SHE KNEW ME!!

SHE KNEW ME!

SHE KN....okay not as in she KNEW me personally...

but she knew OF me!

Yesterday, after taking my beautiful Momma shopping and to Maggiano's for lunch in celebration of her upcoming (next Monday) birthday...

I got in the Red Rocket and headed north.

Way north.

"I said 'WHERE is Skokie?'" was one of many snippets overheard as I waited 4 and 1/2 hours to meet THE Queen of blogging....

Ree Drummond.

More commonly known in the world of bloggers as PIONEER WOMAN.

She was in Skokie at the Barnes & Noble store to chat for a couple of minutes before signing her new cookbook...

"FRONT ROW" is what I texted some of my loved ones after securing that chair amongst a group of fabulous women (and one boy, HOLLER, Aaron!) all from my neighboring state of Indiana.

I had arrived at the bookstore at 3:00, got a number for  the signing line (#82 of over 260 tickets given out) and then headed to the mall to wander and wait.

The store had said seating would begin at 5:00, so I made sure to be back in plenty of time, thus allowing me the upfront and present position.

I have been a stalker fan of Pioneer Woman for  several years and I comment to her multitude of postings on a daily basis.

And I am not the only one.

On average Susan's Snippets gets two comments a day.

Pioneer Woman.....500!

And when she posts a contest....she can ring up over TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND comments.

So when I finally got to sit down next to her at the signing table with my book in one hand and a package of dot dot dot eat cookies a lot! Chocolate Polk-A-Dots in the other...I was a bundle of nerves!

"Ree, I know you get 100's of comments a day, so you probably won't know me, but I am Susan of  Susan's Snippets." I choked out.

"SUSAN, of course I know you, I LOVE your comments!" she said while leaning towards me to do this...

 and then went on to sign my copy of her book.....

That will be it for today's post... (work beckons).

But rest assured there will be much more next week where I will share stories of  newfound blogging friends...

a couple of rowdy punks.....

and the owner of this....

sorry ree i could not resist

A Repeat, Worth Repeating.....

Compassionately Yours.....


over at Pioneer Woman's  blog, she has been writing about her husband and two daughters' trip to the Dominican Republic to experience what Compassion International is all about and meet two of the children that they sponsor.

I, too, have sponsored a child thru Compassion for many, many years - Gobinie Hailu, who was born into horrible poverty in Uganda. Gobinie is clothed, fed, educated and receives medical care...all thru my $32 a month contribution.

That sponsorship was not a decision that came easily for me. Back then I was newly single, raising two children and trying to support a household on my own, but I did my research on the organization, then dove in....and guess what?

We have NEVER in these 7 years missed a meal because of my monthly contribution.

The above picture of Gobinie hangs on my wall here at work. I am able to write to her, send cards, pictures and if I was ever wanting to....I could visit. Gobinie sends me wonderful letters telling me of her faith, her family, her community and always includes a cute drawing.

As you read Pioneer Woman's blog, you see thru the eyes of her family, what a difference Compassion makes.

If you are even a little interested in sponsoring a child for $32 a month, go to Compassion International and find out everthing you need to know about this wonderful organization.

That is it folks.....just passing along some information.

with sponsorship hopes and elation

The Kinzie Street Bridge

I wrote about the bridge's history here.

And this is the view of it from my office….

Today the bad news continues…

it is thought to be Chicago's Public School Board's President, Michael Scott's body that was pulled from the river…

where it is spanned by...

the Kinzie Street Bridge, which at this point, appears to be cursed!

it just gets worse and worse

LFMTF Friday - Update

This morning I decided to walk to the office down DesPlaines Avenue....which put me back in familiar LFMTF snippet picture territory...

 Remember this one, just as the leaves were starting to turn...

well they turned and blew far, far away...

There is also the sidewalk that used to be crumbling and in a horrible state of disrepair, that the City of Chicago's crews finally replaced……

and what a fine, fine job they did!!

How about this loving graffiti, one of my favorites, evoking warm and mushy feelings each time I walked past…..

that has now been painted boring, boring, black…..

Speaking of graffiti, I discovered some....newly placed and quite menacing....

possibly marking the turf of a preschool gang?

toy guns go bang bang

wtF?????

I am usually not a swearer.

I don’t allow my young adult children to swear in front of me. (That isn’t to say they don’t – but they certainly know I disapprove.)

And I do recognize that outside of the Pollyanna World that I would like to live in, other people swear.

A lot.

Which led to a conversation in my home last night where those around me wanted to know why I don’t like swearing, and specifically why I am offended by the word F**K?

“It is just a word.”

“When you are angry and say it, it works.”

The question of “Have you ever looked it up in the dictionary?” was also posed.

As of this morning, the answer to that is “Yes, I have.”

Within the definitions of f**k (n), f**k (vb), and f**k up (vi) “usu. considered obscene” or “usu. considered vulgar” is after EVERY definition (TEN times to be exact).

I would say that means, at the very least, in the ENGLISH language, f**k, f**ker, f**k up are obscene and vulgar words.

So from now on when I might be asked “Why do you find it offensive?”

I have decided that I need only to respond…

“Because I do!!

and screw the rest of you

Thank you to ALL the Veterans!

Today it is hard to imagine soldiers coming back from a war and not being greeted by cheering family, friends, streets lined with neighbors, American flags waving and motorcycles escorting them with lights aflashing and horns ahonking.

That is what I thought always happened when soldiers returned home...

until I met Rick.

He was a member of a divorce recovery workshop that I attended thru a local church some five years ago. A safe place where we could share stories of the downfalls of our marriages, get support and hopefully…heal.

He was the oldest person at my table, once very handsome with deep blue eyes,  but surgeries to his lower jaw had left his face misshapened and difficult to look at.

Rick and I became friends and during that friendship he shared  stories of his life...

He graduated high school in 1967 and was drafted into the Marines the very next year. At that tender age he went and fought in Vietnam until 1970.

He told just slivers of the horror, helplessness-at-times and fear of the war, along with the experience of being deep in the jungles and having our government spray the defoliate Agent Orange all over them, how it felt covering his skin, it's distinct smell and the taste…..he never forgot.

But as cruel as the war was, it did not prepare him for the cruelty that he would have to endure upon coming home.

No fanfare, no welcoming home parades, no parties, no nothing.  Even worse many of the young people of that era despised the war and anyone/thing having to do with it.

So he came home to scorn and silence.

His parents, thinking that he would never come back alive, sold his treasured Mustang, bought after saving every cent he ever earned from a job at the local hardware store.

They even gave away his Schwinn bike.

He was told not to talk about the war….to just “get on with life” and so he did.

He met a woman at the local donut shop, fell in love, got married, fathered four children, and worked very hard to support them.

Then he got sick.

Diagnosed with throat cancer directly related to the Agent Orange that had covered him in the jungles of Vietnam and as in the war, he fought like Hell and physically survived surgery after surgery.

Shortly thereafter his wife asked for a divorce after falling in love with another man.

He was financially and emotionally devastated.

Which is what led him to divorce recovery and into my life.

When the workshop ended Rick left Illinois and moved to a small town in Wisconsin to start anew, but within a year of moving there....he died in his sleep.

He was 56...

and alone.

So to Rick, who so valiantly fought in the Vietnam War and then came home and fought for the rest of his life with deeply etched, horrific memories, disrespect from some, that as a representative of  their freedom, he fought so hard for, against Agent Orange-caused-cancer and a devastating end to a marriage he thought would last a lifetime...

from deep in my soul and with much, much fanfare...

I thank and salute you today.

and always

Party Reflecting

With Anna’s High School Graduation Party (Yes, HIGH SCHOOL graduation – the adage “Better Late than NEVER!” comes to mind) done and over with, as in life, I learned a few things…

First, I had way, way, WAY too much food…

That fashion trends ALWAYS come back in style hence Aunt Vicky’s knowing-her-it-is-an-ORIGINAL-moccasin-from-the-1950’s/60’s and Alayne’s new “in style” 2009 one…

How much my brother-in-law (Anna’s Uncle/Godfather) resembles a Mario Brother…

That when you miss one summer of not having the Ladybugs at your house for a week long Camp Ladybug, they grow tall and even more beautiful without you even knowing it…

That Anna (a leftie) can throw a football like nobody’s business (maybe after yesterday’s failed attempt at playing in a NFL game, she could give Chicago Bear's QB Cutler some tips!)...

That some people just can’t help horsing around in front of a camera...

 

I also have to consider why, oh WHY do we take these dumb "traditional" photos???

And, lastly and most importantly, that when you are young your friends are very important…

but those friends that are still in your life after 30 years of marriage, parenting, divorce, sickness and health...

are worth more than all possible wealth

ps - thanks to all (especially keith) who helped in small and large ways to make the party a success.

would not of been as nice without you i confess