Tonight, as I was getting ready to do some listing, my cell phone interrupted my good intentions with its lively call.  On the other end of the line was my across-the-pond neighbor -- the president of our pond association. 


Well, yes, indeed, I'd like to know! The boardwalk runs along the side of my property and the grasses that currently cover the dry pond floor are bordered by acres of woods...and in those woods is my house....

So off, I went with my trusty dog Killian on her lead... (I had to DRAG her along, as apparently SHE has some real aversion to fire)  Of course, trusty for what, I cannot really say.  She was at my daughter's house last week when they were robbed...and she was sleeping blissfully through the fire on the edge of my property today.... it appears she is VERY trusty at alerting to delivery types, turtles and snakes, but the rest of the world is not worthy of alert!  But I digress.

I made my way through my woods and hopped onto the boardwalk.  I coaxed Killian along and Benson, my cat kept right up with us.  I could smell the fire/smoke and sure enough, at the end of the boardwalk was the big burn area.  The fire was already out by the time I got there, and the fire investigator was making his way out across the marshy pond floor to investigate.

After much discussion with the four volunteer firemen who had taken time out of their lives to ensure others' lives were not adversely impacted by the fire, they concluded that this was in no way a naturally occurring fire.  Here in my part of the world, the land is wet and the wind was not blowing, and there was no lightning.... no, as the investigator explained to me, he could be fairly certain this fire was caused by teen-aged boys... white teen-aged boys... and probably just "playing around."  Well, I have to agree with his assessment.  White teen-aged boys ARE the most frequent visitors on that boardwalk.  And it is clear they have been there... the end of the dock was strewn with condoms and half burned cattails ...

All I could think of when I saw this was how lucky these boys are that they live in VA where the weather has been particularly rainy this summer....  do they not KNOW that fires are raging and destroying other parts of this country?  I guess they say, "boys will be boys,".....

So, the dam is finally to a stage where we (the pond association board) have been able to close the pipe that has kept the water down for nearly two years.  Over the next few months the pond will, once again fill with water and we will be able to fish again....and the boys can go back to stealing my john boat or my canoe  .... and quit trying to burn the place down!

OK, so I never saw the TV show or anything, but I remember that title and it has been going through my mind for the past couple of days. 

It all began on Monday night.  I had worked all day in Linthicum, MD and had made the drive to McLean, VA to attend an awards dinner at which my team was to be honored, along with six other teams, for our contributions to the company.  It was a big deal and we had to have group photos and such.  There were drinks and hors d' oeuvres served before we all went into the dining room and took our seats at our assigned tables.  It seems this week has been full of such activities.  On Monday night I was assigned to table 9. 

The coordinator of this event had ensured that teams were not seated together at a single table, but rather, that we were all "co-mingled."  I took my seat at table 9 (obediently, as always) and a gentleman I have known for a while, but who has always been WAAAAY above me, professionally speaking, took the seat next to me.  The last time I had seen him had been when he had flown into town for a ribbon cutting type ceremony in which I was involved a couple of years ago.  When he sat down and greeted me, I noted that he appeared to have lost some weight.  He admitted to having lost 30 lbs (he was never big) and we got into a nice, friendly discussion about family, work and life outside of work. 

One of my team members took his seat at our table, sitting on the other side of the big boss guy.  The three of us entertained ourselves as we started in on the first course...the salad.  Now, when I looked at my salad plate, it appeared to have a little tuft of various lettuce varieties, a few candied pecans, a small hunk of white cheese.... and a pink and white orchid-type flower.  I started with my fork and knife in good British style and immediately realized I had missed a key element on the plate.  In fact, as my knife skidded off the "non-lettuce" surface it encountered, spraying salad dressing onto my wine glass (and thankfully NOT onto my dinner companion), I discovered there was a REASON the lettuce was standing up in such a tufty style!  The "lettuce vase" was an apple ring, which was quite tasty, as was the whole salad, but I sure wish they had warned me before I started in on the salad...I could REALLY have embarrassed myself!

I carefully ate around the pretty flower, fairly sure it was there for "presentation" rather than for consumption.  But my other team member, the young twenty-something guy, decided that if it was put on the plate, it was edible...and he ate his.  So, not wanting to be considered stuck in my ways, I ate mine too!  The big boss laughed at both of us and suggested we were just a little off our rockers!

The rest of the evening progressed well.  We enjoyed a rich but tasty supper and the conversation was great.  It might seem odd, but it turns out this guy and I share many life experiences...both of us were born with crossed eyes... both of us had surgery to correct the problem... both of us were encouraged to wear a patch on the good eye to strengthen the bad one (I suspect he was more diligent than I, since he apparently has binocular vision today, while I enjoy vision out of only my good eye), both of us can STILL see our lazy eye "wander" when we look in the mirror when we are tired, both of us were one of six siblings.....and the list goes on.  He's a year younger than I am, otherwise I MIGHT think we were twins...separated at birth!

We received our awards and applauded the others also being honored.  It was a great deal of fun, but when the awards were finished, and when the rest of the team gathered to go enjoy some more team time at the bars, I headed back to Linthicum... I had to work early in the morning.  I was about ten miles away from my hotel when I realized that either the rich food or the flower was challenging my well-being.  I was thankful I made it to my room before the challenger won.  For the next 24 hours I was, well, let's just say, "under the weather."

Tuesday night I was to meet my daughter, her husband, in-laws visiting from France and my dad and step mom at their house for dinner.  I went over with the intention of eating nothing.  I could enjoy the company without putting the stomach to the test, couldn't I?  Well.... no, I could not. 

We had a delightful time visiting, meeting for the first time.  The little boy, Romaine, was a cutie!  He is not yet 4 years old and is actually dealing quite well in a world where very few of the people speak his native language.  At one point he was observed spending time with Dad and Lynne's two cocker spaniels... chattering away to them.  When my daughter asked him whether the dogs spoke French, he looked at her with a curiously serious expression and informed her that they "allez heh heh heh" as he shaped his face to affect his best "panting dog" imitation.....

I did not eat a lot, but by the time I arrived BACK at my hotel room, I was cursing my lack of self control... and I was sick another night.

Today we finished our work ahead of schedule and I was able to drive back to Gloucester where I will be able to wrap up my work week before embarking on my time off.  I will be entertaining out of town guests and need to be over this stomach thing pronto!  And that little title keeps running through my head.... "Please, don't eat the daisies..."  I promise... never again... from here on out, flowers are to be enjoyed visually, but they will NOT make their way to my stomach again.... (naturally, the twenty-something guy is happy and healthy as a lark.... BUM!!!)



Jen, Romaine, and one of the panting dogs....

OK, I know for a FACT that my selling has been greatly hurt by the latest eBay policies, not the least of which is the "best match" goofiness.  Still, I am selling, and covering expenses and making a small profit.  But that profit is diminishing monthly and I know it will be only a matter of time before what I considered a fun and modestly lucrative hobby/business will have lost the spark needed to keep it alive.

When that happens, I will close the store and move on... to what, I do not yet know.  But it occured to me that when I close up shop, I will visit eBay only when I need to buy something...and then it occurred to me... I doubt I will come to eBay to buy anything, if I feel I have been run off as a seller, in favor of the big outlets of surplus items....

So I wondered, do other sellers feel the same way?  If you stop selling here will you still shop here?

Well, yesterday I attended one of my best friends' son's wedding.  He is also one of my son's best friends and my son was one of the groomsmen.  The trip to Toms River, NJ was a long one on Friday, but it was worth it.  The affair was a very nice one and it was great seeing some old friends I had not seen in a while.

At the reception, I located my place card and noted I was to sit at Table 5.  There were, I believe, 17 tables in all.  Before we took our seats at the table, though, we were treated to some awesome hors d' oeuvres ...  and I DO mean AWESOME!  As we mingled and noshed on the snacks that would make eating dinner impossible, I discovered the others who would be sitting at Table 5.  All of us are good friends, though two of the couples and one single man I had not seen in a while.  Mary Jane and Sandy, Sue Ellen and Jim, Sue Ann and Jeff ... three great couples....  and then there was Father Lee (a former priest from our parish) and me.  As we took our seats at the table, Father Lee said I could sit next to him...I could be his "date!'  LOL... Ok, whatever!

When it was time for the best man to give the first toast, Tommy's best man, his older brother by ten years, stood up to give the toast.  I really liked the toast which, as Tre noted, was not highly inappropriate as had been the one HIS best man had given when he was married three years ago.  Instead, Tre's toast to Tommy was very sweet.  He told the story of taking his little brother out for a walk in the yard when Tommy was just a toddler.  Armed with his favorite, an Oreo cookie, Tommy went happily with his big brother to explore the woods and stream, and looked forward to throwing rocks in the water, like his big brother.  As he toddled along, he picked up a rock, copying Tre....when they got to the right spot, Tre threw his rock...and Tommy threw his Oreo.... oooops......  There were more little stories, but in the end, Tre raised his glass to toast his younger brother, "To Tommy, may you always be able to tell the difference between rocks and cookies...."  and we all toasted with him. 

And then the band began playing again. The band was loud, but the music was good, so nobody really minded having to yell over the music in our attempts to communicate.  We ate the multi-course meal as it was served, perfectly timed to allow lots of dancing between courses...(in a feeble attempt to work off some of the food already consumed and make room for more...)  Let's face it... there was NO WAY I was going to be able to do my dinner justice.  I had to just take a taste of everything, and it was, indeed delicious.

I personally did not dance.  At least, not for the first few courses....  instead, I sat at the table with my "date" and chatted, caught up on the three years since he was our pastor.  It was nice.  And we watched the others dance.  My son and his fiance moved beautifully on the dance floor, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the dancers as they executed their ballroom dancing technique.  And everyone who stopped by to say, "hi," HAD to remark on how impressed they were with my son's fiance, Kristen.  I'm a little partial, I suppose, but I have to agree! 

Finally, I could no longer resist the call to the dance floor...they were playing all the songs WE used to dance to...back in the day when I used to dance .... thirty years ago!  And I was just as bad at dancing last night as I always was back in college... and I had just as much fun!  Now, Farther Lee did not dance, as he has severe problems with arthritis, but he did not begrudge my dancing with the rest of the "old folks" and "young whippersnappers." LOL

I enjoyed watching the grandmother of the bride, in her 70's or 80's -- dancing up a storm!  And  the  20-somethings were HAPPY to dance with the old farts.... (I suppose this COULD be, in part, to an open and FLOWING bar! LOL).  At the end of the night, as the friends I had ridden with to the reception and I took our leave, as we held our skirts down against the gusty wind that would have them up above our heads, as we bid good night to a great group of friends, I was struck with the thought that, once again, something I THOUGHT I was doing to support others, turned out to be a GREAT time for me....  it never fails!  Of course, there were those who were missing, whose presence would have made MY night perfect... but....  I had a wonderful time even so.  And I can officially claim to have had a priest as MY wedding date!

And this morning, when I awoke, just a wee bit stiff from my "dancing," I moved at a far more relaxed pace than I had all week.  I left the hotel just ten minutes before the official check-out deadline and made my way through torrential downpours to my hotel in Linthicum, MD...where I will spend the week working.  I found it interesting that in the hotel in Toms River, NJ I was given room 317..... and when I checked in here this afternoon...  I was give room 317.....  different hotels, different towns... coincidence?????  LOL

OK, I left home at 10 AM to make the 6 hour drive to Toms River, NJ for my friend's son's wedding (tomorrow).... I was invited to a meal at 8 PM here, so, by MY calculations, I should arrive around 4:30, take a shower, take a little nap and then be fresh to join the well-wishers at the restaurant.... BUT .... OF COURSE.....  I had it ALL wrong...

• I DID pull out from the driveway at 10 AM....
• The GPS cord WAS working with my rigged fix ....
• I stopped by the office supply store to drop off my UPS shipment....
• My rigged GPS cord failed.....
• I re-rigged it... it worked...
• I set off through town (one small main street with a circle)
• My rigged GPS cord failed again.... OK I could see where THIS was going....
• I held the cord connection tight and drove one-handed until I got to a stretch that would be several miles long and then let the GPS go silent... this was to be the way I did the entire journey...

MEANWHILE:

• I had to take a conference call, so I pulled into a parking lot to take the call
• the call exceeded 30 minutes, so I opted to drive with the hands free connection to continue the conference call
• and the next one
• and the next one......
• of course, still squeezing the GPS cord connections every time I needed to get the next directions...
• and I HAD to stop to get gas ($3.75 a gallon...what a BARGAIN!)
  
• and I HAD to stop to get a burger ($1.09 and it stayed with me for HOURS...UGH)
  
• and there was TRAFFIC... UGH 
  
• and there was gridlock .... double UGH!
• eventually, I was in NJ....  and then there was MORE gridlock.... getting TIRED of this already...

BUT I was thanking my lucky stars...not ONE SINGLE wrong turn yet... even with the GPS I routinely make wrong turns....

• and finally the hotel was in sight
• all I had to do was turn LEFT into the access road....
• whoops.... NO left turns allowed....
• gotta get off on the right and do a jug handle thing...must turn right to turn left...
• I miss the turn into my hotel....
• I carry on down to the next opportunity to double back, of course exercising the turn right to turn left madness....
• I'm almost there... it is now 7:05...9+ hours since I left the house... I am 1 hour away from the restaurant time....

AND then my cell phone rings...

• I can tell it's my daughter, even though the connection is horrible (she lives in remote non-access, USA)
• I can tell she is crying
• I cannot tell what she is saying
• She cannot tell what I am saying
• The call drops
• I try to call back...get her voice mail....

Finally, I pull into the hotel parking lot and park....

• I enter the hotel lobby
• I head to the check-in desk
• My cell phone rings...
• It's my daughter again, this time calling from her work...
• the hotel lobby is so noisy I cannot hear her
• I dart outside where there is a little less noise...
• Still hard to hear her...
• Sounds like she is saying her house got burned...
• "your house got burned?" I asked.
• "NO, my house got ROBBED," she yells so I can hear her ....
• she assured me she'd call back later

SO.... I

• checked into the hotel
• dashed up to my room
• jumped into the shower
• dried off and dressed
• dashed over to the restaurant...
• was greeted by lots of friends....
• told my son of his sister's phone call

I had a little bit to eat, but could not eat much...my mind was on Jen.... During the meal

• my ex-hubby called my son...shared the robbery news with him
• asked if I had any more info (he said Jen was breaking up on the phone)
• I called him back
• told him I really knew nothing
• he knew she'd lost $800 in cash and some other stuff...
• he had apparently hollered at her for having cash in the house... (great timing)

SOOOOO....  I arranged to help him help her ... tomorrow I will

• get BACK on the road, early
• drive to meet him at his dad's house in DE
• give him some money and a camera to take to Jen (I spoke with her again after I had spoken with James and they took, a couple of external hard drives, two cameras, the very nice guitar her brother had given her for Christmas a few years back, her GPS, and the cash...not sure what else)
• he will drive to VA to take the stuff to her (he was going anyway tomorrow to exchange cars with her, lending her his bigger vehicle since she will be picking up her sister-in-law and family from the airport on Monday -- the cash was their vacation money...)
• I will return to NJ for the wedding....
• and the reception,,,,

 and then... I think I will TAKE that NAP that I had planned for today!!!!

And THAT'S what I get for even THINKING about smooth sailing!

Last night I dreamed I was in a house off a main road in some small town... I don't think it was in Gloucester, because nothing really looked familiar.  But I was in this house alone, as I had been several times recently...in fact, I was coming to believe it was MY place to hang out.  There was something very comfortable about the house. 

It was a small house, with only four rooms, and each of those rooms was small.  There was a small, soft bed in the bedroom and I liked to just lie down and take a nap there.... nobody knew I was there and it was so soft and comfortable.  The rest of the house is not as clear in my waking mind, but that bedroom is very clear, and that was where I found myself enjoying a few stolen minutes of complete quiet, more and more often.

One day, when I was asleep in the bed, the owner came home.  I was awakened by his indignant discovery of my presence, uninvited, in his house..... I stammered as I tried to explain that I had just been passing by one day and saw some things for sale out on the sidewalk in front of his house. Nobody was around and I wanted to find out the price on one of the items, a basket, so I tried knocking on the door, presuming the person with the goods for sale was inside the little house.  When nobody answered, I tried the door and found it to be unlocked. 

Once I was inside the house and determined nobody was home, I knew I should have left.  In fact, I knew I should have never entered...but something had drawn me there and I could not turn back.  I did not tamper with anything in the house...I just looked around.  And when I saw the bed, I had to try it out.  I felt, I guess, as Goldilocks must have felt that day in the house left empty by its inhabiting bears.

I explained that this bed was just so comfortable that I had to keep coming back...just for a couple of minutes... just for that total peace and quiet it offered me.... But I also apologized for my trespassing and promised not to return.  He just kept staring at me.... looking at me in a funny way, like he KNEW me.....  and I had the funny feeling I knew him, though we'd never met before.

As I was walking out of the door, the door that led back to the sidewalk with the interesting basket for sale, but without a price, I asked him how much he wanted for that basket.  He told me to wait a moment and he went back into the bedroom.  When he returned he had picture of someone who he said he had never before met.  He said the picture was in the basket when he picked it up off the side of the road, where someone had left it as trash.  He had thought the basket worth a few dollars and had thought he'd sell it, but the photo was not worth anything...he'd tossed that in HIS little trash bin... in the bedroom....

I looked at the photo and was stunned... though I had never owned the clothes the woman wore, the woman in the photo was my spitting image.  The man gave me the basket and told me to come back whenever I wanted...I was welcome to use the bed....that we all need peace and quiet, and he was happy I had found comfort there.....

As I awoke from my dream, I was trying to figure out where on earth HE was going to sleep, if I was taking a nap in that little bed! 

Now, what on earth ANY of that means, I have no idea... but I felt I knew that guy.... I still have that feeling and I have been awake now for more than 16 hours....

I was getting things ready for a get together of family and friends I am having here on the weekend of August 9.  I am not a huge planner, typically ending up with last minute decisions and such, but, since I am traveling so much right now, thought it prudent to at least "consider" what I need to get in order.

And as I strolled through Walmart last weekend, getting picnic supplies, I happened upon a volleyball set up....yeah, one of those cheesy ones, and I thought about picking it up.... some of the younger folks like to play....maybe even some of us older folks....and then I thought back to a party I attended many moons ago when I was one of the younger folks...

The woman with whom I first worked when I took the job in VA, moving up from FL, was leaving the company.  I had been there about six months, and we were good friends by that time.  Another friend decided to hold a going away party for our mutual friend BJ, as BJ was not only leaving the company, but moving to another state to follow her heart with her young, handsome beau.....

The party was to be a big cookout on the beach (Virginia Beach) and another of our coworkers offered his home for the festivities.  But Maria, the party planner, was "in charge."  Sign ups for the party included stipulation of food contribution.  Specific instructions were given to all party goers, regarding amount of food, chairs, extras, invited family members and such.  We all complied, showing up at the designated time, bearing our contributions to the party, and when we arrived, I could tell Maria was already in a bit of a tizzy.

Out on the deck of Kim's condo, Maria's husband-to-be was working the grill.  Apparently, he had neglected to start the coals when Maria had deemed it appropriate and was now catching flack for his inattentiveness to detail.....we carefully placed our foods in the proper spot, making sure not to accidentally put desserts in the veggies section, or anything...we did not want to be the next in line to be chastised.

One of the guys I drove over with was not intimidated by the party planner.  Though she had NOT given us the go ahead to start eating, Ray started helping himself to a little of this and a little of that. Maria was fuming...things were NOT going according to plan.... the burgers were defying the weak heat from the coals soaked with lighter fluid....putting off a most offensive "aroma" while taking thirty minutes to cook...defiant guests were eating without proper instruction to do so....and NOBODY was out on the beach playing volleyball.....

Well, before we all had to witness homicide over the whole thing, several of us opted to head down to the beach and play....  I was happy to get out of the line of fire and we started the game.  We chose teams and sides and off we went.  Now, I will admit, I am probably the LEAST athletic person in recent history, but what the heck, I was having fun...  I spent more time on the ground than on my feet, and laughed along with my teammates at my general clumsiness.  Most of the time I was laughing so hard I could NOT stay on my feet......

Eventually, when all righted itself up at the condo, Maria made her way down to the volleyball game....she announced that food could NOW be devoured, but hey, we were in the middle of the game.... Maria is a fierce competitor and could not resist watching the game for a few minutes before insisting we all stop and go eat.....

After we ate, things calmed down a bit and we were able to play volleyball, play guitar, sing, play around with Kim's machine that hung you upside down...can't recall what that thing was called, but it was fun....and generally enjoy ourselves.....

The next Monday at the office, as is the nature of such things, the party was rehashed for those who had missed it and to cement the memories for those who had.....  and it was then that I discovered that my non-athletic approach to volleyball was offensive to the party planner...  Maria, describing the "game" she had had the obvious misfortune of witnessing, told of how I was basically unable to stay on my feet, spending more time on my butt in the sand than upright...and she concluded that she "would have been embarrassed to play" were she that bad! LOL

So....I walked on by the volleyball set in Walmart.... maybe I can stay on my feet with croquet...????  I dunno...I think I'll just let the spirit move me on the day or so right before the get together.... All that planning seems to defeat the enjoyment of the shared experience....  I do know I will have lots of food and drink, a campfire, guitars and more, and good company....that's all the planning I need....  I SO don't want to embarrass myself!  LOL

Here today, gone tomorrow.  Yesterday, when I logged into eBay, I saw that my position in the eBay "Best Match" remained at the "raised" level.  I had received only 18 feedback in the past 30 days, which is the window for opportunity of this particular metric.  Today I arrived at my hotel room here in No. VA and logged in to check my eBay.  OK, my feedback number had increased.  I checked the feedback...all excellent feedback...good...right?  Nope...I saw something RED challenging my eyes to look more carefully....yep, I have BIG FAT "LOWERED" on a nice RED button next to my search standing category. 

Great... I presumed it would be the shipping time... I have had to put my store in vacation mode many times these past few months while I travel for work and people have had to wait longer to get their items shipped.  I can understand this and am willing to take the hits in the stars.. (what choice do I really have?)

But when I checked, I found that it was the COMMUNICATION that is ranked at a 4.52 for the past 30 days...  Communication? 

• I send each customer a "thank you for you purchase, here's your invoice" message within 8 hours of receiving notification of a sale. 
  
• I send a "thank you for your purchase and speedy payment, your item will be shipped on XX/XX/XX" within 8 hours of receiving notification of payment for an item.  
  
• I send a "Thank you for purchase, and if you are pleased with our transaction, please visit Judy's Corner for more selections." email, when I ship the item, AND
  
• I leave positive feedback within an hour of printing the shipping label...the positive feedback indicates the date the item shipped......

So....

Communication?????

OK, whatever!

I drove to Long Island, NY with one of my coworkers yesterday.  We rented a car and shared the driving....I took the easy, open roads during the daylight hours, and he took the gridlocked, noisy roads after dark....seemed fair to me!  We arrived at our hotel at 10:15 PM, after a nine hour drive...I was ready to relax!

But, of COURSE, I got sidetracked into things of  interest, and it was 5:00 AM before I lay my head to the pillow to get a couple of hours rest.  I arose at 7:00 AM, sure the day would be a long one, since I had, once again, cheated sleep.... but I was in for a lovely surprise.

My work brings me into contact with a variety of interesting folks.  Today was no exception.  When I arrived at the site, accompanied by one of my new hires and my summer intern, I was greeted by a cheery elderly gentleman, with a head full of snow-white hair that defied his attempts to tame it with a comb.  He was a little stooped, walking as if he had spent a lifetime carrying a backpack over one shoulder....  I thought to myself.... hmmm.... that could be me at 70.....  note to self, "consider using BOTH backpack straps and giving both shoulders equal burden.)

Our white-haired charmer led us to the room where we would perform our work for the next two days, and introduced us to the others with whom we would be working.  And everyone was cheerful.  I had to pinch myself to be certain this WAS real... for Mondays are not typically the "all smiles" days at the office... any office!

We worked solidly for several hours, the work being made more enjoyable by interesting little anecdotes from our host.  He made me laugh and it seemed my laugh made HIM more cheery!  So, as we approached the lunch hour, he, with the excitement of a young child on show and tell day, invited us to take a tour of the facility with him.  Of course, we did.  That is one of the most interesting features of my work...getting to see the "guts" of the operations. 

As we walked the corridors, he shared with me some of his little songs he had written.  They were take-offs on popular songs of his era, and related to his work here.  They were very clever, and I laughed again.  As we parted to get lunch, he assured me that when we returned, he'd share with me another of his songs. 

Sure enough, an hour later, he once again met us in the lobby and we started down the corridor to our work place....and he sang me his little song.  Again, I was taken with his wit and his talent in taking these songs and twisting them.  He told me of his youth -- how he preferred rhyme to pros and submitted English assignments in the form of poetry, rather than essays...

Throughout the day I was dealing with a laptop failing from the recent hotel flooding incident in San Diego, and my team members shared my "story" with the others in the room.  They all had a good chuckle.  As the day progressed they made funny responses to some of my questions... responses that incorporated my leaky laptop and such...  we just had FUN. 

At the end of the day, as our host was escorting us back down the corridors to the exit, he shared with me another song...one he had composed just minutes earlier...he combined his recently acquired knowledge of me, my leaky laptop, and my geographically challenged self (I turned right out of the room instead of left...and I remarked I could not find my way out of a paper bag) and made a version of the MTA song... except his words had Judy never returning from the corridors of the building...lost forever and with ceilings leaking..... etc, etc....

As we climbed into the car to drive back to our hotel, my team and I all agreed, this was a lovely fellow, and his demeanor clearly set the tone for the others.  It was one of the easiest days I have had in a LONG time.... and I owe it all to a little old white-haired fellow...

This morning, at about 4 AM I took on a task I had been putting off for a while.  A letter.  A hand written letter.  One I needed to write and one I wanted to write...but one that made me very sad writing.  I put my thoughts down on the computer first, since I knew I would end up with many words crossed out and such, were I to go immediately to pen and paper.  Once I was satisfied with the letter, I copied it by hand, onto plain 8 1/2 X 11 copier paper (only the best stationary for this gal!)

The letter was to an old friend.  Actually, to an old boyfriend, in fact, the first one to whom I became engaged.  That was many moons ago and things took a different course from the one we dreamed of at that tender age of 20, and we both went on to live happy and fulfilling lives.  Each of us married and had children.  Each of us worked hard at our careers, and were moderately successful in our achievements.  Each of us encountered hard times and major family issues, and each of us dealt with life's normal trials and tribulations as best we could.

I lost contact with this friend for about 15 years after we parted ways.  In fact, I never expected to come in contact with him again.  He would drift into the land of memories, the good ones rising readily to the surface, and the not-so-good ones gently sinking to the bottom.  That's how it is with me and memories.

One day, about 12 years ago, while I was an AOL member, I was looking through membership...looking for others whose names I might recognize.  I found a lot of old college friends this way and it was fun to touch base with them.  And there it was.  His name.  Well, I thought I'd just shoot him an instant message to say hello and see how he was doing.

That began another chapter in our friendship.  We corresponded through AIM and email, every now and then.  When we had a major event in our lives, we always shared it with the other.  We found we had more in common than probably we'd had in our youth.  And we enjoyed getting to know the next generation, through their parents' eyes.

One day, about two years ago, I noticed I had not heard from him in a while.  So I shot him and email, just making sure everything was OK.  Well, as it turned out, everything was not OK.  While I knew he was dealing with a family member who was struggling with their addiction to alcohol, I had no idea he was also facing serious problems with his career.  And the story he told was heart-breaking...unbelievable...and yet, it was true. 

Over the next 18 months or so, I was in regular communications with him, supporting him as he was reaching the depths of depression, having to be hospitalized several times for suicidal ideations.  And all the while, he kept working, trying to make the world spin back on its familiar axle for him.  But it was not meant to be.

In February he wrote me, letting me know he was going to be sentenced to 2-6 years, and that he did not yet know where he would be serving his time.  Yes, time for a crime he says he did not commit, but to which he pleaded guilty.....  I am certain I will never know the details of what transpired, but the net result was the complete loss of his career, and a complete loss financially.  He assured me that his wife would let me know where they sent him, providing me with contact information.

I did not hear from his wife.  And I was reluctant to bug her.  She does not know me, except for the stories he has shared with her.  But finally, four months after I last heard from him, I sent an email to his address....in the hopes that either he could now answer from prison, or that his wife would answer.  She did, in a very lovely email, thanking me for all of the support I have given her husband over the years, and asking that I write him in prison at the address she provided.  She assured me these letters from friends mean a lot to him and that he would be very happy to hear from me.

That response was received on June 30....and this morning I finally sat down and wrote that letter.  It was a hard one to write.  It reminded me of the letters I wrote to my friend Kelly as I knew she was fighting a losing battle against an insidious brain tumor.  I am left feeling challenged as to whether I should share good news about my own life, let them know that I am praying for them, commiserate about their current situation, or what, exactly.  In the end, I had a little bit of everything in the four-page, hand written letter...the first of many, I am sure.

And when I had finished the letter, I folded it and sealed it in the envelope, addressed it as instructed by his wife, and placed a FOREVER stamp on the corner.  I thought about that stamp being a FOREVER stamp....kind of like a friendship being a forever friendship...  And when it was ready for the mail, I was exhausted.  I returned to bed and slept for another two hours.  I was emotionally drained.

The rest of the day I worked my butt off, taking care of the zillion chores that are part of home ownership... and I kept thinking about how my friend is not able to do these things now...and how very lucky I am to have my freedom and my ability to work up a sweat in the yard mowing, weeding, planting, and in the house, dusting, vacuuming, mopping.  And I worked extra hard, because I know he cannot right now.

Hot, sweaty and tired, I finally came indoors at about 8 PM...realized I'd had only a small handful of raisins at about 8 AM!  Well, I doubt that would be a sufficient diet for anyone, so, after I'd cooled down a bit, I heated up a hunk of leftover steak (my son and his fiance took me out to eat last Saturday and the steak was HUGE....I have just finished my third meal from it...and I guess I will have steak for breakfast tomorrow, since I leave to drive to NY tomorrow directly after church.....)

Now, as I unwind with a cup of tea, I am glad I got that letter written and mailed.  I hope it will be easier the next time. 

So, on WEDNESDAY, I found out I have be in NY on Sunday to work Monday and Tuesday...no big deal, I'm used to this last minute scheduling stuff.  BUT it meant I once again had to change my dental appointment, that was scheduled (OK rescheduled twice already) for Monday....seems I have been trying for nearly a year to get my semi-annual cleaning....

On the off chance I could get an appointment BEFORE I left town, I called the dentist on Thursday morning, bright and early. 

"It will be November before we can see you, if you cancel this appointment," the cheery young appointment queen assured me (as if I was just trying to avoid the cleaning or something.)

"Any chance you have a cancellation on Friday?" I asked, in my most sincerely apologetic voice.

"Oh, yes we do!  How about 9:30 am!!!???!!!" (the queen was buzzing with excitement at filling a vacancy...)

So, there I was this morning, 10 minutes early for my three times rescheduled appointment (which technically means I was just shy of seven MONTHS LATE for my appointment.)  And I did not have to wait long.  I was whisked into the chair, the bright light aimed at my one good eye to ensure I'd be completely blind by the end of this tooth fest, and the lady, who in another life would surely have been a hairdresser, was scraping and poking and chattering away.  I'm not sure how I am supposed to answer a zillion small-talk questions with my mouth jacked open, instruments of destruction wreaking havoc, and a "helper" spraying water into my mouth and sunctioning it back out...but I tried...(I hope she didn't mind the unintelligible garble the leaked out of my mouth.)

So, I was praised for my attention to detail in maintaining my teeth, and my "gum pockets" were measured (ouch!) to see whether they could sign me up for the beginner's class, you know Periodontal Torture 101...but I foiled them with my gums still being within "acceptable" range....

The dental hygienist finished with a flurry, and assured me the dentist would be in momentarily.  Indeed she was and again, with the oohs and ahhs and the small talk....I did not try to respond this time...I have my pride.  Now, this dentist was moving right along with the little hook thing that she uses to try to pry my fillings back out of my teeth, when she spies a filling with a chip out of it. 

"We'll need to replace this filling," she tells me, (hiding her gleeful grin behind that blue mask she wears.)

OK, so, I can see I'm going to have another scheduling nightmare ahead of me, but I get out of the chair, take my orders with me and head to the appointment queen.

"Hmmm...." she muses, "we have an opening at 2 PM TODAY..." 

"Sure, I'll take it," I replied, before she had time to change her mind.  Apparently another poor soul had chickened out of their appoint today...

So, I could have stuck around in Newport News, killing the 3 1/2 hours that still remained between appointments. but I needed to get some critical work done...so, I made the 1 hour and 15 minute drive back home, tended to the work business, and made the trek back, arriving just before my appointment.

When they see me, they all are laughing because they did not know the appointment queen had scheduled me back and they thought I was coming to complain about my morning cleaning or something.  But we all got on the same page and I was escorted to another office with another chair...  Now THIS office apparently was NOT the regular office for the dentist and her hygienist (not the same one from this morning) and they had quite a time FINDING the tools they needed.....

In the end, they had to fill my tooth TWICE because when they told me to "tap down" I seem to have a stronger "TAP" than they wanted and the filling cracked...(oops)....

And now here I sit, my mouth numb from chin to ear, and cautioned NOT to chew on that side tonight...and I haven't eaten anything since a bagel yesterday morning at 6:30 AM....  I guess hot tea will have to see me through another night.... I'll be starving by morning, I have a feeling!

And there you have it, my day with the dentist.

My "day" really began the night of the 16th.  I had just returned from work to the hotel, being the only one who would remain on-site for the final day, when my BlackBerry vibrated wildly, demanding my attention.  On the other end of the phone was one of my new hires, who had left the site less than 30 minutes earlier, had managed to get 7 miles down the road toward his Suffolk, VA home before his 1994 Mercedes began to overheat.  I spent much of the evening working with him to get his car to the shop and him back into a hotel for the night.

Meanwhile, I was fighting a feeling in my gut about a friend who was embarking on a long weekend journey down memory lane.  I just felt queezy about it, and could not shake the feeling.  But it is a necessary journey and I tried to be supportive.  So, between the two issues and of course, my typical sleep patterns, I did not sleep much at all that night.

The morning dawned and my feeling of concern was only stronger, but I had to just put it in the back of my mind and set about getting my co-worker from his hotel and getting over to the work site.  We wrapped up our work shortly before noon and, having been assured by the Mercedes mechanic, that the car was still not fixed, and they were continuing to determine the cause of its maladies, we decided the best plan of action was to leave his car in Annapolis, MD at the shop and for me to drive him home (in my Hyundai), or at least to Newport News, VA where his wife works.

We shared a pleasant ride home, and I dropped him off in front of his wife's office shortly before 4PM.  I then headed back home to Gloucester, where, at about 6PM, I greeted my cats who had held down the fort from their garage hideouts....and I continued to worry.

Since sleeping is out of the question when I am worried, I set about being productive.  I weeded my front garden, did a little work for the real job, took a look at my eBay sales and prepared for shipping tomorrow.  As darkness fell, I decided to tackle my eBay storage room which has been sorely neglected of late and was in desperate need of attention.  Box by box, item by item, I coaxed the room into shape and finally all that was left was a medium sized box of unknown contents.

I opened the box and discovered it contained old pictures, and letters from years gone by....from my teen years.  And, as one might suspect, I was taken off course in my cleaning endeavor, opting to sit and rifle through the box.  I read letters from old friends, family, and boyfriends.  I laughed at some of the proclamations of undying love, and forever friendships.  And I laughed at some of the absurd topics we spent our time discussing.

One letter I opened was addressed to me when I was at FSU.  It was from a high school friend who was attending MIT.  He sent me a HUGE blue sheet of paper on which he had drawn hundreds of snowflakes...he thought I might like some of their MA snow in FL!  (Thanks George!)  Another letter was from a friend I'd left behind when I moved from England back to the US.  Michael was determined to give me ALL of the important news, such as one of our mutual friends who "got spoken to" by a neighbor lady for hitting her twins...and assuring me that the nightly gathering under the light pole continued, though I was missed by all of the friends. 

Finally, I opened a sheet of note paper, folded once in half.  There were many such notes in the box, as we apparently had a habit of writing letters to each other, even though we saw each other every day in high school.  This one was from my friend Kelly, who passed away at the tender age of 27 from a brain tumor.  I immediately recognized the orange ink with which she had written the poem contained on that paper.  The poem was one she wrote when we were in 10th grade.  I recall being very embarrassed when she read it out loud in class, but I kept the copy that she gave me, for more than 30 years now.

"Sunshine"

"I have this very special friend
Some people think she's strange
But she can make other people laugh
Even when it rains.
She's always bright and cheery,
Her face lit with a smile,
To rid yourself of sadness,
Go talk with her a while.
For she can cheer the saddest up,
And make the gloomy glad,
She will make you wonder,
Why you were ever mad.
To all her friends she is like
the sun on a cloudy day.
In January she makes it seem
As though it were almost May.
She has her faults, like everyone,
Some people think she's fruity,
But all her friends know better than that,
That happy person called Judy."

Well, the feeling in my gut lingers, and I will go through another day without benefit of sleep, but a few hours spent in a box of memories was good for me.  Now, if I can just live up to Kelly's faith in me from all those many years ago ...

I'm looking forward to a break.  I have been on the road so much recently I find myself referring to the hotel as "home" and that just isn't right!  Between now and August 1, I will finish up my week here in Linthicum, MD, run home (my REAL home) to prepare for my next assignment, leave Sunday to drive to NY, leave NY Tuesday night to drive to No. VA, then return home on Wednesday night....and spend a WHOLE day at home before driving up to Toms River, NJ for a wedding....returning on Sunday to Linthicum, MD for another full week...

I have a feeling I will sleep for about 20 hours on August 2nd!  But I took the week off from work, as I will be preparing to entertain my daughter's new in-laws (visiting from France), and prepare for a family reunion of sorts (with plenty of friends too) on the weekend of August 9th.  I have a great deal of "preparing" to do for that one, so I doubt my week's vacation will be spent sipping lemonade at the pool... (what pool??!!)  After the party folks return home on August 10, I will, once again, be on the road to Linthicum, for my final week of work there....and then....my schedule is undefined...I won't know how to act being at home for more than two days straight! 

The fun part of the travel is getting to see family and friends along the way, and getting to meet new friends -- people I have first come to know on these blogs.  I have met a few already and each that I have met has been wonderful.  I look forward to meeting more along my travels.  I often wonder whether people are as they present themselves here on the blogs, or whether this is really just an avenue for folks to be whoever they want to be, for a minute or a day, or longer.  So far, those I have met have been as genuine in person as I found them to be here and this is encouraging to me.

I don't get as much time as I once enjoyed here on the blogs, obviously, and I find it hard to keep up with all of the activity that defines these blogs.  But I can honestly say I do not miss all of the inevitable he-said/she-said and corresponding hurt feelings that seem to be an on-going ingredient of the blogs.  Every now and then, when I have a few minutes, I read back and discover I missed something really nice.  And sometimes I find I have missed something really not nice...and when I find the nice, I find I continue reading...and when I find the not nice, I find my mouse click seems to happen all on its own, and once again, I am out of here, and onto those matters demanding my attention elsewhere.

But one day, when this crazy schedule lightens a bit, I will, I'm sure, take more time here and get reacquainted with those with whom I have lost contact.  Until then, I just have to catch a few moments here and there and be satisfied with that!

I hope you are all having a good summer...

I'm beginning to think I work with Les Nessman (WKRP in Cincinnati). A young man (with whom I have worked for about a year) and I have recently started traveling together to perform our work at various sites.  Our first trip together was in May and our destination was El Segundo, CA.  We stayed at the LAX Hilton.

One night we met at a table in the hotel lobby to work on a presentation together.  I arrived first and he arrived, a little late, dabbing at his leg with a paper towel.  It seems he had started "spontaneously bleeding" from his leg....  Sounded a little odd to me, but he dabbed away, embarrassed by the mess he was making.  Eventually, the truth was offered that he'd accidentally knocked off a scab from a healing wound of a few days earlier.  I thought his embarrassment over the situation was amusing, but I thought no more of it.

In June we traveled to CA again, and this time stayed in different hotels.  Each day he'd pick me up at my hotel and we'd head to the work site together.  On day five, the day he was leaving to return home and I was staying to finish the work, I noticed he was limping a bit.  Remembering his embarrassment from the previous trip, I opted to say nothing.  I didn't need to wait long though.  Apparently the pain became too much to bear and he bent over and yanked off his shoe.  There, sure enough, was a bleeding foot.  It seems he'd somehow managed to get his shoes wet (in CA) and they had shrunk a little, causing them to rub his foot raw and then to bleeding!  (I had to laugh, even as I sympathized with his pain).

This week we are, once again, working together...this time in Linthicum, MD.  As I left the work site yesterday it occurred to me that he had not had a bleeding episode on this trip.  The thought was fleeting, but it definitely crossed my mind.  This morning as I pulled into the parking lot, I arrived just in time to see him dabbing at his face, just at the nose...  Yep, he'd had a little "accident" while SHAVING...IN THE CAR on his way in this morning!  This time I was unmerciful!  I laughed right out loud, and I laughed even harder as he showed me the First Aid Kit he was using to tend to his latest case of spontaneous bleeding.  "I gave my wife a hard time when she bought this thing," he said, "but I have had to use it EVERY FREAKIN' TIME we've gone on a work trip!" LOL

Now, to be honest, I did work with him in No VA last week and to my knowledge, he did NOT bleed on that assignment.  However.... his hair looked a little "different" that day and he just HAD to share his, "Judy story" (as he calls all crazy mishap stories) with me.  It seems he has suffered from a mild case of dandruff for most of his adult life.  He uses the typical aids to keep it in check (the Selsen Blues and the Head and Shoulders).  But last week his wife, being the caring soul she is, bought a "special" product to help him with his condition.  He accepted the curious new bottle of shampoo and stepped into the shower.  In short order his scalp was on fire.  And the stream of shampoo laced water that inevitably escapes the scalp and runs its course down the face, narrowly missing the eyes, left behind a wicked red streak!  Screaming in pain, he asked his wife what she'd given him.  It turns out this industrial strength shampoo works by burning the scalp the first time...she assured him it would not hurt as badly the next time....he assured HER there would be no next time!

They agreed never to discuss that shampoo again!

Next week he travels to Las Vegas for work, but I travel to NY.  He will take with him one of our new hires, and I will take a couple of new hires with me.  I wonder if I should warn the new hire about his apparent difficulty in keeping his blood in his veins... LOL

Tonight was another treat for me.  I thought I was coming up to the Baltimore area, preparing for my work week here, and going to dinner with my Dad and step mom in their home nearby.  When I awoke this morning and checked my email, I discovered one from my brother Dan, asking if I'd like him to pick me up on his way to Dad's.  Sure, I had no idea he was coming too, but I always welcome a willing chauffeur!

So at about 4 PM he picked me up at my hotel and we headed over to Dad and Lynne's place.  As it turns out, my sister also drove over to join us for my 50th birthday dinner.  As always, the food was excellent, and the company perfect! 

I don't recall how we ended up on the subject of childhood memories, but we did, and Dan contended that he had basically no memory of "the girls" in the family (my sister and me) as, from his perspective, we were "royalty" and he was busy dealing with a brother who was obsessed with collecting little bits of paper, and little pieces of broken china!  Jeannie and I laughed our heads off at a memory neither she nor I recalled, but which clearly was cemented in Dan's archives.

"What are you talking about?" Jeannie asked..and we both died laughing as Dan embarked down his memory lane of our youngest brother Ray, who liked to dig in the yard, collecting bits of broken china he found, and, cleaning them off and "displaying them like some curator in a museum."  The whole image was hilarious to me, even as I did recall Ray once finding an old spoon in one of his back yard excavations, and "cleaning it up" for our grandmother for a Christmas gift....after all, she collected silver spoons...but I digress.  Back to the bits of china that I was now envisioning displayed in the room my brothers shared...how very odd and out of place that sounded, but I don't doubt for a minute it is true.

"But what about the bits of paper?" I asked, my stomach already hurting from laughing so hard.  "Oh, yeah, Ray would tear up lots of little bits of paper and pretend that he was the conductor on a bus, handing out tickets....

No, I didn't recall that either, but I DID recall that when Dan and Ray shared a room when we lived in England, they kept a stash of bread, peanut butter and jelly so they could make sandwiches at will.... "yeah," agreed Dan, "we hid under the covers when we made the sandwiches, and our sheets were all sticky from the jelly!" (BOYS!)

I remember that room with its double bed -- the one we kids all used to learn to do our fantastic trampoline routines...no REALLY...we were all destined to be talented trampolinists....well, maybe not. But that bed certainly took a LOT of abuse in those years...four boys and at least one of the girls bouncing unmercifully on its mattress and box spring (I think Jeannie was too responsible to join in our childish activities....or else she was too busy collecting pigeon feathers to construct her bird, to participate in the future Olympic champion trampolinist training). 

So tonight, as we wrapped up another nice memory surrounding a shared meal, we relived those growing up years...six kids in seven years...what WERE my parents thinking???  And as I was getting ready to leave to return to the hotel, I spied a photo hanging on the wall in Dad and Lynne's hallway...a picture of the six of us...still shiny in our newness on that Easter morning long ago...and I had to smile as I snapped a picture of the picture...the little collector of bits of paper and broken china smiled proudly...surrounded by his five older siblings...oblivious to his brother Dan, standing directly behind him, whose face portrays a certain, "disdain"...and I wonder if they were both thinking about the lovely broken bits of china displayed in their shared room!

Yesterday I took a drive to visit my daughter in her home near Charlottesville, VA.  It was a beautiful drive there (and a dark drive home, but that's another story.)  I was struck with the beauty of the countryside through which I traveled.  Had I actually stopped to take pictures, I am certain they would have been far more spectacular, but I was not displeased with the ones I took from the moving car.  From Gloucester to Richmond, the road is lined with trees, giving the ride almost a corridor effect.  But as I neared Gordonsville, VA, and the shop where my daughter works, the roads opened to pastures with a distant view of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  With the sky a brilliant blue, softened with fluffy white clouds, the view was simply beautiful.  And it was hard to believe that most of the week here it had been raining and gray.

I had a lovely visit with my daughter and we shared a meal at a local Italian restaurant, spending three hours over the meal, catching up, talking about life in general and just enjoying precious time together.  I marveled again at how much I enjoy the company of this young lady who I have known for all of her 25 years, and who continues to amaze and surprise me with her outlook on life.  I can recall those high school days when I thought I was raising a little material girl.... something that was always quite foreign to me, as I had never put stock in such things.  And yet, here she is, at 25, talking of the insanity of our love affair with the plastic bags.... in Europe they have been bringing their reusable shopping bags with them for years, and here in the states, it is a more of a "fad" to bring our own...  It just surprises me. 

Tonight, I had supper in Gloucester with my son and his fiancee.  We met at the restaurant at the Yacht Haven, and enjoyed a relaxing and delicious supper.  The scenery was every bit as beautiful as the scenery I enjoyed yesterday on my trip to Jen's, though remarkably different.  Instead of fields and distant mountains, meeting the vivid blue sky, the sailboats and yachts, tethered in their slips at the marina, connect the York River's dark blue to the almost gaudy blue of the evening sky.

Over supper, again, I was struck with my enjoyment of these two young people.  Their comfort with each other radiates and conversation is easy.  We talk of things of common interest and they "fill the gaps" in each other's stories, not competing, but simply engaging.  And again, as I left in the dark from a place I had entered during daylight hours, I thought of how interesting it is that the two children I raised, always so different from each other, and still very much so today, are still so much "in-sync" with my own thoughts and outlooks...and for a moment I thought this truly odd...for how could I be like both and they be nothing like each other?  How could I relate to and enjoy each so much?  It occurred to me that we are much like this Commonwealth of Virginia.  We have many different beauties to share and one does not take away from the other, but rather compliments.

And as I drove home in the dark of another night, I enjoyed their voices, blending with my own, as the CD of tunes we recorded together a few years ago played in my car player.  Yes, there is harmony in the land, and those who enjoy it. Mountains and rivers, sopranos and tenors, brothers and sisters. 

In just a little while I will no longer be perfect.  Yes, I know it is very hard to believe, especially for those who have had the opportunity to actually "experience" me during this past year, but this was one of my very few years of perfection.  My first year of perfection was when I was 1, the second when I was 4, the third when I was 9, the fourth when I was 16, the fifth when I was 25, the sixth when I was 36....and this most recent, the one that is fast coming to