralyzed due to a blood clot at the base of her brain, and after 15 years in a hospital bed, at the age of 33, she refused life preserving treatment and ended her own life. We used to visit her all the time, I believe I was about 9 years old. I remember, we had to go to the nursing home with the rest of the family and say goodbye to her, then we waited in a little lobby until mom and dad were ready to go home, a few days later we were at her funeral. My dad's granny passed shortly after, then my mom's. It was fairly normal by the time I was 10 years old.
It made for a bit of a grim attitude about life, I'll tell ya. But still, these people were either sick or old, I understood that. Then, I had a friend commit suicide... something I had considered a time or two, but was too afraid of. My family believes that if you kill yourself, you have committed a crime against God and you go straight to Hell, do not pass go. Thank you for that.
When I was 12 or so, my mom's fiancee was murdered, and yet another of my friends died. My friend had been at a party where he passed out. Someone, of course no one knows who, thought it would be funny to blow coke up his nose while he was passed out. They figured it would wake him up, instead, he suffered an overdose. When I was 14, my dad called me to tell me that my favorite "Uncle" had passed away. He was 40 and in a nursing home, the first person I knew who had this horrible disease, cancer. A few weeks later, we had an assembly at highschool about a "new disease" caused by monkeys and passed around by the gay community and needle users. I distinctly remember sitting there and thinking "yea, whatever..... " and something that woman said still sticks in my brain. By the year 2000 you will know at least one person with HIV. She said it would be a far more serious than any type of cancer.
She was right and wrong. About a month later, I got a call from an old friend in my home town. A close friend of ours had died. He had been knifed in a fight in Texas, and received a blood transfusion. Six weeks later he was dead from full blown AIDS. So there it was, She was right.....I was early, but I had someone close to me contract this new disease and it had taken his life. He was 23 years old. The same summer, a girl my sister and I had been good friends with was found raped and drowned in a popular fishing spot, my would be brother in law was murdered, and another friend was run over and dumped in the river. It seemed like my home town was on fire. Even the man who would have been my brother in law today was murdered in 1990, along with my step dad, and a close friend. Not at the same time, about two months apart.
My mom's mom passed away in 1996, she came home from work on May 3. Went to bed, and for some reason, she didn't get up for church. Two things Grandma never missed were church and work. She hadn't called in one single day in over 45 years.
Then, my mom's sister. They were less than a year apart. They had become very close and were both 49 when we found out. She had something called Acute Lymphomatic Leukemia. There wasn't much that could be done. She did what treatments she could, but ultimately lost her battle just after her 50th birthday. It was devastating. My mom had so wanted to be 50 together, they had some big secret plan, but it never happened, and has never been revealed.
It did quiet down as far as actual blood relatives for a bit. However, the void was filled with friends. In one year, I buried five people I knew because of cancer. It felt as though every time I got close to someone, they would get their expiration date. People have asked forever, "If you could know when your last day would be, would you want to know?" I still can't answer that.
Four years ago, my "favorite" Aunt was diagnosed with colon cancer. They removed 18 inches of her colon. She went through radiation and chemo therapy for about 9 months, and has been cancer free for two years now. When my Aunt, who by the way is only 47 now, was diagnosed, the family was alerted that all women needed to have colonoscopy's. Remember my little sister? She had four polyps that would have absolutely become cancer, and because she was only 30, they said she would have never found out until there was nothing that could be done. Each polyp would have become a different form of cancer.
My sister became pregnant in 2007. She was so excited! She miscarried her twins with a month between the two of them. One in July, the other in August. It was a devastating blow to the whole family. Dad was having his own problems as well, and they discussed him moving in with her which would help them both. He moved in around October or so (with his wife). Things were getting better. Dad had an awesome sense of humor, and was the perfect person to have around if you needed to laugh.
In March of 2008, after dad's birthday of course, my sister and her husband, their two kids, me, and my son went to Florida. It was a two week vacation.... dad called every day, and we sent postcards too. We went to Disney for three days, then over to Cocoa Beach, I even got a photo of the space shuttle launch pad. It was like leaving earth. No problems, no worries, just fun and sun.
My sister had told me that something wasn't right about dad, but she wasn't sure. I had suspected cancer for a while, but never knew how to bring it up. I had told my fiancee for the past few years that I knew dad wasn't going to get "old", it's not in the family line. My Grandpa was the oldest of 6 when he died and he was only 72. Plus, I learned to weld, and knew that my dad's years of welding in a Hane's t shirt was bad. Not to mention cutting galvanized steel without any kind of mask. I told Allen more than once that my dad looked like he had cancer.
My dad didn't believe in doctors. He believed in working and paying his bills and drinking beer. He quit drinking shortly after he moved in with my sister. That was crazy! I knew something was up, but I guess I didn't want to accept it. When we came back from vacation I was giving him a hug and said "where the hell is the rest of you?" When I put my arms around him, he was just skin and bones. My dad had always been 6'2" and 190 solid pounds. This was a scrawny, toothpick of a man I was hugging. I came home that day and told Allen I was scared. My sister and I talked, and she had him almost convinced to go to the doctor like six months earlier, but when his wife got health coverage "It was too expensive to add my father". When you see the post "fat bitch" that's coming up, you'll know who I am talking about.
On May 3rd 2008 I was picking up my son and my sister's kids. Evidently, she was having back trouble as dad was leaving for work, so my mom had her kids. It was a sunny Sunday, and dad worked until about noon on Sunday's, then went to his mom's for a few hours, the bitch was the reason he had to go through this, she was abusive to my grandma, and dad was being pulled between a promise he had made to each woman. He had offered to help my sister out of bed, but she said no, so he brought her food and water..... it was a dog dish! LMAO!!! "In case you get hungry before I get back" he told her. He came home, she was still unable to move. He came in and checked on her and said he would be back early from Grandma's and headed out the door.
When the truck didn't start, my sister, who has a kind of intuition that many don't believe in, had a bad feeling and suddenly the strength to RUN out the door. She found dad in the middle of a seizure in the truck. His "loving wife" was chasing her fucking Chihuahua around the yard instead of calling for help!
I was calling to see if my sister wanted me to take her kids to my house until her back was better, but when my brother in law answered the phone, he said an ambulance was coming for my dad. "WHAT!!!" My dad hadn't been to a doctor since 1974! I left all the kids at my mom's and drove straight down the center lane, horn blowin, flashers going, no stoppin for red lights, just goin! When I got there, the ambulance had just pulled in. I was 5 miles away, the hospital was less than half a mile away... Dad was alert, and had refused to get into the ambulance. At this point, the paramedics could not take him.Then, a second seizure came and went, still, can't take him, he is still alert. Then a third, and he was out. I said "I'm his oldest child here and he is unconscious, if you don't put him in the back of that fucking ambulance, I will! FUCKING MOVE!" At that point, he looked as though he was dead. His eyes were open, but he just wasn't in there. I don't know what happened in the ambulance, but I think he had to be revived more than once. If I had know what we were looking at, I would not have insisted on him going. He just kept telling us not to cry and to let him go. He just wanted to go in the house and lay down and let go. It was truly like a dog laying down in a dark place to die.
All I could think was, maybe it's his heart, they can fix a heart, hell, he can have a new one if he wants to go electronic. I did not want to lose my dad and wasn't going down without a fight!
I drove to my Grandma's which was just across town, she wasn't home. I called my Uncle, he wasn't home either. Ok, go to my brother's his wife is there, he's at work. They were at the hospital within half an hour. First time in ten years all of my dad's kids were in the same place. They have a three visitor limit at the hospital, but never once tried to get one of the twelve people around his bed out.
They ran tests, and did x-rays, and he just wanted to go home. Finally, after about four hours of shit, they came back." Well Bill, You have cancer in your lungs, liver, spleen, pancreas, and brain as far as we can see. We can do a biopsy and may be able to do something, but won't know until we do the biopsy." My dad refused. I was immediately pissed off, terrified, and I don't even know what else. He was down to 130 pounds, and in no shape for any kind of surgery. Anaesthesia would have killed him. I have some medical background from college as well as watching fifteen other people die of this disease.
In the hall, my little sister grabbed the doctor. She said, "He lives in my house, you gotta give it to me straight. What are we looking at?"
That arrogant bastard had lied to my dad. My sister called the rest of us out and made the doctor repeat what he had told her.... "Your father has two weeks, maybe two months left. If we could get him to do the biopsies, we could really use the information for the hospitals research department" You wanna talk about pissed!!! My dad was not a guinea pig! The doctor told us kids that there was very little chance he'd make it through surgery, I'm glad his sick bitch wife was too afraid to take us on. We helped him get home. The doctor never did tell him the truth. My little sister did. I moved out of my house and in with them. I spent every single minute I could with dad.
He stopped being able to eat about three weeks after the hospital. He had seizures for the first two weeks because the doctor "lost" his blood work. They said he had thrush, which was making it to difficult to eat, later we found out that his mouth, throat and lips were busted open because it was cancer coming out on his skin.
His wife would leave when he was up and around, but made sure she was there when a home nurse showed up. My sister and I took care of him. LOL. we even took turns sleeping between him and her. She was not allowed to administer his medications. The day after he was diagnosed, she was at the social security office finding out what he was worth to her dead. If I didn't believe in God I would kill that bitch myself!
Those of you that read my blogs, may have heard this before, and you'll probably hear about it again. I was so close to my dad, and am that close to my mom, I keep waiting for it to get easier, but it doesn't. Dad passed away at home on June 30, 2009.
I got my Associate's Degree in 2003. My dad came to my graduation. He didn't even come to my first wedding, but he was at my graduation. He was there long enough to watch me accept my degree, winked from across the room and slipped out the side door. When he passed, my sister got his wallet. He had 8 kids, 29 grand kids, and 6 great grand kids, the only picture in his wallet was my graduation picture. I miss him more and more everyday, and no longer look forward to spring at this point. I feel him around me sometimes, I even smell him. I know I will see him again, and I know that God will make things right with those that did him wrong. It's still very hard. In late 2010, my dad's sister in law passed away 3 weeks after being diagnosed the same way. My Uncle..... I don't know. He had done his best to take my dad's "responsibilities" over, but now, he's lost his wife of 35 years and is just beside himself. He doesn't share the same faith in God as I do. He's angry, my dad and my aunt were my Uncle's best friends. Now he is alone. I don't get to see him very often, but try to keep in touch with him on the phone. I just wish it wasn't so difficult. My youngest nephew is just five years old, he has his grandpa's sense of humor, and looks just like him. It's to bad he didn't get to know papa better. I know I'm rambling a bit, but you would too. The point of all of this, Please, do not take for granted the time you have with the one's you love! When I asked my dad how he felt when my sister told him how much time had been predicted he said, "You only get a certain number of breaths to take, guess I used all mine. I thought it was Leukemia. I figured I had another ten or twelve years left, guess I came up short BJ". After all that I have witnessed, I would think I would be better at greiving by now, but it's different when it's your parent. I wrote his eulogy, but couldn't read it. I couldn't say anything except "It's official, we no longer have to respect Donna Lemere! As long as I'm concerned, she never existed! Who's with me?" My family cheered, and I haven't ran into the bitch again! Cold, yes. My next blog will explain her...... goodnight.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
I'm Gonna Do This!
I have loved baking and decorating cakes for as long as I can remember. Infact, that was the only kind of cooking I did as a kid. Now, having been prematurely, medically retired, I need something to do. I have always wanted to be a baker! I made old fashioned donuts in a shell station years ago, I always loved it!
Now, although I recieve enough money to get by, I am going out of my mind with boredom! I have many hobbies and an artistic flare, but how to start a business with literally NO investment cash? Cup Cakes AND a computer!
What's my gimmik? All Cup Cakes will mimic drinks in a tavern! I still have to figure my costs, but am almost ready. I haven't even considered a name yet. I will also have to break down and get a paypal account. I have a group of twitterers and some local friends willing to try my product... now I have to work out the details. I have a Margarita, strawberry daquari, mojito, tequila sunrise, and blue motorcycle recipe so far... If you are interested in tasting my product, feel free to email me at influentialolive@yahoo.com in the subject line, put "cup cakes". Leave me your address and up to 4 flavors you are interested in. Even suggest a flavor if you like. I also have to write a disclaimer for 21 and over (except WISCONSIN). It will probably be about a month before all is in order... Thank you in advance! Feedback is critical, good or bad. Hope to hear from some "tasters" soon ;)
Now, although I recieve enough money to get by, I am going out of my mind with boredom! I have many hobbies and an artistic flare, but how to start a business with literally NO investment cash? Cup Cakes AND a computer!
What's my gimmik? All Cup Cakes will mimic drinks in a tavern! I still have to figure my costs, but am almost ready. I haven't even considered a name yet. I will also have to break down and get a paypal account. I have a group of twitterers and some local friends willing to try my product... now I have to work out the details. I have a Margarita, strawberry daquari, mojito, tequila sunrise, and blue motorcycle recipe so far... If you are interested in tasting my product, feel free to email me at influentialolive@yahoo.com in the subject line, put "cup cakes". Leave me your address and up to 4 flavors you are interested in. Even suggest a flavor if you like. I also have to write a disclaimer for 21 and over (except WISCONSIN). It will probably be about a month before all is in order... Thank you in advance! Feedback is critical, good or bad. Hope to hear from some "tasters" soon ;)
Monday, January 17, 2011
Latenight with or late late show with or ...hmmmm??
I remember as a child, sneaking to watch Johnny Carson. We lived in a two story house that was old enough that it just happened to have a vent in the hallway upstairs. That was how the upstairs had been heated originally. When a new furnace was put upstairs, the vent was just there. It was perfect. The placement of the television in the living room made it easy to see the tv, and the bottom of the vent was gone, so it was easy to hear as well. If my parents had any idea how many movies my sister and I watched through that vent..... Anyway. I loved Johnny! He was funny, even when I didn't quite understand the jokes.
When Jay Leno got the Tonight Show, I was just pissed. I like Leno, but he's no Johnny Carson! I refused to watch it anymore. I have always been up late at night, my entire life. I was born at four in the afternoon, and prefer to watch sunsets as opposed to sun rises. Almost 35 years, and I am still the same. I started watching Letterman regularly just a few years ago. It still wasn't right to me, then, Craig Ferguson came along. I love watching Craig. I find him very amusing... I even watched Conan for a while, but that was because he reminded me of a favorite Uncle of mine.
Tonight was one of the best Letterman shows I have watched.
First of all, Jack Hannah was there. As an avid animal lover, I really like seeing him on television. I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian. I believe that we have teeth to chew meat because we are supposed to eat meat, but I do love critters. Every time Jack is on the show, Dave freaks out the whole time! Tonight, he did much better with the animals, but he's still a little jumpy. He actually held a cheetah cub. That was cool. At one point, he looked like he was gonna shit himself, I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.
Dave's second guest is among my favorite artists, Steven Tyler. So he comes out in snake skin pants, looking awesome as ever, and he's just himself. He wishes everyone a happy MLK day and says hi to his family. He talks a little about his book, and then Dave asks him about being on American Idol. He says he is enjoying it, but it's not like when he got started in the 70's. Dave cuts in and says that he prefers the old way of finding talent, like an artist had to "earn their stripes".
Aerosmith toured every state 3 times over 3 years in order to become what they did. It was like that for everyone back then. Playin in dive bars and traveling without any kind of record deal or guarantee that someone would pay for a ticket. I was impressed by Dave's comments. I have nothing against Idol, or America's Got Talent, but I have to agree. There is a certain level of respect for someone that spends years climbing to the top. They are taking greater risks and investing constantly in them selves.
I am in no way saying that we haven't found amazing talents in these shows, I love many of the newer stars that came from these places. However, it's like an express lane to fame. No more one hit wonders. They never make it to the finals. That's actually something I miss. You know what I mean. I used to love those single cassettes. Two songs for a dollar. One song was the radio hit that was current, the other, a preview of the rest of the cassette. It was enough to decide if you actually wanted to buy the whole thing. I bet I had over 400 cassettes when they became obsolete. Oh well, the last time I moved a long distance, they came out of the back of the truck and smashed all over the highway, so I went to cd's .....
Dave mentioned that there is kind of a different level of respect for artists that go it the long way around, Steven Tyler actually agreed, and so do I. What do you think?
When Jay Leno got the Tonight Show, I was just pissed. I like Leno, but he's no Johnny Carson! I refused to watch it anymore. I have always been up late at night, my entire life. I was born at four in the afternoon, and prefer to watch sunsets as opposed to sun rises. Almost 35 years, and I am still the same. I started watching Letterman regularly just a few years ago. It still wasn't right to me, then, Craig Ferguson came along. I love watching Craig. I find him very amusing... I even watched Conan for a while, but that was because he reminded me of a favorite Uncle of mine.
Tonight was one of the best Letterman shows I have watched.
First of all, Jack Hannah was there. As an avid animal lover, I really like seeing him on television. I'm not a vegan or a vegetarian. I believe that we have teeth to chew meat because we are supposed to eat meat, but I do love critters. Every time Jack is on the show, Dave freaks out the whole time! Tonight, he did much better with the animals, but he's still a little jumpy. He actually held a cheetah cub. That was cool. At one point, he looked like he was gonna shit himself, I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes.
Dave's second guest is among my favorite artists, Steven Tyler. So he comes out in snake skin pants, looking awesome as ever, and he's just himself. He wishes everyone a happy MLK day and says hi to his family. He talks a little about his book, and then Dave asks him about being on American Idol. He says he is enjoying it, but it's not like when he got started in the 70's. Dave cuts in and says that he prefers the old way of finding talent, like an artist had to "earn their stripes".
Aerosmith toured every state 3 times over 3 years in order to become what they did. It was like that for everyone back then. Playin in dive bars and traveling without any kind of record deal or guarantee that someone would pay for a ticket. I was impressed by Dave's comments. I have nothing against Idol, or America's Got Talent, but I have to agree. There is a certain level of respect for someone that spends years climbing to the top. They are taking greater risks and investing constantly in them selves.
I am in no way saying that we haven't found amazing talents in these shows, I love many of the newer stars that came from these places. However, it's like an express lane to fame. No more one hit wonders. They never make it to the finals. That's actually something I miss. You know what I mean. I used to love those single cassettes. Two songs for a dollar. One song was the radio hit that was current, the other, a preview of the rest of the cassette. It was enough to decide if you actually wanted to buy the whole thing. I bet I had over 400 cassettes when they became obsolete. Oh well, the last time I moved a long distance, they came out of the back of the truck and smashed all over the highway, so I went to cd's .....
Dave mentioned that there is kind of a different level of respect for artists that go it the long way around, Steven Tyler actually agreed, and so do I. What do you think?
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