For quite a number of years (basically since I've had the internet), I have seen many profiles- in Yahoo Groups, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, everywhere!- of celebrities. Except they are usually not celebrities, but 'regular' people pretending to be that celebrity. Even dead ones! Now some are humorous, a parody of sort- and that's okay but to actually say "yes I did that movie" is going too far. I do understand obsession, believe me I do as I do have quite a few of my own, but I also have a limit.
If you are a fan: then do a blog, a website, fan page on Facebook or Myspace or Twitter to post news, pictures, whatever you get your hands on. You can display your love for them that way while being yourself. I can live with that.
But to pretend you are Marilyn Monroe? Or Princess Diana? That's going to the extreme.
Another thing is character profiles. People who actually make twitter or facebook or myspace or whatever as a character from a TV show or movie. These people actually pretend to be that fake character. Easy does it now! It may be a little cute at first but if you keep going at it, then something may be wrong with you
It's unfortunate that celebrities do have a hard time- when they have twitter they have to be 'verified' or post a picture of themselves with their profile so that normal regular people wouldn't have to fall into that scam/trick to think that they're chatting with Jeremy Piven when they're actually not. It's sad really.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Idiot of the Year (or all the time): Donald Trump
Truthfully I don't care who you voted for- Mitt Romney or President Barack Obama- after all it's YOUR choice so seeing Donald supporting Mitt is not really my problem. I do have two problems with him however:
1) his proud ego that his building suffered very little/no damage from Hurricane Sandy
2) his sudden pick on on Richard Belzer (Comedian and Detective Munch on Law & Order: SVU)
1- Hurricane Sandy was a category 1 Hurricane, something that I've been through plenty of times as I do live in South Florida. While New York, New Jersey (especially), and all the other New England states have been suffering with no power, The Donald with the hair that does not have any movement whatsoever (not even when the wind blows) boosted that his building was still standing strong. Blah blah blah. I wonder what exactly he's been doing to help the unfortunate victims who weren't so lucky? Probably saying a lot of talk of charity but keeping his wallet and checkbook tight closed in his pockets. I do know that Donald has a building here in Miami Beach. I've passed by it a couple of times and it sits right at the Atlantic Ocean (as do lots of hotels), it's also the main entry way of Hurricane's path. I wonder how he would feel that his pride and joy Miami building would falter under category 4 or 5 Hurricane? He's lucky- New York rarely gets Hurricanes. They are very capable- as proven with last year's Irene and now Sandy- to go up North but at this time of year Winter is starting to move in with snow which weakens the Hurricane (they need warm/hot water to be a monster like Katrina or Andrew) and typically North Carolina/Virginia would be the highest it would go during the summer before drifting up even more north but in the Atlantic Ocean where they would disappear. With all his ego, I can't help but pray to have a category 5 Hurricane (risking my own life) just to have his Trump building fall down. I know it's evil but the way he goes on and on, I want karma to kick him in the ass.
2- on his twitter, Donald decided to pick on Richard Belzer. I guess he caught an episode of Law & Order and thought to himself (after having 'wars' with Rosie O'Donnell and President Obama with the issue of his birth certificate) that he needed to have someone to pick on. Bully. He claimed that Richard has no talent. Excuse me? Richard Belzer has been in the entertainment business (as a comedian and actor) a hell of a lot longer than Donald has been in the real estate business. Luckily other tweeters have been stepping up to Richard's defense and I'm sure Richard will use this as his advantage. After all, he's a comedian and you can get comedy out of tragedy...or stupidity. I can see Richard having a field day with this. Go Richard!
Donald, do us all a favor and stick to what you are good at: Real Estate. Leave the comedians alone or else they would rip your butt to shreds (if they haven't already).
Sunday, November 4, 2012
The Dark Haired Woman
Originally written in 2001
Mary (Maureen) Cox Starkey Tigrett
1946-1994
She seemed to be the wild one
but all she wanted was to have fun.
She was just a young girl
with an unlimited time for the World
She was a down-to-earth, shy
who would never tell a lie.
She would keep a secret till her death
even after her last breath.
She was educated
who didn't need to be separated
because she knew that her Prince will come
living in her own choice in her Kingdom.
Knowing full well of what she was getting into
facing the challenge of the zoo.
Caring about her man
being the wife who understands.
Raising her children with a gold heart
she didn't want them to feel torn apart.
She found a path to survive
with pressures to stay alive.
Until her life turned to tragic
she disappeared like magic.
She had the best with her love
which she mostly thought of.
She will be missed, but fondly remembered
to those who still love her.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
One Life to Live Canceled
Originally written on May 14, 2011
When I heard that One Life to Live was canceled I was LIVID!!!!! Although I'm not really livid anymore weeks after the announcement, I am still pissed off and hurt by the news. I think it will take me a LONG time to get over this, especially come January when it goes off the air.
I started to watch it regularly around 2001- prior to that I would watch it random only because in the promos during General Hospital whenever Roger Howarth as Todd was on, he was making some funny comment so curious me decided to check it out. I continued to watch OLTL in 2003 when Roger left to go on As the World Turns (which was on at the same time as One Life) and Trevor St. John stepped into the Todd Manning shoes. I did love Trevor and I didn't do what many viewers have done "he's not the real Todd" stuff. However, a good year or two so into when Spencer Truman character joined the show, it got too much for me. Spencer Truman was EVERYWHERE! Connected in every storyline imaginable with all the characters. I was so sick of this bad guy that I stopped watching for a few years. Even after Spencer was murdered, I didn't return. I figured it was too late to return now that most of the characters have moved on and there were also a lot of new characters in so it would've been complicated to go back into the loop. However, I did read up on it in Soaps In Depth magazines.
Then when news came out that Todd Manning will have another child, Dani with Tea, I decided to check in about it. I started off slow, recording the episodes that had the description about Dani and the Manning family. It wasn't long before I started to watch every day and putting OLTL on my season pass to record along with General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful.
A year later? This happens.
It totally breaks my heart, very heartbreaking. I've tried what I could do to convince ABC to change their minds but it appears that their minds have been made up long before the announcement became public. All My Children was canceled too. You know what they are going to be replaced? The Chew, which will be a foodie show with Mario Batali and Michael Symon. Now I like those two, from Iron Chef America, and the show will replace All My Children. Then some other show, I think it's called The Revolution, a doctor-type-health program that will replace One Life to Live. DON'T WE HAVE ENOUGH TALK SHOWS AS IT IS???? If I want to watch anything regarding about food, then I'll turn to The Food Network, Cooking Channel, Bravo's Top Chef, or Rachael Ray's talk show on network tv (for me it's on CBS). If I want to watch a health show, there's The Doctors, there's even a health network! We have enough of these things!!!! ABC already has enough TV shows about doctors- Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Body of Proof- why do they need a talk show about health? That stupid The Revolution show is definitely NOT going to be the show I'm going to watch. It will be over before it gets started and I hope ABC will one day be kicking their own asses for their stupidity.
Then there's that stupid Oprah who decided not to save the soaps on her OWN network. Lady, your network isn't doing very well as it did when it first launch and it doesn't have impressive shows to watch so do yourself a favor and reconsider it. You got the money, you are a smart woman, use your brain! But noooooooo...
UPDATE: The Revolution was canceled after about 4 months. General Hospital moved to One Life to Live's timeslot while Katie Couric's talk show took over GH's former timeslot. Brian Frons stepped down from being the #1 boss of ABC Daytime.
When I heard that One Life to Live was canceled I was LIVID!!!!! Although I'm not really livid anymore weeks after the announcement, I am still pissed off and hurt by the news. I think it will take me a LONG time to get over this, especially come January when it goes off the air.
I started to watch it regularly around 2001- prior to that I would watch it random only because in the promos during General Hospital whenever Roger Howarth as Todd was on, he was making some funny comment so curious me decided to check it out. I continued to watch OLTL in 2003 when Roger left to go on As the World Turns (which was on at the same time as One Life) and Trevor St. John stepped into the Todd Manning shoes. I did love Trevor and I didn't do what many viewers have done "he's not the real Todd" stuff. However, a good year or two so into when Spencer Truman character joined the show, it got too much for me. Spencer Truman was EVERYWHERE! Connected in every storyline imaginable with all the characters. I was so sick of this bad guy that I stopped watching for a few years. Even after Spencer was murdered, I didn't return. I figured it was too late to return now that most of the characters have moved on and there were also a lot of new characters in so it would've been complicated to go back into the loop. However, I did read up on it in Soaps In Depth magazines.
Then when news came out that Todd Manning will have another child, Dani with Tea, I decided to check in about it. I started off slow, recording the episodes that had the description about Dani and the Manning family. It wasn't long before I started to watch every day and putting OLTL on my season pass to record along with General Hospital and The Bold and the Beautiful.
A year later? This happens.
It totally breaks my heart, very heartbreaking. I've tried what I could do to convince ABC to change their minds but it appears that their minds have been made up long before the announcement became public. All My Children was canceled too. You know what they are going to be replaced? The Chew, which will be a foodie show with Mario Batali and Michael Symon. Now I like those two, from Iron Chef America, and the show will replace All My Children. Then some other show, I think it's called The Revolution, a doctor-type-health program that will replace One Life to Live. DON'T WE HAVE ENOUGH TALK SHOWS AS IT IS???? If I want to watch anything regarding about food, then I'll turn to The Food Network, Cooking Channel, Bravo's Top Chef, or Rachael Ray's talk show on network tv (for me it's on CBS). If I want to watch a health show, there's The Doctors, there's even a health network! We have enough of these things!!!! ABC already has enough TV shows about doctors- Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Body of Proof- why do they need a talk show about health? That stupid The Revolution show is definitely NOT going to be the show I'm going to watch. It will be over before it gets started and I hope ABC will one day be kicking their own asses for their stupidity.
Then there's that stupid Oprah who decided not to save the soaps on her OWN network. Lady, your network isn't doing very well as it did when it first launch and it doesn't have impressive shows to watch so do yourself a favor and reconsider it. You got the money, you are a smart woman, use your brain! But noooooooo...
UPDATE: The Revolution was canceled after about 4 months. General Hospital moved to One Life to Live's timeslot while Katie Couric's talk show took over GH's former timeslot. Brian Frons stepped down from being the #1 boss of ABC Daytime.
Monty Python, The Beatles, & Me
Extracts from my diary about my Las Vegas trip
I am in Vegas right now! Been here for a few days already and will be leaving in two days' evening.
The day we arrived (well, night) it was around ..10 PM.. or so (Vegas time, not Miami.) and while the partying was just getting started, we were so tired. We went to our room, ordered lots of room service and basically turned in, exhausted. The next day, Saturday, my Mom and I visited the Secret Garden & Dolphins (there is a baby dolphin name Sgt. Pepper) with lions, leopards, and tigers- even 5 baby cubs that were from the same litter from Florida; however no one knew where in Florida. The garden belongs to Siegfried and Roy-this Mirage hotel was where they usually perform but ever since Siegfried got mulled by a tiger, they don't perform so basically the Cirque du Soleil & the Beatles LOVE took over. After we went back to our room to chill out and took a nap, we got ready to go to the Wynn hotel to see Monty Python's Spamalot which I paid for. It was written by Eric Idle with the approval from Michael Palin, Terry Jones & Gilliam, and John Cleese; it was also a winner of some Tony awards. Spamalot is a bit of a parody of the Holy Grail movie (I love that movie!) with new stuff, songs, and a little reference here and there from the series like the fish slapping dance, a line from the Lumberjack song, Spam, and Always Look at the Bright Side of Life from Life of Brian movie. The show was starred by John O'Hurley; it was VERY FUNNY!!!! I laughed so hard- it was great! So glad and worth it to see. Missed it when they were down in Miami earlier this year. My mom wants to buy the soundtrack which is pretty much available. Before the show, we passed the time of gambling- I played what I played at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino- the Wheel of Fortune slots- I didn't do the one with one bar, I suck on that! I did pretty well considering. After the show, we went back to the Mirage Hotel and gambled some more. My mom went to do Blackjack while I hogged the I Dream of Jeannie slot machine which carried Barbara Eden's voice. I did pretty poorly at first even to the point where I only had one credit and then all of the sudden it went to 6,000 credits (which is about $300). $100 is 2,000 credits. But did I quit then? No! I kept going like a true gambler. Eventually though, it was almost ..3 AM.. and I was starting to nod off to sleep so I quit- I got $120 and went back to the hotel room. My mom was already asleep.
The following day (yesterday) was day one of Beatles' fest. In the morning, while I was sleeping, my mom went down to the pool for 45 minutes to an hour when she returned, got ready for the day. Had breakfast at the Roasted Bean and made our way to the Beatles' fest area. We were pretty early so we hung out, talking to other Beatle fans and finally got our wristbands but it didn't open for another 30 minutes, so hung out some more until the doors opened. I made a beeline for Pattie Boyd's room where her Photos were on display on one side of the room as well as Photos with her and George and her modeling as well as some outfits that she wore in the '60's. Pattie wasn't there yet but her art manager was and the person who was selling some of Pattie's merchandise was there. The art manager promised to call Pattie to find out where she was (fixing her hair…just like Eric's Wonderful Tonight song!) so I looked around while waiting. I just wanted to get this over with! I already had my long-waited questions set but prayed that I wouldn't say something stupid, like who was better in bed- George or Eric? However I knew she wouldn't answer that. I think it is fair to say that she loved them both but needless to say that George was the love of her life (hey, she said so!). She came in and as she was walking by me, I complimented on her outfit- she said "Thank you" very politely and I was like "Oh My God! She saw me, she heard me, AND she spoke to me!!!" Pattie Boyd, who has seen George Harrison naked, spoke to me!!! I had already bought a few things as well as having my little notebook (which provides some past autographs from 2005's Super Soap Weekend and 2006's Beatlesfest) I got from Mariska Hargitay's site some years back (unfortunately they don't sell it anymore, just a little hand-size notebook). I had made a special page just for her to sign in but in order for that to happen, I had to pay $25! Stupid idea I think, but I didn't say anything. I was just happy that she would sign it. I was the second person to do the meet-greet thing, even took a picture of Sandy (the woman in front of me, also a members of some Pattie Yahoo Groups that I belong to) with Pattie. I was nervous like you would never believe, my hands were shaking. Then it was my turn. She signed 3 things for me- my autograph/scrapbook, a picture, and a collage-y poster of hers that I had gotten just a few minutes prior to her arrival. I spelled out my name for her and then asked my long-waited questions. I asked if she and Maureen ever made peace after what happened (Maureen and George had a brief affair) before Maureen died: Pattie said yes- I am glad at that. Then I asked if she and Cynthia are still friends: they are but they haven't spoken recently (hey, maybe it'll inspire Pattie to ring Cynthia up for a chat!). She said that Cynthia lived in ..Isle of Man.. but I corrected her- she now lives in Spain! Damn aren't I bad to correct her! But it's the truth….I asked if she read "John", Cynthia's own book. Pattie answered that she started to read it but hadn't finished as she got busy with other things. I told her that Cynthia wrote very nice things about her and Pattie seemed pleased about it. While she was signing my notebook, I complimented on the photo of her and George that she took herself with the roses in the background- very beautiful and she echoed me. I left her room (also got a picture with her- my arm was around her! She had her arm around me!) and left. Man I'm such a nerd, a giddy nerd. I felt such an "OMG!!!! feeling. I called Cindy right away and told her what just happened before hanging up to go into the flea market to have my wallet drained with lots of goodies.
I saw and met with Nancy Lee Andrews who dated Ringo from 1974-1980 who was very kind. I had a wrong impression of her- thinking she was a bitch for breaking up Ringo and Maureen but I no longer think that. She was really lovely, really friendly. Besides, Ringo didn't want to be married anymore and live in Los Angeles- I believe he loved Maureen but something changed, perhaps her affair with George? It seemed complicated yet understandable in a way. I got Nancy's book "A Dose of Rock 'n' Roll" and a free photo (of Ringo, dressed, in a bathtub).
Then I met Deborah Chesner, a photographer who was friends with Maureen in the 1970s and has a book "Everyone I Shot is Dead". I bought it with a picture as well and asked, of course; about Maureen- I loved the photos of Maureen with her children at Friar Park in 1977. She was very hands on, as was Ringo (according to Nancy). Deborah also revealed (well, more so today at her discussion in the video room) that when he had surgery on his intestines, he stayed with Maureen to recover- of course not in a romantic way. Deborah recognized their bond, wondered why they ever broke up. It was very obvious that Ringo and Maureen still loved each other, caring for one another, loyal, trusting- Ringo was even at her bedside when she died back in 1994 and from my understanding he was very devastated by her death. I think he still misses her in a way, which is really sweet.
Afterwards I went to see Billy J. Kramer, who, unfortunately, I was not very impressed by. This lady who was sitting next to him was telling another about what Billy's real name is and it was John who inserted J in his stage name as it sounded better. I chimed in, saying that it was for Julian, John marking the birth of his son, but Billy didn't know until later (he didn't like the name but Brian agreed it sounded better and Billy did respect Brian's word for it). I asked Billy if he had met Julian (no) while he signed my book and then took a big bite of his meaty sandwich- so I got no picture- which I am not really bothered by it. I get that he was hungry but geez dude. I will say that later during the conversation with Martin Lewis, he praised Brian who was a great manager and should be in the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame, deserving his credit.
I heard (well saw) Pattie's conversation- starting a bit of her childhood, to modeling, getting the part in "A Hard Day's Night" (even said her one like "Prisoners!") and dating George, and that was it for the day. Found Mom, went to our room for a quickie relax moment before getting dinner and seeing LOVE- what a great show! Awesome! Worth it! Then I went back to I Dream of Jeannie, hoping to have some luck again but it ended up pretty bad! My pride was so bruised- I found my mom playing Blackjack, telling her about it. Got some cokes and chips to go to my room and ordered pizza from room service to nurse my pride and swear off gambling for the rest of the time. Before the pizza came, Mom came in with the similar blues and I shared my pizza.
The next day (today) we both got up pretty late, ordered room service for breakfast, getting ready for another round of Beatles' fest. Of course I spent a lot of money as I did the other day like a mad woman. Got Mark Hudson's autograph and picture (very kind man- he had worked with Ringo and is the Uncle to Kate Hudson) and pretty much mosey-posey around. Saw Deborah's presentation and then Jorie's which was after in the video room and quickly went to the main ballroom to listen to Pattie's second conversation- mostly about taking pictures, and the meditation experience. Donovan later snuck up behind her, surprising her and they posed on the stage- it had been 40 years since they all went to India. Later on, I went back to her room to see her film she had on and spoke to her merchandise man (I found out that she was going to see LOVE for the first time that same day, the 10 PM show) and then struck a conversation with one of the security men about songs written for Pattie including For You Blue which is a great song. He wasn't sure about it so…I asked Pattie myself. She said yes and I asked about I Need You which was in the "Help!" movie but she doesn't really recall the song- I kinda joked (& meant it too) of digging into it and listening to it which she agreed about with a chuckle. Amazingly enough, I was feeling casual around Pattie unlike yesterday where I was shaking around all sorts of emotions! Then I spoke to another 'fest security who was really REALLY!!! CUTE! Oh lordy lordy lordy (paging Jack Tripper from Three's Company) But he lives in Vegas as I live in ....Miami.... so that is a pretty downer deal! Crap. Had dinner at the Odna and had a convo with a couple next to us before going back to our room.
Tomorrow is our final day here in Vegas before we leave back to Florida- it is also the last day of the 'fest but for us it'll be more like a half-a-day. I will be able to see Pattie's final part of her conversation with Martin Lewis. I miss home, I miss Snowball and Missy.
7-3-08
Well at this time I am on the plane headed to Ft. Lauderdale to go home. They have a stupid rule for the first row of coach- purses and bags go in the top shelf thing. What the hell is that all about? Who was the person who came up with that rule? Maybe some uptight paranoid idiot with a strong voice who threaten to boycott. That is normally the reason.
Anyway, Tuesday (the first of July) was the last day of the fest and we kept it short as we thought that we were leaving that night. We saw Pattie talk mostly the era of the '60's to be in London, her time with Photography which she is doing these days. They kept it in the time she was with George rather then expanding with Eric Clapton: reason being that, well, Eric was not a Beatle! She revealed also their favorite films to watch at home (she was the one to put the film in it's projector) and singing Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe" with George singing Sonny's part and Pattie singing Cher's- however they never met them. Also, of course it is pretty known about the love of Monty Python series and also loved to watch Laugh In. As for comedians, Billy Donnelly (did I spell that right?) was their favorite. She talked about home movies that while they were in Hawaii (actually Tahiti) John and George filmed a little movie wearing Cynthia and Pattie's wigs- she has no idea where the film is today! That would be awesome to see! I hope it is in tact- perhaps Cynthia, or Olivia, or Yoko has it…ha, maybe Yoko destroyed it as she seems to enjoy erasing John's pre-Yoko life.
Before Pattie's chat, Mom and I went to the Discussion room where I took place for a round of trivia with Joe Johnson (who I've met previously twice) and Tony Perkins (who've I met previously once). I was runner up by answering two questions (Beatles' second Ed Sullivan appearance whereabouts and their last public performance together but I was out-done by a man who was too quick to raise his hand! Well just as well since we already have the Grand prize: The McCartney Years on DVD.
Afterwards, Mom and I went to the flea market to meet-and-greet- not buy more stuff as we had already packed. I did get a picture with Billy J. Kramer before he binged into another meaty sandwich. My mom also met Mark Hudson and Nancy Lee Andrews. I stuck around with Nancy for a few minutes, wanting to get a few things straight: mainly her relationship with Maureen. Well she did not break them up as they already were estranged however she was named as a cause for Ringo & Maureen's divorce because Ringo asked her to- to protect his children so they wouldn't hate their mother and 'Uncle' George. Eventually they did find out many years later but at the time they were very young. Maureen did like Nancy- she was nice and caring to her children and were friends up until Maureen died with an occasional lunch. In fact, not long after Ringo got together with Barbara, Maureen tried to find Nancy a husband! Holy cow! I asked her about Cynthia; recently, Nancy went out with her and May Pang, having a great time in New York.
Well we started to leave, got a taxi to go to the airport however my mom got our dates mixed up! We were to leave the following day (Wednesday)…I knew that! I KNEW that we were to arrive the same day as the Ringo Starr concert in Ft. Lauderdale but my Mom was convinced that we were leaving day…honestly! Part of me thought that was funny and to gloat but I was pissed off- I had to carry around heavy freakin' bags around!! So we went back to the Mirage hotel to check back in, got in another different hotel room which the bed was MUCH better previously and also, what the hell am I going to do the rest of the day before heading out to the airport? Well went back to gambling and yep, my bad luck continued- I lost…I lost quite a bit of money and that did NOT make me happy. Son of a bitch! So I went to the Beatles LOVE area, plopped on the floor, making sure I was not in the way, and played with my cell phone while singing along Beatle tunes. Then I decided to drink my bottled Coke that had been in my purse most of the day and well, it exploded! Could my day get any worst? (Actually it did but I am not going to tell you- figure it out!). Finally some hours later, grouchy me and my happy Mom (who won some money in Blackjack) went to the airport and some hours later, after security checks and all that wonderful process, boarded our flight back home to which we arrived in the early hours of the morning. Got home, got my car out of the garage, Snowball and Missy hid from us- well Snowball I did see but she didn't want to deal with us- she was mad for leaving them alone. Went on the computer to chat with S-giraffe who was miserable during my absence and then crashed on my bed before my Mom woke me up to get ready for the Ringo concert!
What better way to end the Beatley vacation? To see an actual Beatle! He played What Goes On and Oh My, My, which two songs he rarely ever plays in concert. Also Billy Squier was there playing Stroke (but not Everybody Wants You which I like) and heard a few familiar songs from the other All Starr band. We all got to yell out Happy Birthday to Ringo who I think was touched by that (his birthday is July 7).
Well that's the end of my exciting vacation. Worth to take! Wish I could take home that cute security guard though…too bad I didn't get him to marry me ha ha! Well hey, we were in Vegas with hundreds of quickie wedding chapels…hee hee couldn't resist! Oh well…well anyway he liked heavy music, like the Pantera kind of stuff while I'll go as far as Motley Crue could take me.
P.S. I'm pissed off- ALL of my photos of Pattie, including the one with me and her did not come out at all...damn it...well I guess I'll scan in the items that she signed for me- at least it's still proof that I have met her...I'm still pissed off about it.
Elvis, George, and Me
Originally written in 2004
Forgetful Music
Originally written on December 19, 2005
Don't you hate it when you hear a good song on the radio or hear it on a movie and you think "I know that song!" but you just don't know who does it? You search high and low in your brain but nothing? Then you look into your cd, record collection and wonder if you have it or not and there's also hoping that it will turn up on the radio and pray that the DJ will say the name of the song and who it is. Or when you are talking to somebody and you tell them about it and you try to do the lyrics or the tune of the song and it doesn't come out right and that someone will look at you funny and think that you belong in another galaxy (a look I've gotten many times before). I can recall that two times, and I found out since then of who and what and that I have it- Feeling Stronger Everyday by Chicago and Jungle Love by the Steve Miller Band. Great songs...now try this one, you know the band's name but you have absolutely no idea if you heard the music or not
Don't you hate it when you hear a good song on the radio or hear it on a movie and you think "I know that song!" but you just don't know who does it? You search high and low in your brain but nothing? Then you look into your cd, record collection and wonder if you have it or not and there's also hoping that it will turn up on the radio and pray that the DJ will say the name of the song and who it is. Or when you are talking to somebody and you tell them about it and you try to do the lyrics or the tune of the song and it doesn't come out right and that someone will look at you funny and think that you belong in another galaxy (a look I've gotten many times before). I can recall that two times, and I found out since then of who and what and that I have it- Feeling Stronger Everyday by Chicago and Jungle Love by the Steve Miller Band. Great songs...now try this one, you know the band's name but you have absolutely no idea if you heard the music or not
Ghost Sucker
Originally posted on January 1, 2006
I'm a big sucker for ghost stories- I will watching any documentary of ghosts- especially on the History, Travel channels. I'm hooked on this show that's on the Biography channel, Ghostly Encounters: Dead Famous where a skeptic and a sentensive search for celebrity ghosts. I guess I am a skeptic myself- I'll believe it when I see it for myself; but I do believe that if more than just someone encounters one, especially the same one- like Resurrection Mary in Chicago, Anne Boyelyn in the Tower of London, Mrytle Planation...I would like to go to the Bed & Breakfast of Lizzie Borden's house- it's said to be haunted by her father and stepmother (some say it's Lizzie, but Lizzie hated the house- why would she go there?). I should just go on a ghost tour- all over, USA and England. But of course I don't wanna go by myself- any volunteers?
I'm a big sucker for ghost stories- I will watching any documentary of ghosts- especially on the History, Travel channels. I'm hooked on this show that's on the Biography channel, Ghostly Encounters: Dead Famous where a skeptic and a sentensive search for celebrity ghosts. I guess I am a skeptic myself- I'll believe it when I see it for myself; but I do believe that if more than just someone encounters one, especially the same one- like Resurrection Mary in Chicago, Anne Boyelyn in the Tower of London, Mrytle Planation...I would like to go to the Bed & Breakfast of Lizzie Borden's house- it's said to be haunted by her father and stepmother (some say it's Lizzie, but Lizzie hated the house- why would she go there?). I should just go on a ghost tour- all over, USA and England. But of course I don't wanna go by myself- any volunteers?
Please & Thank You
Originally written on March 21, 2006
In Ellen Degeneres: Here and Now DVD, she said "I wouldn't mind hearing more Please and Thank Yous" and she got an applause. She's right. Please and Thank You are very much appreciated! Admittedly, I was never really one of those that would say Thank You after I receive something. It drove my grandmother nuts and she tried for so many years to drill those pleastantries into my head. Now, I try to make sure I say those things because I've learned that they are appreciated and actually can make you feel good.
Recently I sent over some CDs that my grandmother made and I did not receive one thank you email. This is a couple of months ago and I don't know if she has gotten them? Are they lost in the mail? Did she get them but decided that they were rubbish and threw them away? (uhhh...can send them back you know, my address WAS on the package...) I mean, not even an acknowledgment "I got the cds, Thank you". I'm not expecting a 30 page letter, just a simple sentence with a few less words. That is not a waste of an email. I mean, it cost a fortune to have them send overseas! I could've spent the money on something else, like gas for my car, or a new cd, or something selfish for me.
Now I know why my grandmother bugged the hell out of me to say Please and Thank You, and from that I thank her. It's appreciative and makes a person feel so good!
In Ellen Degeneres: Here and Now DVD, she said "I wouldn't mind hearing more Please and Thank Yous" and she got an applause. She's right. Please and Thank You are very much appreciated! Admittedly, I was never really one of those that would say Thank You after I receive something. It drove my grandmother nuts and she tried for so many years to drill those pleastantries into my head. Now, I try to make sure I say those things because I've learned that they are appreciated and actually can make you feel good.
Recently I sent over some CDs that my grandmother made and I did not receive one thank you email. This is a couple of months ago and I don't know if she has gotten them? Are they lost in the mail? Did she get them but decided that they were rubbish and threw them away? (uhhh...can send them back you know, my address WAS on the package...) I mean, not even an acknowledgment "I got the cds, Thank you". I'm not expecting a 30 page letter, just a simple sentence with a few less words. That is not a waste of an email. I mean, it cost a fortune to have them send overseas! I could've spent the money on something else, like gas for my car, or a new cd, or something selfish for me.
Now I know why my grandmother bugged the hell out of me to say Please and Thank You, and from that I thank her. It's appreciative and makes a person feel so good!
PeTA vs. Steve Irwin
Originally written on September 13, 2006
I saw in one of the newscast about Steve Irwin and about how Peta doesn't approve of his shows and believes that it's danger to the kids. Obviously you don't do much digging in your research. If you have noticed at all photos and footage of Steve and Terri Irwin's zoo of how little kids are placing flowers then you will see that they don't have any fright. Of "provoking" an animal, such as a crocodile- let me ask you something: without Steve's abilities and if he wasn't ever on the air, then how would we know how to defend ourselves? Do you know? Have you ever faced that for yourselves? Maybe you missed the news that in Florida, three women were killed by alligators. Steve didn't harm the animal, he never killed any of them- in fact it upset him to know that they were killed to make belts and shoes- you should give him that credit. Of course, I'm not surprised either of the fact he died by an animal (I am more surprised that it wasn't a crocodile). I thought Steve's documentaries were very educational, especially as I live near the Everglades and lakes were alligators and crocidiles are known to swim around.
That's about that for Steve Irwin. Sure he was over-the-top enthusiastic, but my golly, he was interesting to watch. I think that attitude had people watch him in amazement and like him. I confess, I didn't really watch the show religiously because I was either watching something else or doing something else or didn't know it's schedule was. I suppose I can say the same thing about John Ritter: know who he was, liked him, but wasn't into him as a faithful viewer. My heart goes out to Terri, Bindi, and Bob.
Now Peta...like I said, I'm glad that there's a group to speak for the animals but they have done things that I thought of were too far. I don't appreciate them forcing videos or whatever it is up the noses. Fine, voice your disapprovements, have a conversation with the person who you are up against but that should be it. At least the person would know that there's another option. You can't force someone not to wear fur or be a vegetarian. Let it be THEIR decision. I'm not a vegetarian- I do eat meat as I do eat my fruits and vegetables, if I want to be a vegetarian, then I will be on my own time and my own decision, nobody else's. That's the way it should be.
Another thing that had me pissed off about Peta- they had plans to make cats vegetarians. As a cat owner of two, here's a news flash you CAN'T get cats to be a vegetarian!!!! You can change a dog's diet easy, but cats are way too stubborn, that's for sure. What if you did think you succeeded? But then you let your cat go outside- guess what the cat's going to do? Chase a lizard, play with it, eat the insides of it. I should know- I have found enough dead lizards. You can't change that ever- no matter how hard you try, no matter where you start them as a baby kitten, they are bound to find an insect or a mouse and use them as their food source.
A Little Tribute to My Grandmother
On November 15, 2006, I read the following at her memorial service...She died five days before on November 10- 8 days shy of her 71st birthday.
I wrote an essay in high school when we were asked to do a paper on someone in our life and wrote about my grandmother. After I read it to her, she loved it and even had it framed. Now I'm using it as my inspiration and guideline dedicated to my grandmother.
She was the kind of person who gets you mesmerized in her true and make-believe stories, took me to the horse races, taught me sewing, and played the piano by ear, and was honest to my personal, and sometimes nosy, questions.
Like any person, she does have her own faults but they were always quickly overlooked. One story that had happened was when I was a toddler and we were living in Tallahassee at the time and my mom, who loved my little curls, told grandma that "do no cut her hair" (as we know, she always loved doing something with hairdos) and then she left for college for the day. Well, needless to say, my grandmother didn't listen and cut my hair- only except it didn't look right. So she took me to the see the hairdresser and got me a cute outfit and matching hat- realizing what she has done and hoping to hide it! We were home in time when my mom came home and of course she said "aw cute outfit" and took off the hat and was horrified to what she had saw. She was angry at her mother, who was completely understandable…oh, and my mom did forgive her in a few days!
My grandmother also had a wicked sense of humor that has passed down to us. I remember when I decided to spend the weekend at home during college and she picked me up- and out of the whim decided to visit my Aunt Nette. She told me to call her up, but omit the fact that we were going to visit her. So while talking to my Aunt, I made it sound like I was still in college and just calling to chat. Whenever I wanted to hang up when it got to that "time to go" time, my grandmother kept signaling me to keep on going, so I did. We managed to get to my aunt's house and still talking to her on the phone, we knocked on her door. She told me that she has to go because there was someone at the door and after we hung up, she opened the door and the look on her face was priceless- shocked and happy and we got her!
A few years ago, my grandmother took my mom and I on a road trip to see Elvis Presley's home Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee and to Benton, Illinois to spend a few nights at a house where George Harrison once stayed with his sister before the Beatles first came to America- knowing that my mom and I would absolutely love the experience as we are both major Beatles fans. The last day we were in Benton, Illinois and having breakfast there on the day we left to go back home, we were all in for an exciting shock- George's sister walked into the house because she was told by our hosts that we were big Beatles fans and she came by to see us. My mom's and my eyes widen and our jaws dropped- we couldn't believe it. My grandmother seeing our reactions, spoke up greeting her and we all got into this conversation, mostly about the Beatles of course, but it felt like we knew her (which, in a way, my mom and I did). Then I asked a casual question, a question that concerned me yet a question that gave my grandmother the hoots throughout the trip and to the end of her life when I asked Louise "How's Harry and Peter", her and George's two brothers. My mom said later that if I hadn't said that, she would've asked that question, but no matter what, it just cracked her up. It was funny a few times but eventually it did get on my nerves! I was asking out of concern as I felt that that Beatles were like my extended family (my mom feels the same way).
She also played the piano by ear since the discovery of her talent when she was 18 months old. She played with a flow and always got never ending requests thrown in by my Mom and me. Making 5 records in the past with her recordings and I take credit of doing three covers of her c.ds.
One thing I know for sure is that my grandmother loved her children- Jane, Jeannette, and Pete. She took so much pride to the fact that they were so close and got along so well and a bonus pride that her seven grandchildren were close as well- despite the 13 years age difference between me to Monica and Robby. In a way, I believe she took that credit herself, knowing that she loves her brothers and sister- I remember her telling me that her mother always told her children to stick together, no matter what. She would tell me stories about her mother Jeannette- of whom she named my Aunt after, the name that I was given to as well.
Grandma, now that you are gone in person, but you are not gone in spirit and in my heart. I will miss you and love you but I do know that you are now with the Lord and reunited with your parents and probably talking a mouthful already to John and George of what big fans my mom and I are of theirs. I also know that you will be looking down at us, smiling or shaking your head at whatever decisions we come across yet looking forward to the day we will all be reunited.
Anna Nicole Smith
Originally written on February 27, 2007
I wasn't surprised to hear that she died, but I was shocked at the timing, well maybe not. Part of me blame all the lawsuits that piled up against her- as if yet, no cause of death, but I wouldn't be surprised if stress played a major part in it. There was that paternity lawsuit, the old husband's estate lawsuit, the trimspa lawsuit, the Bahamas eviction lawsuit threat- I mean, how much can a woman can take, especially since after the death of her son? With the exception of the old husband lawsuit and the trimspa lawsuit, the paternity and eviction one, both Larry Birkhead and G. Ben Thompson both claim that they knew Daniel and how Anna was devastated when he died and how sad they were, blah blah blah and here they are with legal papers in their hands...couldn't they have waiting 6 months? I mean, let the woman grieve for crying out loud! Especially if they knew him and cared for him like they said they "did." Some say that Anna died of a broken heart and in some way, I believe that is true, regardless the cause- I've seen her interviews on Entertainment Tonight and each time, my heart ached for her. In the past, I may have thought she was "out there" but I never doubted her motherhood, especially after seeing her kid so normal, she must have done something right! I had hoped that Dannielynn would've made her strong enough to hold on and be something for her to live for and I believed it too. Now all I can hope and pray is for the best of Dannielynn, her name is both tribute to her brother and mother, given by her mother, and I hope whoever is landed as her father can respect that as well and don't change it. I have no clue who the father is- both Larry and Howard are great candidates...that "Prince" is something else; I think he's only submitting his name to get his wife Zsa Zsa Gabor back into the spotlight since she hasn't been around in the news for quite sometime now. Although her old husband is a good candidate, I can believe that she saved his sperm to conceive a child...As for her mother who firmly wants her buried in Texas because 10 years ago, Anna said so. Well, all I can say is that people DO changed their minds of where they want to be buried, especially when they haven't spoken in 10 years and lived in other places! Oh Anna, you're life was a definite soap opera! I sincerely hope she's at peace with her son.UPDATE: Larry's the father, Anna is buried in the Bahamas next to her son Daniel
2008: Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame
Originally written on March 12, 2008
I’m glad that the Dave Clark 5 were inducted- about freakin’ time too. The both times I’ve been to the RnRHoF I’ve spoke to whoever worked there "where are they? where are they? They need to be inducted, they should be inducted!" after all they did have a strong hit and it was over (way over) the requirement to be inducted into the RnRHoF and I think that they were certainly influence- Dave Clark was really the first that I can think of to actually his own music publishing and managing the band. Mike Smith, the chief songwriter (which I know he was despite Dave Clark’s part in it, Mr. Money Bags) and the singer of the band deserves to be in there as well- but maybe that’s me of having him as my favorite of the band (he was cuter, in my opinion); I also like him because of the sound of his voice- really raw and bluesy, it’s nothing that you want to put your hands to your ears, wish you were deaf sort of thing. And as Tom Hanks said, it’s joyful- it’s really indeed uplifting. They were supposed to be inducted last year- and here’s where I get angry the most: they were dropped and was pushed to be this year’s honor. It was all because of Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone, wanting the Grandmaster Flash (who?) into the Hall of Fame. Um...why? Well I admit, I’m not much of a Jann fan either, especially since the day he decided to turn a music magazine into a political magazine! You know, I didn’t mind reading the old Rolling Stone issues with one politician being interviewed, especially when talking about music (after all, Rolling Stone was a music magazine) but then more and more, politics have gotten more cover stories and then when the 40th Special Anniversary came out it was a good 80% of the celebration articles were policitians while the mere 20% were musicians themselves. Shouldn’t it have been the other way around??? If Rolling Stone was intended to be a music magazine, then it should’ve stuck to that formula. Maybe they want to go into a politic direction, they can always have a spin-off magazine! They certainly have the popularity and money as well since they are published practically all over the World.
Okay- back to the Dave Clark Five- I’ve always liked them and even went through a phase where I tried to find anything I can about them (and mind you, this was before I got a computer and found the World Wide Web). My Mom got me their two-disc Greatest Hits disc The History of Dave Clark Five and would play endlessly of the cd. I was amazed though of how little information I could find of them though. They weren’t like the Beatles, where there’s every nook and crany information out there. I took them as an underrated most appreciative band. It makes my heart glad of how Mike Smith, who was paralyzed from neck down from an accident wanted to be there, was so honored to be recognized for his talent. He wanted to be there, he was determined to be there and my respect for him grew to the level of his bravery, to be there for his honor despite any possible risks of his health. It really broke my heart when he died, I so wanted to see him there, to see him so happy for being recognized about time-- but of course, I realize that he knew and he was so happy about it that it made his last days appreciated; plus he and Dennis Payton had the best seats of the house however I’m sad that he would never hold/touch his honor award. It’s really a big limbo of mixed feelings. However I must say, I enjoyed the fact that their memories were honored and not ignored; I enjoyed Rick Huxley, Lenny Davidson, and Dave’s acceptance speeches and I even enjoyed Tom Hanks’ introduction however I thought it was odd that Tom would be the one to induct as he’s an actor and before it was usually the tradition of having a musician to induct a musician. It made sense to do that. I know Tom does have some influence of music, especially writing, directing and even co-writing the songs for That Thing You Do! movie about music- it was a good movie, I enjoyed it when I saw it. It just threw me off of the loop but it was made up for it by his speech.
While I’m on a blog about music, I’ll speak about this- MTV and VH1. A good ten years ago- I didn’t mind those channels- I enjoyed them to a point- especially when the Backstreet Boys came out and I was ga-ga over them (mind you, I was 17, 18 years old at the time, and although I’m not as crazy about them as I was then I do still like them and would be happy if they are in the RnRHoF), I would tape anything where they would be appearing- same with the Goo Goo Dolls (I am still crazy about this band!). Not only for the Beatles specials, BSB, Goo Goo Dolls, Fleetwood Mac etc shown for those respected channels, but for VH1 especially, which was the channel I watched most of the time because of it’s shows- Behind the Music, Pop-Up Video, The List- I loved it! It dealt with music and it also told about it, the stories, to really connect with the artist. Now? Watch VH1 or MTV and you will find a reality show, a contest, celebrity gossip, things that you would find on E! and Bravo (which with all due respect, I do like those channels because they are standing what they are supposed to stand for). VH1 and MTV have drifted off away from music as the Rolling Stone magazine has done for things that I could have cared less for. If they want to show something about it, I can tolerate it for maybe an hour or two at a time but for the whole day? What does Hogan Knows Best have to do with music exactly? I would understand if that show appeared on USA (as they like to show RAW wrestling performances) or some sports channel, then fine. I would understand it better if Scott Baio is 46...and pregnant was aired on Bravo or E! then great. The only episodes whenever VH1 does decide to get around to playing of Behind the Music are the same episodes over and over again- Ratt, Pantera, and Notorious BIG...what the hell? I know that VH1 have made more episodes then just those three! I never got the Lindsey Buckingham episode (I did see it but I didn’t record it- I thought the show would always be on as it was very successful and I would get it then...little did I know). It’s sad really- I loved those channels once upon the time but nowadays I rarely visit them as it’s getting ridiculous to show something that your name hardly represents anymore- Video Hits 1 and Music Television. When the videos do get played, it’s when everyone should be sleeping at night, early hours of the morning, not at the time when people are able to be home and enjoy some visual tunes.
Now Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame, when are you inducting Sonny & Cher? They have an over 25 year old hit, as well as a couple of successful releases, not an one-hit wonder and they did have a good mark in history, television too where they incorporated music! That’s another one that I would like to have inducted, to fight for into the honor. Hopefully Cher would live to see that happen!
The Virgin Queen
Originally posted on January 29, 2011 at Jeannette's This and That Blog
Truthfully I think Queen Elizabeth I was smart not to marry and have children. I do think that the fact that her father ordered her mother's death had some part of Elizabeth's refusal to be in a marriage- during those times it was just gruesome, no mercy whatsoever. Besides, I think Elizabeth paved a way for the power of single woman everywhere. She proved that she can rule a country without a man by her side, she had the men obeying every word she says! Elizabeth was Queen of England for 40 plus years...the program also said that Elizabeth enjoyed being known as the Virgin Queen. Well all power to her! Kudos and bravo!
Goodbye Elliot Stabler
Originally written on August 24, 2011
As for watching, at first I was a little hestitant but from the way it sounds, it sounds hopeful...but it will be very weird, very empty with Chris around. So, I've decided that I'll just take one episode at a time. I've heard that Elliot's departure will cover a good amount of episodes so I do want to be sure to watch those. After that, it's free-for-all. I'm just happy with the idea that Elliot is home with his wife and kids- Elliot and Kathy together forever and that Elliot didn't become a cheater to dump his wife for his female partner. Thank you thank you thank you
Santa Claws & Rico
Originally written on August 24, 2011
Santa Claws was two, she turned 3 in June, the same month we adopted her and Rico. Rico was 2 months old when we adopted him and was a stray, his original name was Champ, probably given by the animal shelter. Santa Claws, her orignial name was Spice and that's the name she will never be called, probably stirs up bad memories for her. We discovered by just feeling her body alone that she had been through hell with her previous owners. Her skin under the fur feels like it's been through the ringer with bumps and whiplashes. One time I was rubbing her tummy and her ribs felt weird, not like what ribs should feel like. I had Ingrid feel them and with her knowledge of these kinds of things as well as owning a past-abused dog herself, she knew that Santa's ribs were self-healed. My mom even noticed that Santa's tail is not quite right- probably been stepped on and I don't mind by accidental purposes. That first week we got her, I innocently walked into the bathroom and found Santa in the bathroom's sink which I thought was so cute! But I saw the look in her eyes and I have never seen that look before in a cat's eyes- her pupils, instead of being oval with sharp pointed ends, they were circles. I've learned that their eyes get like that when they get TERRIFIED. She was TERRIFIED...but I comforted her, she had no reason to feel terrified, she's in a good home. It took a good two weeks before she started to venture out of Mom's closet more to explore. Now, it's been two months later and there's such a big change in Santa. I think she now knows that she's in a good home and she's here to stay. Santa did take me and Ingrid in but was wary with my mom; we all assumed that it could be because of the previous owner...Mom thinks it's because of her dark hair but I think that's not the case: I have dark hair and Santa is fine with me. I think, and Ingrid thinks this as well, that Santa was afraid of Mom due to Mom's overweight gain. I think the previous owner was an overweight person so Santa's afraid. But these days, and I'm glad to say, Santa has been warming up to my mother. Ironically, Santa does love Mom's room a lot- she's in there a lot of times- she'll visit my room and hang out for a while but a good 80% of the time she would be found in mom's room! I believe that by Christmas time of this year, Santa will be my Mom's best friend, glue to her hip.
Rico is a great little guy but he can be, pardon my french, a little shit. Quite a number of times he has peed in my beanbag- not happy about that and I had to shove that thing into the washing machine! Now I cover my beanbag with throw pillows to keep him from using it as his own little litter box. He has also peed in my clean clothes in the laundry basket that were waiting for me to put away (you can blame my procastination on that one) but it really upset me because he was a type of cat that would use the laundry basket full of clothes as a sleeping bed, not a litter box! (Snowball used to use the laundry as a bed, Missy occasionally too) So I had to redo my clothes, not once but twice! At different times of course...Rico also can poop out some real good stinkers. My girls (Snowball, Missy, and Santa Claws) have done stinkers before that would drift to a room, but Rico's, oh man, that can cover the WHOLE HOUSE!!!! I'm not kidding! So whenever he does his business, one of us would be sure to quickly go in there to cover it with baking soda to kill the smell. How can such a little thing can creat such a BIG smell? That baffles me! Harri LOVES Rico, I think Harri thinks of Rico as HIS kitten, we even went as far as saying that Harri is Rico's father- Harri has been known to give Rico the "I" tooth to keep him in line, to behave himself whenever Rico gets really hyper and doesn't know when to quit it. They also have slept together, even cuddled a few times! Wow. Harri also lets Rico get away with murder when it comes to attacking his tail or his nose or whatever, but I do believe that Harri knows that Rico is very young and means no harm but he does get carried away. Harri is also very protective of Rico- whenever he sees Santa lurking by, he's quick to stand by his little buddy.
But I love my little boy and I love my little girl. Sure they are not Snowball but I do see Snowball, and Missy, in their characters. I think of Rico as Snowball, Jr. most of all while Santa reminds me a lot of Missy but with a little Snowball thrown in. But most important, both Santa and Rico are themselves, they are their own person in fur coats.
My First Cat: Snowball
Originally written on August 24, 2011
For the next 3 days we searched the neighborhood, expanding to the whole area basically. I even made flyers, asked dog walkers and people coming home from work. We used Harri to help with our search, using Snowball's little fur-ball that I saved after brushing her fur one day and he pulled us in all kinds of directions. We kept our windows cracked open just in case she came home and cried. Every hour or so, one of us would venture out of the house to look around for another check in case we would see Snowball casually walking on the sidewalk from her adventure. I had vivid dreams, even daydreams, of finding Snowball and holding her in my arms, so vivid that I could actually feel her...but then I would wake up holding my pillow tightly to my chest. I never have felt my bed feel so empty before in my life. I was so worried, so scared, so many 'What If's' were circling in my head
What if someone took her?
What if that someone is taking care of her?
What if that someone is abusing her?
Snowball can be very feisty and one may not know how to handle, or their own mood swings so What if they were scaring her so they can control her?
What if a big animal- say a dog- managed to get a hold of her and killed her?
What if a possum or a raccoon managed to get her?
Snowball was 16 years old, she may have been feisty and would get into a fight to protect her home as well as herself but she was also getting up there, her reflexes weren't really as quick as they once were but she was still sharp as a tact
What if she felt so left out in our family (which is completely UNtrue) that she decided to leave us?
What if she walked away to die?
Snowball did have a tumor in her stomach area, but we had it tested and it was beign...but it grew...but we thought it was just those fatty tumors...but what if it became a REAL tumor that got fatal? That last week I had with her, I discovered a small circle patch of fur missing at her hind leg that was dark pink and had puss on it...What if that killed her? On May 24th, I had planned to call the vet about that tumor to have it taken out.
What if Snowball knew of my plans and decided to make her grand escape so she wouldn't go to the vet?
What if Snowball knew that this was it and went away to die?
What if someone took her and killed her?
What if someone took her and she died on her own?
Bottom line is: I wanted her home, dead or alive
Eventually we all came to the conclusion that Snowball did indeed went away to die.
I had a weird experience not long after that. One day I went outside to get something from my car and was greeted by a ghastly smell- the smell of a dead animal. I know that smell anywhere since I've seen roadkill and you can just never forget that kind of smell. It's sick. I was also on alert for that smell because I was hoping that maybe, just maybe, it would lead me to my cat. Well anyway, that fleeting idea came to my head and I started to follow it and nothing. Now, that dead animal smell is very lingering, it can drift for a good length. Hmm okay not walking forward is where the smell is so I went back to my front door where I originally first smelled the smell- maybe it was in a backyard- even a neighbor's- but that's where the weird part comes in: I couldn't smell that smell anymore. I went back and forth, there was no way in hell I could've lost that smell! But it seemed like I did and I went back in my house baffled. I didn't even get whatever it was out of my car because it wasn't important anymore. Maybe it was my sign that Snowball's dead? I had been begging for a sign from God, from Snowball herself, from Missy, from my Grandmother, to just give me a sign- it could be in my dream, it could be a chopped paw in a package demanding ransom- I would've taken anything to know what happened to my cat. I still do.
I do know that it's a natural thing for a cat or a dog to do when they are dying. Probably more so so that we wouldn't have to see them in pain, in suffering, dying. I do believe, always, that Snowball loved me to death. She was my companion, my best friend, my confident, my second mother who told me what to do "feed me, let me outside, clean my litter box, pet me, play with me", my sister, heck I've even joked that she was my wife! I've never encountered a cat like her- if I came home really late (or anybody like my mom and Roomie), she would be right there giving you an earful "where were you? Do you have any idea what time it is??", she would also talk to you, she would also greet you when you come home and Snowball would always expect a greeting back- "Hi Snowball!". She had such a sense of humor, she played pranks, she was also very smart. I believe she would have been a great mother if we'd allowed her to breed (which we didn't, she got fixed). Although it was Snowball's House, I know that she did love Missy and she did love Harri. Snowball did witness Mom and me taking care of Missy when she was ill/dying so perhaps that made her decide to leave us behind. In March, she got sick (too much calcium) and when Snowball got better, her attitude towards Roomie had change a lot- they became late night walking companions, Snowball let her pet her more, she even started to play with her more with her favorite toy (the gold string) and tapping between the stairs' rails. Before the illness, Snowball was pretty wary of Roomie, playing nasty tricks on her or not letting her go up the stairs to the point when Roomie would yell out either my name or Mom's to help her get Snowball out of the way to let her and Harri pass. But Roomie loved her at first sight- they were actually a lot alike in many ways to the point where my mom and I said that Snowball was Roomie in a white fur coat.
I think the hardest part in all this is that I never actually got to say goodbye to Snowball. I got to say goodbye to Missy- and yes it was hard- but I wanted Missy to see me and Mom as the last people she saw before she died giving her some sort of comfort and I always thought Snowball would've gotten the same thing. But at least with Missy I got closure, I also have her little urn. With Snowball, I didn't get closure and I don't have any of her remains other than her little furball that I combed out of her one evening, never thinking that it would one day come in handy and special to me. I will never know what happened to Snowball. Although I do believe she has passed on, there's a tiny little hope in me that keeps my eyes peeled whenever I'm out and about, looking for a white cat. I look at roadkill more closely, wondering "is that my cat?" and then feel my heart torn apart of relief and disappointment when I find out it's not. I do know that in heaven we will be reunitied...but it would be nice to know where her remains are resting at...
My Sweet Kitty Missy
Originally written on July 3, 2009
I’m sure it does sound weird to do, it’s hardly anything I’ve really seen before, a blog about a pet but I feel like I should do this. I did this for my Grandmother and now for a cat. Maybe I am nuts, but you can ask anybody who I regularly talked to and guarantee that they will all state that I have spoken very much about Snowball and Missy. Talk to me regularly and you would get some cat stories. So, it does make sense that I would post something like this. Missy is my first pet death. I’ve known other pets who have passed on and of course my condolences but this one really hit home. I got her ashes back from the Vet on July 2, it was very bittersweet. However she’s home and I decided to just do this and get it over with. I did intend to write this tribute blog up but the procrastination was getting the best of me and getting her urn home boosted me up to do this. So here it goes…
Missy came to my life in October of 2000 when she was about 5 months old (calculated that she was born in May of that year). My Mom and I just moved into a new house and already had then 5-year old Snowball; we had been thinking of getting a new cat and even looked around but decided not to when Snowball would go ballistic when she would see another cat around her house. One day at my Mom’s work, a co-worker was telling my Mom about a neighbor who just got a new kitten for his daughter but it turns out that she’s allergic to cats and was looking for a home for her before deciding to take her back to the animal shelter where they got her. She explained to my Mom that this little kitten had been abandoned by her mother, was rescued by the animal shelter. My Mom got suckered in and agreed to give the little kitten a home. She called me up to let me know that we will be getting another cat that same night. Sure enough, Missy arrived. That kitten had the biggest fluffy tail I have ever seen! Big tail, little kitten. She was too cute. Mom and I welcomed her with arms, holding her, letting her know us and then let her explore her new home…until Snowball, who had seen Missy at the door with her previous owner and co-worker, realized that she was not going away. Thus started the three months of growl hiss growl hiss growl…I was already in love with Missy to have second thoughts of the mistake that Snowball was making it out to be (my mom did have second thoughts however but it quietly vanished as she too was already in love). Eventually in time Snowball realized that Missy was NOT going anywhere no matter how much she protested and the growling & hissing wore off. Missy held her own with Snowball, she even freaked her out by one time when she leaped over Snowball with a jump. Oh man could Missy jump! I think she could have been a frog in another life. You should have seen Snowball’s look on her face when Missy leaped over her…it was classic. Probably helped deemed Missy getting some type of respect for her. Whenever there was a lizard high up on the sliding glass door, Missy would jump a good 10 feet trying to get that lizard! I kept hearing this commotion and turned to see a little tiny kitten trying to get this lizard that was very high up there that a 5 foot 8 ½ inch me couldn’t reach! I was impressed. Snowball never did that.
Over time I think Snowball really did like having Missy around…she was the big sister. She could pretty much boss the poor little thing around! She had someone to play with, to have company whenever Mom and I went out somewhere, not to feel alone. One time while I was away in college in ....Tampa...., Snowball went missing for three days and when she returned, she was so happy to be home, she even rubbed Missy! Whoa! I remember another time in my room on my window sill both cats were on it and they started to sniff each other, Snowball reached out to Missy and then licked her head! I think my eyes were so wide that my eyeballs could have fallen out! It was a lovely moment.
The funny ongoing thing with Snowball and Missy was whenever Missy went to the bathroom (litter), you’ll see Snowball sneaking up, spying on her to scare her! Like a sister would…I’m going to miss watching that! It was funny.
Missy was the sweetest and loving cat I’ve ever encountered. She never meant to hurt you. If you were wearing a sleeveless shirt, her claws wouldn’t be out while holding her…if you were wearing a shirt then you would feel her claws but it was to hold on to you. Missy would also nudge your hand so that you would know she wanted to be petted. She would meow in a question before she jumped on the bed…both Mom and I fell into habit of meowing in response to acknowledge her, then she would jump up for a love-fest. She was more of a lap cat then Snowball is. Snowball would be close to you, next to you, be on your lap for a few minutes at a time before she had enough. Missy would be on your lap for a good quality of time. Of course my favorite moments with Missy would be when going to sleep: a few times she fell asleep with her head resting on my hand. Awww…Other then the thought of her being a frog in another life, I think she was a nurse in another life as well. Whenever Mom or I was sick, would wake up from a groggy sleep to find Missy there, looking at us as if she was watching over us, meowing in greeting. Of course she didn’t make us take our medicine or anything but it felt like she was taking care of us. She brought this comforting, nurturing aura to her. Snowball would do what she would always do but Missy would just be there.
Missy had this cutest little growl. Snowball has a real growl, very threatening, you know she means business! I know Missy felt the same way “I mean business!” but in truth, it was not threatening at all! It was so cute. In truth, my Mom or I would get her angry just to hear that growl. She never hissed or swiped as Snowball would be doing but she was a good wiggler. She can twist, turn to get her away from our grip. Plus she could also run very fast. I’ve constantly referred her as Speedy Gonzalez or Road Runner from Looney Tunes. She was also a very good hider- she had me stumped a few times! Clever little thing. She even found a hiding place under my Mom’s TV armour where she would hide from us as well as using it to play with Snowball. You would see her little paws sticking out for Snowball to bait around! But then she got bigger and could no longer fit there but no matter- cats are bound to find other hiding places.
I do regret one thing: I regret not playing with her as often as I have done with Snowball when she was a kitten. Snowball was at the point where she got more interested in laying about that playing got far and few between. Poor Missy came about at that point. Sure we did try to play with her but it was far and few between and it got into her own habit too. I did try to play with her though, but not as much as I had done with Snowball.
This year, about a week after Mother’s day and after I got a new car, I realized that I haven’t really seen Missy all that much. It wasn’t very unusual that she would hide around but I did not really see her at all, making much appearances. I found her in my Mom’s closet and realized that she lost an incredibly amount of weight, practically skin and bones. I also found that she had been limping. I made the dreaded V-E-T appointment to have it checked out. I had hoped that perhaps she injured herself. When the day came, I took her to the Vet and found not only she did lose a lot of weight but her heart was racing so fast that the Dr. couldn’t count how many beats it was going. He drew blood for tests and when they came out he was baffled: she was normal. I thought she did injure herself after all because of the limping. Well apparently not. Another visit it was concluded that she had a heart disease, an aorta embolism that released a clot that was in her hind leg causing her to limp. He prescribed a heart med as well as aspirin to help thin her blood with the clot. The heart med helped slow down her fast beating heart and the limp came and went, came and went. Both the Dr. and my mom were thinking the end was near while I, mostly likely in denial, didn’t want to give up hope on Missy. I felt that she may not recover from her heart disease but she could at least live with it with the meds. I just didn’t want to give up on her too quickly. She was only a baby, she may have been 9 years old but she was the baby of the family and she fit that word in every sense. Although I held out hope, I also felt my heart breaking. I am not a big crier but that entire time of Missy being ill, I cried. Watching, feeling, hearing her was all heart breaking. I didn’t want to lose my baby, not yet. I thought it was unfair for her especially, why a painful thing was hurting a sweet cat who did not deserve this kind of suffering. During that time, my Mom and I took turns of her sleeping with one of us until the last two days where we all slept together. After her seizure that she had on a Saturday, June 20, we thought of putting her down to sleep for good. I heard a thump behind the couch in the living room, heard Missy howled and went for her. I called up for my Mom who had planned to take her car in for a check up, Missy was shaking. We decided right there to hurry to an Animal Hospital to put her down. Our vet was closed so we went to another place that I knew about but they said something about them not being a 24-hour facility and wanting to hook her up to oxygen, an IV to see how long she would last. What??? Why? I didn’t want her to go through that! Especially her being far from home. I knew she wouldn’t have gone for that either. They suggested a hospital that was 24 hours so we decided to check it’s whereabouts. By that point Missy was back to ‘normal’, she seemed calm, herself pretty much that we decided to just go home and one of us be with her at all times. That was when we decided to sleep together as a family, feeling that she could die pretty much any time. On Sunday, June 21, my Uncle was having a birthday/Father’s day family get together. We called up asking permission to take Missy with us in her cat carrier so we can keep monitoring her. It may have been a bad idea but we were worried, we wanted to be with her. Missy was a trooper though. I made sure her carrier was comfy with newspapers, towel, and a mat thing in case she has any bathroom accidents, brought her food that we were force-feeding her with syringes. It also gave the chance for my cousins who held an affection for her (as she was never mean to them as Snowball, especially after they’ve pulled her tail kinda thing- she is NOT used to kids at all while Missy never hurt them) to say goodbye to her. My Mom and I had already decided to put her down on Monday, together.
..Monday June 22, 2009 came...it came too quick. After her seizure on Saturday Missy went for a turn for a worst. She was peeing wherever she was, she couldn’t go as far anymore, just a few steps then she’s down. We tried putting another litter box for the upstairs (the main one is downstairs) so she can have easy access to it but it turned out to be unnecessary. We tried making her final day with us special, letting her be at her favorite places, especially on her little cat bed that’s between my room and the office room upstairs. She even went outside for a few minutes to eat some grass and enjoy herself with fresh air. The morning of the dreaded day, Mom took the day off from work and I called the Vet to move up her appointment that she had originally to check her heartbeat to put her down. ..10:30 AM... When the time came close to leave, we opt not to take the cat carrier…what was the point? So while Mom drove, I held her. I think she knew, she meowed a bit. Both Mom and I were feeling very sad, but it was very clear too. Our cat was suffering, she was in pain. You can hear it with her purring, feel it with her skin and bones, it was just too painful. When we got there, Mom wanted to hold her so she can say goodbye. We went into the exam room while the Dr. was with another furry patient so we used that time to be with her, petting her, telling her how much we love her, how much we will miss her, telling her that she was a very good cat, how blessed we are to have her in our lives, telling her that this was the hardest thing to do but she’ll be in a better place. I told her to see my great-Grandmother Lucy, she was a cat lover- all cats loved her lap; I always remembered a cat being on her lap whenever I went up to Pennslyvania to see her. My Grandmother was not a cat person although I’m sure she would at least help out or something, I don’t know, for the love of her daughter and granddaughter, but I think Missy would have been better off with Grandma Lucy. Anyway, Missy got to the point where she was biting whenever we put our hands near her face and at that point, my Mom asked me if I wanted to hold her. Of course I did! When I got her into my arms, I felt her slump but didn’t think it was unusual, I thought she was trying to hide as she had done many times before at the vet. Then I felt her pee, “Eww gross she just peed on me!” I wasn’t mad at Missy for peeing on me, however- knowing what she’s going through and the situation she had been with going to the bathroom, all I could really do is let it go. My mom thought it was funny—Missy had peed on her twice before during the whole month she was ill and I thought it was funny! Okay so we laugh at toilet humor, I admit it. Mom got up for the paper towels and while I was cleaning up (luckily she mostly peed on my hand and floor, not on my clothes), that was when I realized Missy wasn’t responding. Her eyes were open but emotionless. At that moment the Dr. assistant came in and I know I asked Missy “are you dead? Missy?” I put Missy on the check up counter and the assistant went to check on her mouth to see some color and then went to get the Dr. He came in with his heart thingy (sorry, I can say it outloud but I can not spell it) and he checked for a heart beat, then he said that word: “Sorry”. I felt a huge weight lift off my shoulders to tell you the truth. I had spent that whole month force feeding her like a baby, trying to get her take her medicine, I no longer have to do that anymore. Snowball is healthy, especially for her age, sharp as a tack, very much independent for a 14 year old.
When Mom and I came home, I was just feeling numb. The house already felt empty without Missy’s presence. Although I do very much miss her, I know she’s at peace. I don’t have to hear that whimpering in her purr, the pain looked in her face whenever I see her. I do miss her, I fight the urge not to get up from this chair to wonder where she’s hiding or hanging out. My Mom misses her regular bed buddy (Snowball is my regular bed buddy). I believe Snowball is missing her roommate- she’s realizing her litter box isn’t being shared and that only one food bowl is going down instead of two, which means less food for her (funny cat, I have a female version of Garfield, I swear). Two times since Missy died so far, Snowball howled looking for her. It’s like taking attendance roll call with that cat- she checks to makes sure you are home. Do you have a cat like that? Just recently, after both Mom and I called out for her to let her know where we were in the house, Snowball kept meowing. Both Mom and I were downstairs and I checked to find where she was and found her half way of the stairs looking up, probably thinking Missy’s upstairs as she used to be at most of the time. So I do believe she misses her despite the rough start. She had almost 9 years living with Missy, which was more longer then she was solo for the first five years of her life. It’s nice to know that Snowball did like Missy- they hated the forced family time but they tolerated each other, played with one another. However Snowball also knew she would be a dead cat if she did any real harm to Missy so the fights were rare after the three months of first living together. But that’s what cats do- they are very territorial so you can’t really blame them.
Missy 2000-2009
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