100 Things

Almost 100 Things

1. I once drove the Goodyear Blimp. (My Dad was a Goodyear exec.)

2. The FBI had a file on me when I was 15. They'd heard about the curtains I'd made from real flags and really took a dim view of it.

3. I have had many fun hitchhiking adventures.

4. I am a huge Simpson's fan and named my website after an episode.

5. I've been divorced once. I was devastated.

6. Used to have a classic cherry-red Studebaker [car].

7. Took ballet, acrobatics, and tap for years growing up with my sister.

8. I have two children.

9. I have lived in 2 different co-existing communes in rural Tennessee, in Venice Beach, CA, in Atlanta, GA, and briefly at the Chelsea in NY. Met a few characters there.

10. I bought my first twelve-string guitar when I was 17 from Dunham's in Asheville, NC.

11. I used to belong to the Mickey Mantle Fan Club when I was 11 years old. But I also really liked the great Roger Maris.

12. I still meditate and do yoga daily.

13. I probably had more fun in my old navy VW bus (that I painted the moon, sun and stars on), than anything. Many taboos were slayed, initiations held, and numerous trips were taken. This was 1969-70 when they were still quite unique.

14. I was a bartender for a dozen years. It was my evening job.

15. I met my husband while I was a bartender.

16. My husband played lead guitar in the band where I was a bartender.

17. I recently had a milestone birthday.

18. My favorite food is coconut shrimp.

19. I used to be embarrassed by the fact that I'm such a sports enthusiast, but now I celebrate it. And I love to play golf.

20. I am a big Duke University Blue Devils Basketball fan.

21. I have had some of the same best friends for over 35 years and we're in contact every week.

22. I am a recovering drug/alcohol addict; and have been drug-free since 1991; and only 4 or 5 drinks since then. No dope. Marijuana doesn't count.

23. Some of my very best friends weren't able to do the same thing and have already passed on far too soon.

24. I miss my best friend, Janet. She was a nurse who succumbed to the occupational hazard. My very best friend since 13.

25. When I was young, my mother taught our neighbor to sew and the neighbor gave me piano lessons.

26. I used to jog eight miles a day.

27. And I worked out literally every extra minute I had during the day.

28. This exercise blitz was supported when I was a full-blown cocaine addict.

29. I had two car wrecks as the driver by the time I was fifteen years old. It's probably why I worry so much about my teenage daughter in a car.

30. I like making quilts, wall-hangings, clothes, anything on my sewing machine or by hand. I've made two quilts by hand.

31. I didn't learn to sew until I was over 30 and made all my young daughter's clothes, some of mine and some of my husbands.

32. I was first paid to sing when I was just 14 at a place called the "Waggon Wheel". They passed around a cigar box and took up a collection for me.

33. I persuaded them to let me sing "Play With Fire" & "Time is on My Side" [Stones] & "Eve of Destruction", "Don't Think Twice". Where else was a 15 year old girl going to get this opportunity in Smalltown, USA? I later sang in 2 different bands after being a street musician.

34. I am the oldest of two daughters.

35. I have a rescued mixed breed (golden retriever/chow) dog named Buddy.

36. My favorite color is black.

37. My dad passed away in 1990 on my daughter's 2nd birthday. I still miss him madly. Everybody loved my Dad.

38. I once took Prozac for depression. Not long after losing my Father.

39. I don't recommend stopping it abuptly. I was weeding by moonlight in a manic frenzy soon after a self induced withdrawal.

40. I used to wear glasses but at my last DMV trip they said I didn't need to wear them to drive so I think my vision is improving with age. Pretty strange.

41. I believe marijuana should be legal. I know. You're surprised.

42. I registered to vote in 1972 to cast my first vote against Nixon when he ran for president. He had visited my college campus in 1971 and it was the first big organized protest I went to.

43. I protested against the Vietnam War in DC and at college many times and have only been maced twice and detained once. (I got to sign myself out.)

44. My family nickname for me is Sude or Sudie.

45. I like to play Mah-Jongg.

46. I was confirmed an Episcopalian, and so is my family.

47. But am currently a practicing Buddhist We attend in the back of a bookstore.

48. I still cling to many Sixties ideals--1) Love everybody. 2) Share what you have. 3) Whatever gets you through the night.

49. I am a compulsive list maker and organizer.

50. If I had been born a boy, my parents were going to name me Mike.

51. I first went to see Jimi Hendrix on May 9, 1969, with Bill Sherrod. I was 16 and was so excited I thought I was going to have a heart attack.

52. My great-grandmother died just a few years ago when she was 107.

53. My husband has never worn a wedding band. He also doesn't like to wear a watch or earring or necklace. I'm sure there's a good story there somewhere but he's not talking. But a pocketwatch works fine for him.

54. My husband always plays guitar left-handed upside down, like Hendrix, and has cut a few records back in the day. He actually had the same producer as Jimi. (Or was that the same manager?) My husband has lead a very full life.

55. Being a mother is everything it's cracked up to be. It's my greatest joy.

56. I believe everyone should try LSD once in their lifetime. It's certainly a mind-expander and helped me fast-forward my thinking in my formative, early college years. So I majored in psychedelics in college the first time around. I went back again for another degree in 1992.

57. My husband just found out he has Type II Diabetes.

58. He also has Hepatitis C

59. So does my sister.

60. Christmas 2003, she was very ill and in the Intensive Care unit for 10 days. Real touch and go not knowing if she'd make it. I don't know when I've been so scared. (UPDATE: See #66)

61. Trying to cope and adjust with everyone around me being ill.

62. Who am I? Queen Bringdown and the Buzzkills? Pass that spliff and stay awhile. You want more? I really don't enjoy talking about myself much and I certainly don't want to divulge much either.

63. In college, I recall good-looking guy came by the university in his converted old bread truck and parked in front of the Student Center where all us 'ne'er do wells' were lounging. He set up a table with SDS pamphlets and we all signed up and discussed Nixon's pending arrival on campus. He talked to us about the ROTC program and how to take over that building. It was the college student's "Fuck You" to war. Within a year I was onboard with NOW, SDS, and along with Arfus Apple & Suzy Creamcheese in an art and performance troupe of drama and art majors and assorted friends. I was seventeen and plugged in. Believe it.

64. I'm in the early stages of working on an autobiography/memoir. I'm not that vain. I just was chicken to tell my kids so they can sit down one day and read about me before they came into the world.

65. Biggest misconception about me? That I'm a wise-ass. I am the sweetest, most gentle spirit that you'll ever meet.

JANUARY 2006

66. My sister, Robin passed away on November 24, 2005, Thanksgiving morning at 6:00am. She was two years younger and was my best friend. I thought we had another year with her, but she passed on to the other side. More people are there than are here now. She died from liver cancer brought on by Hepatitis C. By the time we got the diagnosis of the cancer, it had already spread to her lymph nodes and it was just a matter of time. I told her I was going to *fix her*, but we both knew that was wishful thinking. On her hospital bed when she was no longer lucid, her look said it all. She was scared and there was nothing I could do to help her. Coldplay's "Fix You" had come on the radio a few weeks earlier when we were driving back from her most recent diagnosis. Or death sentence, as it turns out. I didn't like Coldplay. Robin hadn't heard it before so I turned it up and sung the song to her. By the time it was over I was convinced I could heal her with the help of drug trials or last resort treatments. I began researching like a motherfucker and was making plans to take her to Mexico when I got the call from Mother that Robin was in the hospital. She came back out in a hearse.

67. After Robin passed on, my Mother was all alone and scared to live by herself. She's sacrificed so much for me so I moved in with her into my old family home in Tennessee. My dear husband and sweet daughter are still living in NC for now, but we stay in touch every day.

68. Did you guess that I was the town outcast? My friend's parents wouldn't let me hang around with their kids. I was a free spirit and still am. My kids are sad they can't find ways to rebel and shock me. Unless one becomes a Republican, I'm pretty much shock proof.

TO BE CONTINUED...

July 3, 2008

69. My daughter delivered a beautiful boy September 9, 2007. Phoenix Sebastian. He's perfect in every way and I'm a brand new grandmother. Today he's 10 months old, is taking his first wobbly steps and can alone stand by himself. He has 7 teeth already and is eating solid food very well. I couldn't be more proud of my daughter and I tell her that at least once a week. He has a little mohawk but I would like to see it grow.

70. I enjoyed a satisfying career with J.Crew and they later closed down in my town. After my Mother ended up alone in another city the universe decided my next course for me. I moved in with her and I began working for myself as an independent contractor so I could care for her. Dig this-- I'm not very hard on myself and I work when I want to and need to. I still can't get over that I'm working at home on my computer. And the money is good. I found the grande dickola job this time.

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Great Lennon Info


Where were you when John Lennon died? A friend called me and I recall explaining it to my young son. I lit a candle in the dining room and turned off all the lights and sat at the dining room table overlooking all the twinkling lights in the Gap Creek valley below. I picked up my 12-string and began playing 'Imagine', showing Xyon who Lennon was.

A couple of neighbors (Landon and Mott) came by with smiles and beers. My sister, Robin, was inconsolable because John had always been her favorite Beatle from the very beginning.


October 9, 1940 - December 8, 1980

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Mellen Thomas Benedict has some wonderful insights on after-death communications with departed loved ones through dreams and synchronicity.

I remember waking up one morning at home about 4:30 am, and I just knew that this was it. This was the day I was going to die. So I called a few friends and said goodbye. I woke up my hospice caretaker and told her. I had a private agreement with her that she would leave my dead body alone for six hours, since I had read that all kinds of interesting things happen when you die. I went back to sleep. The next thing I remember is the beginning of a typical near-death experience. Suddenly I was fully aware and I was standing up, but my body was in the bed. There was this darkness around me. Being out of my body was even more vivid than ordinary experience. It was so vivid that I could see every room in the house, I could see the top of the house, I could see around the house, I could see under the house.

There was this light shining. I turned toward the light. The light was very similar to what many other people have described in their near-death experiences. It was so magnificent. It is tangible; you can feel it. It is alluring; you want to go to it like you would want to go to your ideal mother's or father's arms.

As I began to move toward the light, I knew intuitively that if I went to the light, I would be dead.

So as I was moving toward the light I said, "Please wait a minute, just hold on a second here. I want to think about this; I would like to talk to you before I go." [Read More »]

Since losing my sister Robin last week, we've been discussing dreams from loved ones on the other side. Our favorite cousin Ray had a very strange, vivid and fun dream of Robin at the exact same time she crossed over. He's never had anything like that happen to him before and has been extremely moved by it. I said he should feel honored. It's a privilege to receive a 'visit'.

The first book I read about NDE (near-death experiences) was Betty J Eadie's Embraced By The Light. Extremely powerful and poignant.

(website via Clifford Pickover's 'don't miss' Godlorica)

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My beautiful sister, Robin, lost her brave fight with cancer Thanksgiving morning @ 6:00am. Her funeral is tomorrow.

There are so many loving memories I'll always hold dear, but for now my heart is simply broken. Life is just too short. I believe in telling everyone you're close to that you love them. Don't just assume they know how you feel. I'm glad Robin and I always made our loving feelings known.

One of her favorite quotes she was recently signing off her emails with is this one...

Life's journey is not about arriving at the grave safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, totally worn out, shouting "whee....what a ride!"

Indeed...

**Edited to add: I'm still in Tennessee with my Mother. Thank you so much for your beautiful sentiments. I take them to the center of my heart. (Nov 28 @ 8:22am)**

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"Here come the Street Sisters. Mothers, lock up your boys."

Trying to ease back into the blogging groove and catch up on my email. I took 2 weeks off and go back Monday.

I've been out of town, having taken my sister, Robin to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, to see one of the best cancer specialists in the country. After receiving biopsy results with the heart-splitting news of her having liver cancer that's also in the lymph nodes, we discussed treatment options and what to do immediately to make her comfortable.

Because the cancer isn't just limited to the liver, chemotherapy alone ( 10-20 % results) isn't very promising unless done in conjunction with the surgery first.

She's my only sibling and I'm two years older. Yeah, I'll cop to it now. Everyone who knows us knows the running gag we have about her being the older one after years ago, some classless dick in a bar assumed she was the oldest sister. She was SO mad about that. Naturally, I saw an opening to tease her relentlessly.

We've seen each other through many heartaches, but mostly we have such fun together. She's always that first person I contact when I need to share good news or bad news. This week we've tried to absorb this somber news and have discussed everything else in the world, too. We discussed upcoming holiday plans, and we talked about the baseball playoffs and the Braves' choking, planting tulips, amaryllis and moonflowers in early spring, and sadly, we talked about funeral arrangements.

Anyway, if you can help me with a little love flowing, beads rattled, alms given, vibes sent, herbs shaken, bells rung, candles lit, and prayers ascended, my heart would be forever gladdened.

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Boycott Christmas? I'm for many boycotting ideas, but I'm going to pass on the boycott Christmas one. I abhor the pillaging atmosphere in the stores and some other aspects of this joyous season, but boycott Christmas? Count me out.



How obscene is that Greedfest that tv's Oprah Winfrey has on each Christmas? Where they all squeal like stuck pigs when they see shiny stuff coming their way? That whole scene really chaps my ass. I try to understand and appreciate what the holiday season is really about, but I see Christmas through new eyes since my sister, Robin's close call last year.



She was admitted to the hospital on December 23, 2003, and in ICU for 9 days, discharged to a step-down unit for a few weeks, and later to a rehab facility for a few more months. She's my only sibling and is two years older ok, younger than me. For the first 5 days, we didn't know if she'd live or not.



During her hospital stay I remember seeing our family Christmas trees decorated beautifully, with presents still unwrapped under the tree after Christmas. You recall the guerilla gift giving, heirloom ornaments, frenzied wrapping, fighting for parking spaces, fretting about back orders and shipping delays and you gotta question why it all seemed so damned important a few short weeks ago. What good is trying to have a great Christmas if you've no one there to share it with?



I DO enjoy the holidays and the gift giving, the family gatherings, the smiling faces, the decorating and baking and all the cooters (Southern for accoutrements) of Christmas. But my heart is in a new place as I maintain a new holiday perspective. More than she can ever know, this year Robin is Christmas to me.

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50 Immortals of Rock

Good feature in latest Rolling Stone magazine of the greatest artists of all time.



Make your personalized signs here. Dozens of motifs to choose from. [via...presurfer]



Nicole Kidman is starring as Grace Margaret Mulligan in Lars von Trier's upcoming Dogville. Seen earlier at film festivals, it's getting great reviews especially on originality, as did his Dancer in the Dark with Bjork. [nyt review & set pic]



*FYI - my hiatal hernia is healing nicely. Pepcid and Nexium have me back to normal. Husband has finally got his diabetes under control after moving from just diabetic pills to also adding the insulin shots. And my sister, Robin continues to heal and get stronger by the day. Normalcy is underrated.



The Bush Dog & Pony Show brought to you by the letters "F" and "U" and the number "1".

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My Mother just phoned to say that my sister is in the hospital and it doesn't look very good. Something about her lungs and a fever. She has HepC and Cirrhosis. I'm waiting for a further update and I'm scared to death. After pacing endlessly, I decided to try to busy myself online.



If you offer prayers or good vibes to anyone, please offer one up for Robin. Thanks.

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{art} International Snow Sculpture Championships held in Breckinridge, CO, each Jan/Feb. Here's one of last year's winners carved from a 10 ton block of snow. More pictures from the past few years are featured. [via: reality carnival]



"Coalition forces generally tried to avoid killing Iraqis who weren’t taking part in combat. But the deaths of hundreds of civilians still could have been prevented by abandoning two misguided military tactics." Human Rights Watch said in a comprehensive new report released today.



Rise and shine; it's a beautiful day. My older, uh, younger sister is having a birthday today. I can't pull that off anymore. By now, everyone knows I'm really older.



Happy Birthday, Robin!



{create} Make a Snowman card - (It's set up like MrPicassohead.) [via: riri's] Or visit Ugly Christmas Lights site. [via: sixdifferentways]



{local} Asheville - The Next Hollywood?

Local Songwriter/Musician Malcolm Holcombe playing tonight at Westville Pub. Heard his new song on the radio yesterday.



saturday morning me//

half-smoked cigarette/half a cup of coffee/

half assed husband making cheese grits/

jeans/moccasins/football jersey/

fell outta bed with a nappy head/

sounds: chemical brothers -"get yourself high"/

so hows about you?/



I feel a sin coming on.

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Smokey was driving away when I peeked out of my blinds. He'd left two bags of groceries on my doorstep. In the midst of a heart-wrenching custody battle, and ferocious cocaine addiction, he hadn't given up on this mess I'd made of my life. I cracked opened the door and hurriedly retrieved the groceries. Taking in the fresh air; letting out the stale. I hadn't been outside in weeks. Or answered the door or telephone, unless it was to let in more dope. Safe within this coccoon. Safe within my destructive self-contained coccoon.

I peered inside one of the bags to see milk, bread, chips, cheese, sandwich meat, juice. The usual care package. Inside the other bag I found body splash, makeup, a book of poetry, magazines, a few cassettes. The bulletin from last Sunday's church service. And an envelope with my name on it.

Susan,
Have a sandwich. Have some poetry or music.
And call if you need anything.

Fr Louis Oats†
aka Smokey
.:__::__:.

Robin went in for her spleen removal at 7:30 this morning. It's a 3 hour + surgery. I should hear something later today.
UPDATE: 12:50 pm - I spoke to Mother and she told me Robin came out of surgery at 11:30. And is hooked up to four different devices. She didn't do a very good job of reassuring me, although she said the doctor told her all went well. So I tried to reassure Mother. Robin took her Mailstation over there, so I'll probably relax when she emails me. Yes, I am scared. She's my baby sister, for goodness sakes.

I took the online Secret Service Test. But I kept failing the last mission, so I never could get a score. [via: presurfer]

Top Ten Conservative Idiots of the Week: Democratic Underground style. Dubya tops the list this week for spending lots of taxpayer money on a photo-op, wasting the time of thousands of sailors who were just trying to get home, and pretending that he did something other than tequila slammers and kegstands during Vietnam.

Seventies rock band, Mountain, are enjoying a surge of popularity thanks to the release of three of their albums: 1970's Climbing!, 1971's Nantucket Sleighride and their 1973 best-of collection. Leslie West is also appearing at the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp this year Jun 18 - 22 in LA. Spend $5,000 to learn how to shake that ass. I can show you for less than that.

Rain, storms, and flood watches are the dreary order for NC today.

Quote For Today
"There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it."

As you were. Nothing more to see here.

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Robin, hasn't felt very well

Tomorrow her spleen goes to hell

Instant weight loss, I'd say

Send some healing vibes her way.



My sister is scheduled for surgery tomorrow morning to remove her spleen.

.:__::__:.

Geraldo, if you want a treasure trove of web traffic, you'll have to update that blog more often. And for God's sakes, man, lose the damn CAPS!



Quote For Today

When you come to the edge of all the life you know, Faith is knowing that one of two things will happen: Someone will be there to catch you or you will be taught to fly.



I can't remember if I'm the good twin or the evil one.

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Good Morning...



A new book by T Coraghessan Boyle is out and this NYTimes review sounds promising. Drop City by T Coraghessan Boyle. An out-of-it hippie commune in 1970's California migrates to Alaska, where life is far more brutal, nasty and short than anyone expected. The book is one of the funniest, and at the same time most subtle, novels we've had about the hippie era's slow fade to black.

[via: NYTimes]



Blogging Around....{or How To Put Off Your Daily Chores In One Easy Lesson}

Brenda, {formerly of Californina, now living in Portugal,} just did a great email interview with Brandon Cruz of the Dead Kennedys about their current Europe/Japan tour. Maggie has a great story about an Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada. Beautiful. Shirl's eating jelly bellies and has a pic of the sardine, grass, dirt, and other ones. Which reminds me of some X-rated gummy treats called, Gummy Dongs, I happened to see today on Wierd Links. [not safe for work] Michelle always has a fun way to do something new; easily explaining web design to the blogging community. Our good pal, Jeff, in Hawaii, speaks bravely about his upcoming surgery for cancer on his site yesterday. Stop in and show him some love. Bobbi tells about a new site tracker she's discovered called Reinvigorate and is checking out. Over at J-Mo's, I found this pic of a funky urinal.



My sister, Robin, has Hepatitis C, and her blood has not been stable enough to undergo treatment for the past two years. It has to do with her platelets. So I've watched her get worse over the past year or so. But, now we are hopeful for the first time. She saw a doctor yesterday who referred her to a surgeon who'll take out her spleen next month. [good news] Then, he can take care of the HepC. Halle-damn-lujah!





Quote For Today

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.

~Ralph Waldo Emerson



saturday morning me/

olive ball cap/ navy football jersey/jeans/

hazelnut espresso/wheat bagel/marlboros/

how about you?/

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We have a blanket of snow this morning. Only 1-2 inches, it appears. I saw where Bobbi has 6-8 inches of new snow this morning; she's in the next county over from me. I really need to venture out today; maybe later. When thinking about being stranded because of snow, I always think back to this one time years ago when my sister, Robin, and I were snowed in, but just before it got too bad, we went out for supplies. Of course, this included a stop at the ABC Store [Liquor Store], and a stop for groceries. On the way back, we slid off the road into a ditch and couldn't get out. No one came by to help either. So what were we going to do? Open up that Vodka; find the orange juice and make Screwdrivers. After a few drinks, someone finally stopped to ask if we needed help. I remember laughing so hard that he finally left. Which made us laugh that much harder. . . . That was at least one lifetime ago.



Is it me, or does it seem to you that an enormous amount of people seem to be depressed this time of year? Fortunately, I don't get very down anymore. But years back, I remember calling my blues The Februarys, since they always showed up this time of the year.



The Official Keith Richards website has now been launched.



Quote Of The Day

"Mankind must put an end to war, or war will put an end to mankind... War will exist until that distant day when the conscientious objector enjoys the same reputation and prestige that the warrior does today."

~John F. Kennedy



Haiku for You

no way i can stop

smoking is my only vice

that and the whoring

~Anon



No computer components were harmed during the creation of this post, however, several billion electrons were abused to ensure its safe delivery.

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It's A Blog, Blog, Blog, Blog, World



The people closest to me seldom surf the internet, much less visit this site. My husband said he got "stuck" the last time he stopped in here. My sister, Robin, spends most all her online time gambling. I'm not talking out of school; she loves to gamble and anyone who knows her will tell you so. Two of my best friends since 9th grade have just gotten online. And are still getting everything set up. Being online and surfing in your free time just isn't as big a priority to the people I know and love as it evidently is to me. That's neither good nor bad. It just "is". And part of what I love about the blogging community. We understand trackback, surfing with carpal tunnel; who's on hiatus, and where the trolls are. And, of course, what's new in DayPop. We blog every spare minute we have in between articles we're working on, calls from customers, changing diapers, memos that need published and distributed, etc. In just over one year of blogging, I've met the neatest people in the world. And we speak the same language. "Blog".





Liquid Lunch



Our juicer is probably the most used item in the kitchen year round. Mostly carrot and parsley juice for lunch. My husband kept extolling the virtues of parsley, so I now add it to my carrot juice. He prefers cantelope juice. Everything that runs through the juicer is so good for you, but the best thing of all is that it's E A S Y.





Even with A/C, I still don't enjoy heating up the kitchen in the summer. Shirl is gathering recipes to try soon when she has some time off and I thought of how we cook in different seasons. Hearty soups and stews and breads in winter; fruit salads, grilled meats and veggies in summer. Mmmm. Some grilled pineapple sounds nice. And maybe some shrimp---coconut or scampi. Oh, wait. Couldn't I put those in the juicer, too?

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Sisters
Today, I'm grateful for my sister, Robin. I don't think everyone appreciates the closeness of sisters. Am I saying that they have a more special bond than brothers? Or couples? Maybe I'm just trying to say that I'm thisclose to MY sister. It could be that we've always stayed in touch with each other or that we're just two years apart. We've shared marriage troubles, divorces, pregnancies, addictions, the death of our father, but it's only made us stronger. A whole lot of tears, but looking back I remember the silly times. We used to laugh about the stupidest stuff. I mean, fall in the floor laughing. I still feel so protective of her. It's hard to let go of that nurturing feeling being the older sister, I suppose. Yet, she's the first one I turn to when I need comforting. I couldn't imagine what it would have been like to grow up as an only child. If you have a sibling, I hope you're able to appreciate them as much as I appreciate Robin.

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ellinor village resort

My husband and I were discussing the 'old days' and how now everyone seems to have a new car. Back when we were growing up, the only person who had a new car on the block was the doctor who lived across the street. Now, people think nothing of taking an extra job just so they can have a new car. This conversation then took us to the time when both our families went to Ormond Beach, FL, right beside of Daytona Beach, on vacation. There's a family resort that was formerly called Ellinor Village. It's now called Ocean Village and I believe it's a residential complex now. It's acres and acres of houses, and duplexes, that have all the usual accommodations for comfortable vacation living. Located across the highway from the beach, it has pools, tennis courts, shopping village, post office, grocery, drug store. Going to Ellinor Village each summer is some of my very best memories. I remember getting stung by a jellyfish in 13 places once while in the ocean and a cute lifeguard had to apply some type of lotion to all my sting places. Daytona Beach is special since people are able to drive their cars on the beach there. Of course, the speed limit is only 10 MPH, but it's great for people watching. The first time I saw Led Zeppelin was when we went to Daytona and heard on the radio that they'd be appearing in Jacksonville. After begging our parents relentlessly, my sister and I were able to drive up to see them perform. I believe I was only 17, and Robin was 15 at the time. Our parents were usualy pretty strict, but fortunately, they also realized the importance that Led Zeppelin had in our lives.

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Just returned from the klinik---didn't see anyone today. Friends, or Robin.....was really hoping to run into Robin, my sister. Skyler rode with me this morning. She's still out for Spring Break. She seems to have such healthy self esteem for a 13 year old. She's really getting more fun to hang out with and knows how to make me laugh. I hope we always have this closeness. So today, I am grateful for Skyler and the ultimate joy she's brought into my life.

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April? And do I have my taxes done? Probably not.....thinking about my sister, Robin, tonight. She's extremely ill. I want to hear her voice and see her face all the time, but she doesn't live near me anymore. And she really doesn't feel like getting on the pc very much either. That's fucked up. If she knew how much it meant to me just to get a few words from her more often, I believe she'd try harder. It's what I need. Is that selfish? Maybe it's harder on her than I realize. But I really need to hear and see her. I really love her so much. I don't think I've really told her that lately. I think I'll do just that.....

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