Monday - part 1

Tuesday - part 2

Wed - part 3

Today - part 4

untill I finish..

CANCER IS NOT FUN AT 41

I honestly don't know if I can do this, relive it.  I know once I start, I will have much to say.  As I sit here in front of my PC, my eyes are tearing up already.  I don't know where to begin, I know how it ends....it's the in- between that is very difficult for me to articulate and most of all remember.

I guess I will start, from where I left off yesterday.  Things happened at lightning speed for the next year.  A lot of it, most of it, is vague in details, except for the raw emotion I felt and still feel.  Maybe I am still in shock, still in denial, still lonely, still angry, still devastated by my loss.

COMING OFF OF THE CLOUDS - STRAIGHT INTO HELL

When we all returned from our vacation, like I said, Sweet Annie's father noticed a weight loss in Annie. 

And like I also said, with my head in the clouds, I just didn't see it.  She was always thin, that was just Annie.  I certainly did not see what was coming.  None of us did. 

She had no symptoms, no pain, no cough.........nothing.

After her parents constant nagging, she reluctantly went to our local Mayberry quack.   

"Are you under any kind of stress Anne-Marie? 

Yes, my mother just went into remission for throat cancer.  Yes, I have been a little worried. 

Well, here is a quick fix, a prescription for an anti-depressant".

(an ancient one that doctor's don't even prescribe any more)

Now, knowing Annie by now you must have realized she didn't have a depressing day in her life.  She was the sunshine that healed everyone. 

She took the meds and had a bad reaction.  Thank goodness.

Back to the quack. 

"Let's do a physical, you haven't had one in years, and a routine chest x-ray.  Hmmmmmmmm.............something is there, I'll get back to you by the end of the week. "

Again details are a blurr.

THE PHONE CALL

The phone ran, I picked it up.......hello. 

All she said was "it's cancer". 

I'm on my way, I think I said to her, if that. 

I had a five month old son at the time and basically tossed him to one of my daughters, which one, I don't remember. 

I ran out of the house as fast as I could with no shoes on into my car.  She only lives less than a mile away, I was speeding and crying, which seemed like forever. 

I screeched into her drive way Mod Squad style and ran into her house barefoot.  Her neighbor Rose was there with her already.  She saw Annie upset coming out of her car from the doctor's appointment and came over right away. 

I ran to her and helded her and we just cried. 

I took her face into my hands and said YOU ARE GOING TO BE OKAY ! 

Funny thing, I was the first one she called, not her husband, not her family, me. 

Her husband walked in the door from work and we were all crying.  One of us said she had cancer and he just walked around in shock. 

Again, I don't remember, but I don't think he even reached out to touch her. 

PHILLY IS TOO FAR

Against my wishes Annie decided on a doctor in Philadelphia to remove part of her lung.  You see we only live 30 miles from New York City and I felt they had the best doctor's in the world.  Sloan Kettering is the best but she decided she wanted her mother's doctor who "saved her from cancer" in PA.   I believe it was in October when she had her surgery.  I don't even remember what month it was.

Because Philly was so far away, her follow up appointment wasn't until January and by this time it began to spread already. 

I wish she had gone to NY. 

Would of.........

Could of.........

Should of........

JUDY

When she arrived home from Philly, Annie was in unbearable pain.   She said if she knew it would be so horrible she never would have done it. 

Several times she asked me if I wanted to see the scar on her back and I said no.  In later months she eventually had a hole in her chest or a port for chemo.  I had diffiulty looking at that.

Her childhood friend Judy, from Cape Cod came down to stay for two weeks while she recovered.  Part of me felt jealous because I wanted to be the one.  I took a step back and let Judy take care of our patient. 

She was wonderful, I must say and even though she was a bit rough in her words we became allies in this war against cancer and "the ones in denial".

One day Judy and I were talking out on the back porch smoking our cigarettes.  I asked her how they met.  She said they were very little and were neighbors, under five years old at the time.  She said the instant she saw Annie's face, she fell in love with her.  They had been friends ever since.   Part of me felt jealous again for those extra years they had together.

That is exactly the way I felt with Annie at our first meeting on the grassy hill on her sunny front lawn. 

I also know we two weren't the only ones who felt that way about her.  Annie had that effect on everyone.  She immediately put you at ease. 

ROSE

Rose lived next door to Annie.  She also happened to be a long time friend of my family.  I always loved Rose since I was a little girl growing up around the corner. 

My parents divorced and in usual fashion friends take sides.  Dad and Rose became best of friends.  (Rose is married with two adult children). 

Oh, what can I say about Rose? 

I just love her.  She is 60 years old, Italian and the nicest, feistiest woman I have ever met.  She is a true beauty inside and out.  She cracks me up.

She was my other ally in this war against cancer and "those in denial."  There were days I questioned my own sanity because of the actions of others around us and she was always there for me to say "it's them, not you" and vice versa. 

We spent a lot of time together healing Annie in the following year.  We shared numerous tears too.  I don't know what I would have done without her.  She is like a second mother to me but also a friend.

Often when we were at Annie's house we would clean.  Annie would get so mad at us.  We would do her toilets, fold laundry, clean out her refrigerator.......even clean her teenager's room.  Rose would laugh at me holding the baby with one arm and vacuuming with the other.  This was our way of coping by keeping busy.  A clean house meant everything was okay.

During all of this time, Rose's daughter was pregnant and subquently had her own beautiful daughter.  This was Rose's first grandchild and she often said she couldn't even enjoy it.

Rose often called Annie and I her two other daughters.  She was and still is such a blessing in my life.  We are forever bonded or as she said to me the other day forever scarred. 

We spoke just today about how we are not coping with St. Patrick's Day tomorrow very well.  We also laughed about silly stuff.  I told her I was packing up all the kids tomorrow and their friends and we were going to the parade in New York City.......she said Annie would be happy.

CANCER IS A ROLLERCOASTER

Again, the details are vague.  I wish I had a blog at the time to document all that happened medically. 

One day we were up- relatively speaking - with good news and the next day -  sometimes the same friggin day -  we were down and without hope. 

 It was an emotional rollercoaster all of the time.  I always hated rollercoasters.

"THOSE IN DENIAL"

This is where my anger comes in.  I felt that her husband did not step up and take control of the situation.  I felt that her family, mom, dad, sister and brother did not understand how serious this was until the very end.  I am talking about the last few days when it finally hit everyone. They all treated her like she was a burden and stupid at times. 

"Why are you doing this, why aren't you doing that ?"

She knew it and she felt it and I was angry. 

I am trying so hard not to make this post about them cause it is not meant to be, it's about a tribute to my friend, not the people who let her down. 

Everyone deals with crap differently I have to contiune to remind myself.  Bottom line is that I know this hurt Annie very much.  I am still angry at THOSE IN DENIAL. 

I try so hard to be non-judemental, but it's very difficult.  I understand there are lessons in life and far too many to mention here.  I know already, I get it, people deal with shit in different ways.  OKAY !

I think part of it is an ethnic thing.  The Irish are the kings and queens of denial.  No, Uncle So-and-So doesn't have a drinking problem, he's just happy or he's just tired! 

My mother often tried to explain to me that the reason they are not stepping up and the reason they are in denial was because I allowed it.  I did it all.

One of the only times I said no to Annie and insisted her husband take the reins was when she needed injections.  I just flat out refused and said no.  I couldn't even fathom the idea of hurting her with a needle.  I was the one who held her hand through all of the injections.  She hated needles and would squeeze my hand until it hurt.  I just couldn't do both.

My own family is guilty of this denial thing.  We never fight, we just harbour resentments.  I know I do it. 

Ironically, in the end of all of this, it was my own mother and I who were not on speaking terms.

And to this day. even though I and Rose were the only ones who was there for Annie at times, there are some of " those in denial" who do not speak to us.  I think it is their guilt that haunts them.

I AM NOT A STRONG PERSON

I am not a strong person emotionally.  I fall to pieces very easily by other people's pain.  In an emergency I panic to the point I freeze and cannot move or speak.

Somehow I was thrown into a crash course on cancer.  Intellectually and emotionally.  I became nurse, doctor, care-taker, hospice, priest..........

I just wanted to be her friend, I didn't want the responsibility.  I simply wanted to make her comfortable and to be there for her.

During this horrible year, I took Annie to 90% of her doctor's visits.  Even though I was not a family member the doctor's all got to know me and let me take notes, ask them questions, call them with more questions, ask about prescriptions, break through pain, side effects, and more. 

All of the doctor's loved Annie.  She would always ask how they were doing, how were their children, how was their vacation.......? 

In a room full of old people dying of cancer,  Annie made everyone smile.  We all knew she didn't belong there, she was just too young.

For some reason I was naive about cancer.  I just never experienced it with anyone close to me.  I thought, okay you have cancer.  This sucks.  We'll get the best doctor and help you.  That is not how it works.  You have many, many doctors.  They don't even consult with each other unless you ask.  I soon realized that I had to take matters into my own hands and try to fix this.  I took notes constantly and researched online.  I had a crash course in cancer in a few months. For example, before radiation treatments begin, they actual tattoo your body where the treatment is needed.  But, if you asked me anything now, I wouldn't remember a thing. 

But at the time, I kept track of everything.  The craziness of pills, lots and lots of pills which would change daily.  Doctor's appointments, treatments, etc. 

Annie would be on the phone with a doctor and ask me

"Jacque where is the cancer now? 

In your adrenal glands  Annie. 

Oh, okay thanks."

That is what I am good at - organizing. 

I often wonder, if I didn't have a baby and gave up my job, who would have taken care of Sweet Annie?  If things didn't work out as they did, I would have been working a full time job as an account executive.  In the end, I thanked God for the privelage of being there for her.

CARDS AND FLOWERS, FLOWERS AND CARDS

Almost immediately news spread almost as fast as her lung cancer.  Everyday I went to her home to take care of her and everyday she got flowers and cards and nice people from church taking turns dropping off meals for dinner.  It was always pasta by the way.

As the months progressed this all but stopped.  No one called, no one sent flowers and no one sent cards. 

I guess cancer makes people feel uncomfortable.  Isn't that just a fucking shame?  Pretend it's not there and it will go away.  More denial.

I became to resent people very quickly.  I was not naive anymore and guess what........not all people are so good and nice as I thought. 

As far as I was concerned I was disgusted with the human race as a whole.  I was disappointed in everyone.

Just simply making a meal and dropping it off meant so much to her and her family.  This alleviated the burden of Annie and her husband of doing simple things and allowed her husband to concentrate on her, not meals, not mowing the lawn, etc.  I hated it when I spoke to Rose on the phone and could hear Annie's husband mowing his lawn.  Leave the lawn alone and go to your wife!  Everything irritated me.

to be continued...

back to the story:

THE DRINKING GETS WORSE

The thing with Annie was it never stopped at those three beers we had in the afternoon. As naughty as it was, it wasn't enough.  She always cooked dinner every night but was too drunk to enjoy it.  She passed out every night........that was just her.

It got increasingly worse from beer to wine and then bourbon to vodka.  Any recovering alcoholic will tell you vodka is the last nail in the coffin.

Her drinking didn't bother me but then again I didn't live with her. She was a harmless drunk.  Never nasty.  Never drank and drove her car.  Never slept all day.

She did forget things and blackout though.  But I never told her.

It did became a concern to us all after awhile.  Annie was always thin but at a certain point too thin, under 100 lbs thin.  She looked like a skeleton.

I guess I wasn't too much of a help.  As the story goes she got violent with her daughter one day or just threatened to do so, I'd like to believe.  Her husband called the police on her.  It was SuperBowl Sunday and she was in custody at the local police station.

She called me to come get her but of course I had been drinking too. I told her I would find someone to come get her and bring her to my home for the night.  Obviously everyone I called was drinking and time was running out.

They were about to ship her to to the county prison for the night if someone didn't come soon.

Well, I brushed my teeth, threw in a few mints and off I went to the police station.  I tried desperately not the breathe on the officer as I signed papers stating she was in my custody, my responsibility.

Instead of calling it a night, we drove to another party and boy did I take advantage of the situation.  I made her pay for it.  I made a sign with numbers on it and took pictures of her like a mug shot.  I sang her a song...........

If I Knew You Were Coming I Would Have Baked A Cake ....

With a File In It !!!

I made her get me beers and light my cigarettes all night.  She was in MY custody, and I didn't let her forget it.

Months later I had a fight with my ex-fiance at a bar.   When a cop came upon me walking home he asked what was going on and I told him.  I asked him if he could please drive me the rest of the way home and he flat out said no.  I proceeded to call him a Barney Fife and he shouldn't even be allowed to carry a gun.  Get in the car ma'am.  He drove me directly to the police department instead of home.

Who did I call?  Who sang to me and made me pose for pictures? Annie with pure delight.  We were even.

Party Girls

More pearls of wisdom from the Irish:

In Heaven there is no beer, that is why we drink it here.  

HITTING ROCK BOTTOM

More Pearls of Wisdom From the Irish:

In Heaven there is no beer, that is why we drink it here.

It was the night before Father's Day and Annie wanted to go out dancing.  I said no, I had to get up early the next day to cook. Apparently she decided to sneak out of the house and went to our local  Irish Pub.

 I don't want to say much about this except she didn't go home that night.  Her husband called me the next morning, Father's Day, asking where she was, with their daughter crying in the background.

I tried to help the situation the best I could.  I reacher her by dialing star 69 and yelling at the voice on the other end and threatening that person that she had better not be harmed and to put her on the phone.  I told her to get home NOW. 

She finally made it home but only after getting into a fender bender on the way.  I was mad at her for the very first time.

The following morning, Monday she wanted me to come over and have a few and I told her it's not a good idea -  to put it nicely. She called me a few times during the day, but I didn't pick up.

The next phone call I got was from her husband saying she is on the way to the hospital, she had alcohol poisoning from a bottle of vodka.  Her daughter came home from school and found her passed out and barely breathing.

From there she went to detox and called me every day to pick her up.  I refused.  It was terribly difficult for me to do that to her, but I was scared for her.  I didn't want her to die.

She asked me to please at least bring her shoes and I said no.  She was on a pay phone and the song 'Everybody Hurts' was playing in the lobby of detox by REM in the background.  We both cried.  It killed me.

She called me every day from rehab, sometimes she would giggle because it would be a Friday night and there was a party going on at my house.  She would say, I'm in rehab and you are drinking.......very nice.

She worked the program when she came out.  I attended all of her mile stones for AA when she got pins for a certain amount of time sober.  She sponsored many people.  She received many phone calls in the middle of the night from people who needed help.  She spoke at youth rehabs and genuinely was interested in helping others.

I know she did.  She never judged anyone.  No matter what they did; crack, heroine.........what ever.  To her it was the same disease she had.  There was never any levels of addiction, they were all addicted.

She never had a drink again. She was about ten years sober when her world would be turned upside down again. It just wasn't fair.

THE NEW ANNIE

Oh, the new Annie was just as much fun as the drinking Annie !  She said people, places and things is what she must avoid but she would never give up our friendship even though we were old drinking buddies.  She also said I was the only one who didn't turn their back on her when things got really bad.

Little did we know in about 10 years that would really be tested.

DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE

Annie became 'a mom' for the first time AFTER her sobriety. She worked through summers and got that dream house down the shore.  It was a stepping stone at least, an investment condo.  She did it.  She proudly showed me pictures of her accomplishment and said dreams really do come true!  I was so proud of her accomplishing her dream.  If she wasn't sober this would never have happened.

MY NEW PERFECT LIFE or SO I THOUGHT

After a long divorce Cuban Husband was divorced on Feb 14, 2002, & we were married March 21st by the justice of the peace, and our son was born April 5th.  We were all very happy.

We decided to have one big celebration in June for our reception, our son's baptism, my eldest daughter's 8th grade graduation and CH's son who graduated from Seton Hall University.  One Big Party!

I asked Annie to be our matron of honor/best man at the reception where we would recite our own vows in front of friends and family and she would make a speech.

Every day she would call me and say "I am mad at you, I think about this speech you want me to make and I am just so happy for you I cry in the shower every morning thinking of it."

 I reminded her she speaks to hundreds of people all year at AA meetings.............

"you can do it, you can make this speech without crying Annie ! "

If I had the courage right now to pull out the video, I would write verbatim every word she said.  I think it would be too painful right now to see her on tape.

There was not a dry eye at the party of 100 when she was done speaking.  It was the most heart felt words ever spoken.  She was overcome with happiness not for herself but for me and the new direction my life had taken.

Annie did not have a jealous bone in her body and truly felt joy from other people's happiness.  My happiness.  That is so rare in a person.

OUR LAST VACATION

In a few weeks after the Big Party we were all off on our annual vacation or our honeymoon as we jokingly called it that year.  Annie, her husband and daughter, CH, me and my two daughters and our new baby boy.

We all had a blast as usual as we did the previous 10 years or so.

Annie didn't act sick, she didn't look sick.  When we stopped at her parents shore house on the way up home, her father said, "You look like shit Annie, you lost weight."

I didn't notice.........I was the happiest I had ever been in my life.

Thanks for reading..........to be continued tomorrow.

(warning........get the tissues out)

Today - March 13 will be a difficult day for me.  I have only been to Annie's house once since she passed away & it' was very diffcult.  Her daughter turns 20 today, it's her birthday and once again I have been invited.  This will be the first time I am going back to her house, that holds so many happy memories of my friend.

DANCE LIKE NO ONE IS WATCHING

You know that old Irish saying.......

Dance as if no one were watching,
Sing as if no one were listening,
And live every day as if it were your last.

That sums up Annie.  She danced funny.  She felt the music and just did it.  It always cracked me up.

She teased me about my singing.  In the car she would plead........please don't sing !

On my birthday each year, she would call me up and sing Happy Birthday, very, very badly on my answering machine.  At the end she would add......and many more.  Then she would go into a rendition of, "The old gray mare ain't what she use to be." 

You don't know how much I miss it now.   Every birthday I wish she would call me again.

When we went out to a bar we always played Sugar Shack -

"There’s a crazy little shack beyond the tracks - And everybody calls it the sugar shack."

The song would make us belly laugh.  Sometimes we would just play it over and over again on the jukebox and drive everyone nuts.

ANNIE'S IRISH GRANDMA'S

An old Irish proverb:

May your troubles be as few and as far apart as my Grandmothers teeth.

Annie's grandma's were off the boat Irish and my great grandparents were.  They were all characters.  Whenever I felt blue and after she gave me the "life is too short speech",  I'd ask Annie to tell me another Irish Grandma story.

One grandmother smoked cigarettes as she mashed her potatoes, ashes falling in.  It added flavor she would tell young Annie.

Another would show up at her high school unannounced and take Annie and her friends out because of a "family emergency" and they would all drive to the beach (down the shore) for the day infuriating her mother.

 Another time one drove up from down the shore by herself only to show up at a wake in her PJ's and slippers.

Another story was how one would get mad at her husband and simply leave him a note in the morning stating.........went back to Ireland !

That's the kind of stuff we wanted to do in our old age and get away with it. Hop on a plane together and go to Ireland in our slippers.........!

WORK ETHIC

Annie did not have a very good work ethic.  After years of being a stay at home mom she ventured out into the work world.  Each spring like clock work "something" was wrong with the job.  This epiphany always fell on the first hot spring day when she day dreamed of the shore.  Every year she quit for one reason or another so she could enjoy her summer on the beach.  We all laughed and just expected it.

ANNIE'S RECIPES

Annie was a very good cook. I posted her famous Spinach Ball recipe here on the blog.  One time she emailed me the recipe at work and forgot to mention the spinach.  Here I was rolling balls and finally noticed something was missing...........ah the spinach!

She made the very best potato salad and chicken wings in the world.  She delighted in watching my youngest daughter eat her famous deviled eggs.  Annie and her husband made home made apple pie each year for Thanksgiving..........together.  Pie crust and all.

Her secret ingredient for pot roast? Twist ties!  The first time I brought Cuban Husband to her home for dinner we got finished with this delicious pot roast dinner, and were putting away left overs.

Annie, I said, what in the world is this, as I fished something out of the pot ?

It's a whole page of twist ties for garbage bags!

Evidently, she cooked that pot roast all day to perfection without knowing the twist ties were in the slow cooker.

This meal she prepared sober which made it even funnier !

PET NAMES & ANNIE LINGO

Her birth name was Anne Marie Reilly, a little Irish wouldn't you say ? But I called her Annie or Crazy Annie if the mood fit.

I was Jackie-Wow, or The Queen.

The one thing about Annie is that she was extremely down to earth. She didn't like anything FANCY SHMANCY, as she called it. Her husband came home with a Cadillac one day and she immediately called me up on the phone. "What do we need a fancy shmancy car like that for? Who does he think he is?"  If something was a bit exotic it was fancy shmancy too.  The way she said it was priceless.

She had a child like innocence to her.  Very simple things made her happy like the sunrise and the sunset.

When you walked up to her front door, she would always yell out the window......."yoo hoo".  I don't know why, but she did it every time.

If she had a hard time getting hold of you she would say, "where you be at girl".

I would reply "what kind of English is that ?"

"It's slang" she would reply.

TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW

RE-POST MARCH 2006

LONG BUT IF YOU WANT TO REALLY KNOW ME....

Okay, this is going to be a tough one.  Coloconnect suggested I do this to help me heal.  For some of you readers, you may remember from the beginning of my blog a few posts referencing "Sweet Annie".

Annie was my very best friend who died from lung cancer on October 20th, 2003.  March is an especially hard month for me since she was my Irish Buddy.  Everywhere I turn I am reminded of her through shamrocks and Irish flags proudly waving.  The thought of bagpipes brings me to tears.

I decided I would do this in three parts, today, tomorrow and Friday:

Wed - All I Wanna Do Is Have Some Fun

Thursday - Cancer is Not Fun at 41

Friday - What I Should Have Said, What I Should Have Done...

Hopefully today I can bring you on a journey of giggles and the fun we had and what we meant to each other.

Tomorrow, I can only promise tears.

Friday, I am going to try to make sense of it all.

I hope you decide to join me, to better understand me.

There are times in our lives which change us forever and this has to be the one experience which changed me.   I have never been the same. 

It is very difficult for me to do this, but I think I owe it to myself and to Sweet Annie.

The tragedy in all of this is, I really don't know anyone else who has ever experienced this kind of situation.

We all know our grandparents will die someday.

We all dread the day we loose our parents.

And we all protect our children to prevent the unspeakable.

 But who has lost their best friend at such a young age?

There are so many feelings I have gone through.

The most prominent was anger. A lot of anger.

I will be adding pictures and editing this post all day today.

I just had to get the hard stuff out first.

Thanks for stopping by and reading ........

ALL I WANNA DO, IS HAVE SOME FUN..

HOW WE MET

My ex-husband was doing side jobs on the weekend the summer of 1988. One job in particular was not far from where we live. As a matter of fact it was the next street over from where I grew up.

He called me one day while working on a house and asked me to stop by.  He said there was a woman who lived there named Annie and I went to high school with her husband's brother.  He said she was very nice and would I like to come by and say hi. 

At the time I was about 8 months pregnant, so I waddled into the corvette (funny, huh?) and drove right over. There she was sitting on a blanket on her front lawn, a little grassy hill in the sun with her one year old baby girl, Heather.   I walked up to her and we instantly hit it off.

I explained I use to live "over there" to her pointing to a house and we realized we were neighbors for about a year at one point.

 Then she said something to me.....

"I remember you, I saw you on your wedding day. R (her husband) and I were driving by when you were walking down the stairs to get into the limo.  We stopped and commented on what a beautiful bride you were, the most beautiful we ever saw."

We have been friends ever since that hot day in July 1988.

PARTNERS IN CRIME

Annie and I spent a lot of time together. We were both stay at home moms and I went to her house mostly.  Our daughters grew up together.

One thing in particular we had in common was the love of beer. I would go to her home several times a week and we would usually split a 6 pack of beer - 3 each.  We would sit out on her back porch that my ex-husband built every Spring. This was the best time of year because her house had so many trees in the yard and when in full bloom in the summer it shaded the porch.  So the first hot spring day we were there with our kids in tow, throwing back a couple and dreaming of summer in the sun.  We would listen to Bob Marley and years later her signature song by Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do, Is Have Some Fun !

When Annie went away on vacation, I would call her phone everyday and sing a bit of 100 bottles of beer on the wall untill I was down to zero on her answering machine until she came home and I got to the last beer.

We played stupid games with each other like that.  We were just silly girls together.  We grew to be the type of friends who were inseparable.  We told each other everything, things we didn't tell our spouses or families.  There was a bond and a trust there, non judgmental.  We told it like it is to each other at all times.  We genuinely loved each other.  If I was Lucy, she was my Ethel.....

SUMMERTIME

Annie was a beach baby born on the last day of July.  The entire year she looked forward to the summer. 

Her parents had a home between the bay and the ocean "down the shore" as we call it here in Jersey.  My mother also had a beautiful condo about a mile from her parents.  On the weekends we would pack up and go.

I always felt more comfortable at her parents home than mine. They were more laid back and cocktails at 5:00 was a big attraction on their porch where we sat and people watched.  Annie would be on the beach at 10:00 am and stay until 6:00 pm.  I on the other hand always got restless and showed up late and left the sand early.

Our kids would build sand castles together, ride the waves on boogie boards and swim in the ocean.  At night we would go to the boardwalk and they would go on the rides and try to win stuffed animals.

When it rains down the shore, the roads flood which is always fun ! We would all run outside and look for rainbows or run to the bay to go crabbing.

We also vacationed together more south near Atlantic City called Wildwood Crest, NJ.  We stayed in the biggest hotel on the beach called the Bal Harbour.  Annie and R and their daughter H got the same room every year for over 16 years.  I was "new" there only going for 10 years.  She preferred one tower, I the other.  From our balconies at night we would wave to each other.  In the morning we all went to the pool over looking the ocean and after lunch went to the beach.

Annie's tower was on the right, mine on the left....

She and I were silly as we sat on matching beach chairs.  Except mine always had an umbrella, hers did not.  I wore sunblock 45, she slapped on the baby oil.  For an Irish girl she got darker than Cuban Husband.  I told her someone over in Ireland must have had an affair with a black man because she was "Black Irish" as they say.  She made fun of my freckles and sunburn.

As we sat watching the dolphins dance in the waves and our children playing in the sand, we dreamed of someday buying a home down the shore.  We can be two old ladies with rocking chairs and saying silly things old ladies would only say.  Perhaps we'd take up Bingo and still look for sea shells together as we talked about our grandchildren.  We would dig our pedicured toes into the sand and dream our dream.

I would eventually get hot and run into the waves while she sat on the beach reading.

I would yell at the top of my voice,

"Annie come frolic with me !

Jacque not now !

Don't ya wanna frolic with me?"

I would continue this until I embarrassed her into the water.  We would do our frolic dance in the waves.

"No you're doing it wrong, it's like this, point your toes more ! "

I would say to her as she rolled her eyes...and then we would giggle like two little girls.

HEARTACHE AND HOOKUPS AND HICCUPS

OVERHEARD IN THE STREAM SATURDAY

Awww snap...Lucy...are these your tassles ?

 I found them on the kitchen counter next to the Jesus wine.

VEGAS

You can’t go home again, my friends.

Especially if you have a restraining order against you.

Bret Rheder - Mystery Writer

Sorry, don't watch American Idol. Couldn't tell ya.

I have seen clips of Paula on other shows though.  I want what shes got in that Coke cup too !  Shes a pint sized party right there.

RED

Male sloppiness...it's a nice thought, but, man, you should see my basement...and there's not a penis in sight here. 

Just a house full of girls, and a sink full of dirty dishes.  

KRISTIN

T-Bird has been doing his gardening, and is now at full throttle.  If I go out into the yard I could get sprayed with weed killer, dusted with fire ant poison, or pruned.  Not to mention raked up and burned.

It ain't safe out there !

SLICK

I pick Miss Piggy.  She gets to eat a lot and still look sexy.

Q - Do you have a gas or electric stove ?

A - I have gas, but my stove is electric !

Q - Biggie T has.... A - A way with words that ya just wanna eat em up ! He is never boring and I would love to give him a piggy back ride ! POLAR BEAR       Q - Do you have any plants in your home? A - Yes.  But they are for medicinal purposes only.  I have glaucoma !   I swear !

 

RANDY

 

Q - Which did you eat last: Italian, Mexican, Chinese or Greek ?

A - Send me one over and let me taste him !

 

Q - What celebrity would you like to see on Dancing With The Stars ?
A - Our own Zappa Fan or maybe Scratch !

 

ZAPPA FAN

 

 

 

Q- Last person to take your picture ?

A - My son...usually when I am peeing...

LUCY

IT'S A LONG WAY TO THE TOP IF YA WANNA ROCK AND ROLL !

  Ridin' down the highway
Goin' to a show
Stop in all the by-ways
Playin' rock 'n' roll
Gettin' robbed
Gettin' stoned
Gettin' beat up
Broken boned
Gettin' had
Gettin' took
I tell you folks
It's harder than it looks

It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' roll
It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' roll
If you think it's easy doin' one night stands
Try playin' in a rock roll band
It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' roll

Hotel, motel
Make you wanna cry
Lady do the hard sell
Know the reason why
Gettin' old
Gettin' grey
Gettin' ripped off
Under-paid
Gettin' sold
Second hand
That's how it goes
Playin' in a band

It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' roll
It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' roll
If you wanna be a star of stage and screen
Look out it's rough and mean
It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' roll
It's a long way to the top
If you wanna rock 'n' roll
Well, it's a long way
It's a long way, (they tell me)
It's a long way, such a long way...

For more bagpipes...click LUCY'S LOONEY TUNES