Behold, A Tiny Hum

Banter with Richard

2011-08-19T01:08:00.002-05:00

The following is my most recent Facebook inbox exchange with Richard Barron. It's fun to see where the conversations will go and they are often hilarious!!

Richard R. Barron

Word.

LeAnn Skeen

Damn. I think about you just about every day. For instance about twenty minutes ago I was thinkin about you. I was tryin to remember about the time I decided to memorize the dictionary. I only got as far as A. (that is the first letter, right)? So that's when I learned about antecedents and anthropomorphism. . . I think. What is antecedent again??????

Richard R. Barron

Antecedent is a pair of your mom's sisters who plant a garden. I'm pretty sure.

LeAnn Skeen

Oh.
So it really doesn't have anything to do with your aunt a seein a dent?

Richard R. Barron

Your aunt makes dents in the soil with her apron strings so she can sow the reaping. Once the reaping is sewn, you can kill the reaper. But don't fear him.

Most of what I know about antecedents comes from song lyrics, actually.

Violated and Outraged

2011-06-13T15:00:00.002-05:00

This is going to be a rant, so my post will be all over the place.

I am starting to believe that I cannot fit into a 21st Century job market. At some point sexual harassment supposedly became unacceptable behavior in the work place, did it not??!! I am beginning to become aware of the fact that more than a few pervs out there didn't get the memo!!

I have dealt with sexual harassment for over thirty years now. One of my employers (The Lawton Constitution) took action to correct the problem right away. Yeah, I know that will surprise some of you, but when I went to my boss and told him what was happening, he immediately sprung into action on my behalf. I too was surprised by his swift and effective response.

In most cases NOTHING ever gets done and reporting sexual harassment can make it difficult to continue working for a company.

Today I applied for a job with Stripes which is a local convenience store in Lawton. I know the manager personally. He used to rent the main house before Robert moved in. He called me and asked me to come in for an interview. He told me that if Billy is still around not to bother coming in. He said it's because of Billy's drinking and he doesn't want any trouble. I don't know if that is legal or not, but I do understand it. But he told me that if I want to work in his store that I have to fit in. I told him that I usually get along with other employees,, but I have no idea what he meant. Then he pulled me close to him. Twice. First he said he thought the reason we never got along was because he "wanted to fuck me from the first time he ever laid eyes on me." The second time he said he wanted to see my boobs. I told me neither would ever happen. Then I asked him if he and his wife had their baby yet.

I want to report it but to whom????? I'm still trying to figure out with something I learned about Walmart. My first day at Walmart I was told to stay away from Abdul. I was told he was from a country where they hated women and they are trying to get him fired. I observed co-workers and managers at Walmart taking notes of anything and everything that Abdul did "wrong" until he was soon fired as I was told he would be. This thing with Stripes comes on the heels of that situation.

I suppose I could file a case with the EEOC or the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission about my situation at Stripes. But for what?? Will I have to wait for so many years for an investigation to be conducted and cause or no cause to be found?

This is an issue that needs to be resolved now. Can I tell the owner of Stripes? Will he listen? My past experience leads me to believe that nothing can be done to correct this type of behavior. I will be dismissed as a trouble making drama queen.

So I suppose I am not blogging to vent. I am blogging to ask you what I should do. If you normally don't comment, please comment this time. I want to take some kind of action if it will help at all so please tell me what you think.

Thanks.

The Unraveling

2010-05-31T20:13:00.001-05:00

@Jaclyn You're story is very familiar. This woman thinks she is entitled to Billy because neither she nor anyone in the Forgy family considers me his wife even though we are legally married. They have always treated me like I have been keeping him drunk and away from his "real wife." As far as she and the whole Forgy clan is concerned she is his... See More 'wife.' @ Rox. . . Thanks for using the B word!! I won't uses it cause bitch is his family's favorite word for me. They have a lot of rage, hate, and a very limited vocabulary. @ ya'll. . . It's very true that I said some rude things to Billy's dad while he was dying. Even though at the time I said them, I didn't know he was actually in the hospital dying it wouldn't have mattered. I would have said what I said anyway. So in the interest of full disclosure I''ll explain. Cause y'all have been ever so kind to me you deserve to know my evil side too. Billy's dad, like the rest of the Forgy family has always hated me for above mentioned reasons. He never spoke to me in the last fifteen years without out telling me to stay away from Billy and he never acknowledged our marriage. In 2008 I was living in the country with Billy and I came to town to get away from his drinking. The next morning his step-mom called me and told me she had the sheriff out there supervising my eviction from my home which was next door to Billy's dad's house. His dad called her after I left and told her something (I don't know what) but they decided to move me out. The sheriff put me in handcuffs when I started to go inside my house. Billy was told to stay out of it altogether accept they made him load my things in Louise's truck. (step-mom). Neither of these two owned nor managed this property. They just took it upon themselves to move me out and the sheriff let them do it. (The landlord was livid when he got home from vacation--his wife and I are very good friends). The sheriff told me that if I ever come back to that property again they would take me to jail.Louise dropped my belongings off in an alley behind my mom's house and the neighbor let me put them in his garage. The landlord went to the sheriff's office and chewed them out or allowing it to happen. I wrote to Judge Judy and a producer wrote me back within a couple of hours. She called me and said the only way they can put it in the show is if the other parties involved agree which they didn't. I was labeled a nut for writing to Judge Judy but no one thought there was anything wrong with my next door neighbor evicting me other than the landlord and his wife. Most of my experiences with Billy's dad were very bad like that. He never introduced me has his daughter-in-law or Billy's wife--but as Bill's old gal or the Bill's woman and he about choked when he said that. The most recent thing was at Christmas 2009. Billy and his dad invited Alesia and Celesta to spend Christmas out at his dad's house. Billy kept going on about how I didn't care for the whole Christmas routine anyway so I could just stay home while he went to his dad's. I could tell he was guilty about something. No one went anywhere on Christmas Eve because of the blizzard. I only learned about their plans when his dad called to re-schedule them for Sunday and I could here what he was saying. A few days later the old man was in the hospital and I went out to his house with Billy to feed the dogs. There was an unopened gift with a card that said to Alesia from Billy. I started layin into Billy about how mean his dad was. He defended the old dude and told me not to say anything about him cause he was dyin. I said the fact that he's dyin doesn't change his mean spirit and it doesn't negate all of his cruel treatment of me. So in April I heard that the old dude had died. I called his cell phone to see if it was true. He answered. I said something like this. . . "Oh. You're not dead yet. Damn. How long is it gonna be?" He got mad at me and started yelling at me about it. I said "Look, you mean old man! You have always been very very cruel to me and now that you're dyin, you'd think you would want to set that right. The fact that you're dyin doesn't make you a nice person and I just wish you would hurry up and get it over with." Yeah I know, it was mean. But it was after fifteen years of nothing but hatred in spite of my efforts to build a relationship with him. Well the family that hated me now at "proof" that LeAnn was nothin but a trouble-making bitch who deserved no mercy. One more thing happened before this. His daughter had always ignored every effort I made to befriend her. I could tell she didn't care for me but I ignored it. A few months ago I sent her a text telling her I had a little bit of money coming in and if she needed some to let me know. Now up until this text she NEVER replied to any of my texts or messages and only occasionally would IM me on fb but it was always awkward because I could tell she didn't want to tt me. But with this text she literally replied in less than four seconds, tops. "Yes, I need money. I'm driving home from Miami and I need gas money." I sent her a hundred dollars. She gave me a few mercy texts after that and then started ignoring me again. Then on the day Corey Haim died I sent out a text to everyone and she wrote back and asked who he was. Then she sent me another text that said "Why don't you just let my dad be sober so he can come home! As far as I'm concerned you're nothing but a bitch for keeping him away from his family!" We had a text fight for a few and of course she won. I figured out that she knew about her mom wanting my husband back for herself. I also figured it was tied into the fact that Celesta had recently graduated college and was moving to Miami to start her career in PR. Alesia had decided that with their daughter out of the house it was time for Billy to come "home." It didn't matter that he and I had been together for fifteen years. Neither I nor my feelings were a factor because to all Forgys Billy and Alesia were married and I just did not count at all. So anyway this is a small piece of my experiences with my husbands family. I think I'll copy this ridiculously long comment and post it on my blog. That will make Richard happy. But I would like to know. And don't side with me just cause y'all are my friends. Tell me if you think I went too far with the "death wish" and if you think it negates all the bad things he or any of them have done to me. Thanks. Um, that is if you read that far!! lol. Also if you do read this entire comment, please tell me. I'm kind of curious to know.
about an hour ago ·

Just Checkin In....

2009-02-17T00:33:00.003-06:00

I have been pretty busy but I wanted to check in briefly and get a post up before my account gets deleted or something.

Let's see, what's going on with me these days...? Hmmm... Well, Lawton has been the focus of national attention lately. These two teenage brothers posted a few youtube videos of one of them abusing the family cat. Youtube took it down, but the sheriff and TV station have been flooded with calls from around the world since it happened. Then on a message board, someone posted the kids full name, address, phone number, and his mother's name and her email address. These kids are already in trouble with the law, but with their personal information out there, their lives could be in danger. This is the news story but don't watch it if you are sensitive to graphic details (it was edited but still sickening to watch) of animal abuse. My computer only shows an X and not the video, so if you can't see it here you can go to kswo.com.

Since I last blogged, Justin moved back to Lawton. He drove here from Tucson last month. He's sharing a house with his sister and another rommate and happy to be home. He's gonna enroll at Cameron this summer and finally go to college. He's motivated because he doesn't want to take thirty years to graduate, unlike his mom.

Speaking of me, I too have decided to finally finish my degree as well. I applied for admission at Cameron and hope to get started this summer. It shouldn't take me more than a couple of years to finish up. I really need this. My cognitive abilities have diminished quite a bit, with the lengthy illness I had and other things. My vocabulary and writing skills have waned considerably. But I'm thinkin that with some brisk mental exercises, I can whip my brain back into shape in a semester or two! I was an English major and I don't guess there is any sense in changing that, although I may go with English Education. Anyway, that's what I'm gonna do.

That's pretty much about all I can think of to tell y'all tonight. Thanks for stopping by!

Carry Me Home To See My Kin

2009-01-08T04:07:00.012-06:00

Billy and I visited family in Northern Alabama recently. We left Oklahoma two days after Christmas and returned home on January 2nd after stopping in Memphis for a whirlwind tour on New Year's day.

On the way out of Oklahoma on I40 between Oklahoma City and Fort Smith, we made quick stops in three towns. Okema, the home of Woodie Guthrie, Henryetta, home of Troy Aikman, and Checotah, home of Carrie Underwood.

About 2AM the morning we were leaving, a heavy thunderstorm pounded rain upon Richard Spur. By the time we left at 7AM it had moved on, but we caught up with it at the Arkansas state line and that storm was determined to hitch a ride with us all the way to Elkmont, Alabama where dad lives. Our driving speed was reduced to about 35 mph and we gave up about 60 miles west of Memphis and got a motel room for the night.

We had such a great time and I hated to leave. We stayed with Dad and Carol for a couple of days and then we went to my Aunt Myrna's house in Huntsville for a couple of days. We left early on New Year's day.

Dad and Carol took us to Pulaski, Tennessee where we ate and a Place called Legends. It's one of their favorite restaurants. Dad is a retired policeman and paramedic, but he fancies himself as damn near a doctor, so if you need brain surgery or to have your toenails removed you should visit his website at damnnearadoctor.com. Dad also builds models--mostly WWII aircraft. Dad and Carol have been married since July 3, 1981 which is the day I went into the hospital to have Michael who was born July 4, 1981. The dad pictures on here are his models and one of his retirement things from when he retired from Texas DOC in Huntsville, Texas. Also the picture of Billy with the banjoe is from Carol's musical instrument collection. The shih tzu is their little dog Chance, whom I think they adopted the day they got married! lol. He's very old.

We all went to Aunt Myrna's and Uncle Gary's on December 30, and Aunt Myrna had prepared a very nice lunch for everyone. We all visited for a couple of hours, until Dad and Carol went home. I have always loved staying at Aunt Myrna's and Uncle Gary's. When I was a kid, she used to take me shopping and when she went to the store she always brought back cracker jacks or animal crackers for us kids. Wherever she and Uncle Gary lived in the world, they always mailed us really cool gifts. Uncle Gary is a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Army so they have lived all over the world. The Aunt Myrna pictures on here are their dog Zoe, a bichon frise who is very spoiled and lots of fun, Uncle Gary's golf ball collection--I thought it was all his holes in one, but I was wrong. I think it's various golf resorts he visited. His handicap used to be a five, but he's encountered some health problems and it's gone up a bit. The Mona Lisa is so cool. I admired it and I thought it was a print, but it's an original they had painted by an artist in Greece when they lived there in the 1960's. There's also a picture of Myrna, Gary and my cousin Matt. I lived with them for a while when I was a teen and he still thinks of me as his sister.

Dad and Carol live near Athens, Alabama and the big white house is one of many houses like that in that area. The honor system fruit stand is in Athens.

The Memphis pictures include the Lorraine Motel which is now the American Civil Rights Museum. A lone protester has set up shop everyday outside the museum for years. She believes the museum is practicing gentrification and I think her web address is fulfillthedream.net. It should be on the picture though, I think.

The crowd on Beale Street in Memphis was extraordinary. It was like that when my brother Thomas and I visited three years ago on an ordinary day, but this time we got there just in time for the Liberty Bowl festivities on New Year's day. The fans were cheering for their prospective teams and I joined right in as if I was there for that reason. The house with all the people out front is Graceland.

It was a fantastic trip. We took over four hundred pictures and of course there wasn't enough time to do everything we wanted to do. But gas prices were down and I wanted to go before they spiked again. We drove a total of 1751 miles and spent about $95 on gas.

Posted by Bigcat While Mom was Sleeping

2008-12-22T00:40:00.006-06:00

1. Gunta. (swimming in the Arkansas River) Aka Goon and the Groovy Goony. He loved to be chased and ran off all the time. One day he was hit by a car. Thankfully the Tulsa Humane Society took him in and he was adopted by a good family who changed his name to Buddy. We only had him a few weeks.

2. Billy the Rooster. He's really Billy's dad's rooster but I call him Billy in honor of a rooster by the same name who lived long ago and was a beloved pet that was tragically eaten for Sunday dinner. His story was actually beautifully told on the Soap Opera, Ryan's Hope in 1977.

3. Rufus. (red collar w bone tag, lying on the floor) Billy's mom's dog. Watch out for him. He eats pigs.

4. Sis the bulldog. (resting on a pillow) Aka Sis Boom Bah. She's a pit and is the most gentle dog I know. She belongs to Billy's dad and lives next door to us.

5. Norton. (posing perfectly for the camera and the other is Nort and Sis kissing) I love him so. Aka Nort, Nortimer Snerd, and Nordon. He has been with us since Jan 2007. Last year when I was very sick and in the hospital I had Mother and Robert take him to the Tulsa Humane Society because I thought he was too much to handle. Mother told me later that she and Robert had become attached to him and were secretly hoping they wouldn't take him. I cannot express how thankful I am that they didn't. Truly, I wasn't thinking clearly and I can't imagine my world without a Nordon in it.

6. Bigcat. Born July 4, 1997 according to me. We got him in October 1998. He was my very first pet as an adult and he as had many many adventures. He once survived an apartment fire and was once built into a wall because he was too scared to come out when the construction guys started to build the wall. He is now a retired Tom Cat and lives a quiet secluded life in the country where he has been writing his memoirs on a typewriter he once received as a Christmas gift. I'm hoping that one day he will tell me about his kittenhood.

7. Cousin Jack. Aka Cousin, Jack, Jacky, Jackalak, and Lacky. Mother thinks he is her dog, but Cousin and I know better.

8. Frank. (pictured w me) Aka Lanky, widdle feller, Puppy Baby and sometimes Frankenfurter. He will soon be seven years old. Frank came into my life in May of 2002 when my heart had just been shattered a few months earlier in January when my twenty year old son Michael died. He was a balm to my broken heart. He would like all the others go go away so he can be the only dog in my life. He asked me to tell you that he is my favorite. No other dogs matter except for Frank.

My Dear Cousin

2008-12-20T17:23:00.001-06:00

Cousin Jack and I first met on Christmas Day 1998. At the time I was living in Oklahoma City. Billy and I came to Lawton for Christmas. We stopped by my brother Robert's house to give him his gift. At the time, I was definitely not an animal person. Only two months earlier in October 1998 a stray cat had befriended Billy. Billy wanted to take him in and I protested because of my allergies. Thankfully Billy won out and that stray cat became our beloved Big who has been with us for over ten years now.

Big helped me to overcome my indifference to animals. Once early on, my friend Paula saved Bigcat's life when he had a bad leg injury. That's how I met Paula when we were both operators at Southwestern Bell. I was mildly concerned about Big, but not enough to do anything about it and I didn't have the money to take him to the vet. Someone at work told Paula my plight and she introduced herself to me and arranged an appointment for Big and paid the vet bill. We have been friends ever since and she is the godmother to all my pets.

So anyway, Robert had recently adopted a baby chihuahua and he was so cute, I would have taken him home with me that day if I could have gotten away with it. He was exactly the size of those little Taco Bell dogs that were all the rage at that time. Robert only had to pay $50 for him with papers because supposedly he wasn't the quality of the other dogs in the litter or something like that.

Cousin and I grew very close through the years which is kinda strange since I always either lived in Tulsa or OKC while he lived in Lawton. Whenever I came to town, he always greeted me ecstatically and when I would leave Mother told me he would sometimes wait by the door for hours thinking I was coming back. When he was younger, he went nuts when he heard my voice on the phone because he thought I was there and he couldn't find me. Mother eventually took over the care of Cousin Jack from Robert. She brought him to visit me as often as she could and he spent a lot of time with me in Tulsa and OKC. When I go to Mother's and I can't stay long, I try my best to avoid seeing Cousin Jack because he gets upset if I don't stay and he can't come with me.

His vet called Mother this morning with grim news. His biopsy came back and his growth is something called Hemangiosarcoma. It is a deadly form of cancer. His doctor also called me because Mother was too distraught to comprehend what she telling her. She told me that his condition is guarded and we need to watch for signs that it is growing internally such as loss of appetite and labored breathing. She said she has never seen this type of cancer on the skin until now. She said that she is certain they were able to remove the entire growth and that the reason the other doctor thought it was superficial is because there wasn't much blood flow which is a good sign. She thinks it's possible there isn't any cancer internally but not likely. She also said that just because Cousin Jack appears healthy that it doesn't mean he isn't sick. So we all we can do is watch him and hope that one growth was all there was. This particular vet hasn't ever seen a dog who lived with this type of cancer. She doesn't recommend chemo and we agree. He's ten years old and he doesn't need to go through such a traumatic ordeal when it will not likely prolong his life.

My new friend, Dr. Ron was kind enough to talk to me about it. You may meet Dr. Ron in my Thomas Comes Home for Christmas entry. He posted a comment there. He is a veterinarian by day and a blueshound by night. He told me if it was showing up externally that it is somewhere else. By all accounts, it seems the news for Cousin Jack is very grim indeed. I am very grateful for my new friend and for his willingness to educate me regarding Cousin Jack's condition. I have only known Dr. Ron a very short time, (since we picked up Thomas in OKC) but he's a great guy and I've grown attached to him already!! Poor Dr. Ron!!

One quick update regarding my car crash post. I told you I am always careful to check to make sure no one passes me on the left when I turn left into my driveway. As I was driving home this evening from Lawton, I turned on my blinker to turn left into the casino parking lot. I forgot to check for careless drivers passing me and as I slowed down to turn. Sure enough an idiot in a minivan passed me on the left as I made my turn. I have no idea why we didn't collide. She was going very fast, I'm sure and I was nearly stopped. I didn't even see her until she was also in the casino parking lot where she swerved rapidly to avoid hitting me. She was completely freaked out. I saw her at that point because I nearly hit her in the driveway because she had so suddenly appeared. She could have killed us, but she was so visibly shaken we had to make sure she was okay. She had to ask me if we collided. She didn't even know what happened. "No, ma'am, you didn't hit us. If you had we wouldn't be talking right now because we would probably be DEAD!!!!"

Car Crash on East Gore Wednesday December 17, 2008

2008-12-17T22:26:00.000-06:00

Billy and I had just left a Window Cleaning job in East Lawton this afternoon around 3 PM as students were leaving MacArthur High School. The road was closed so I attempted to detour through a residential area which took us right upon an accident scene on East Gore.

I decided to take pictures since I happened to have my camera with me. I don't expect my photos to receive international recognition as Richard's (http://giantmuh.blogspot.com/) have, but I didn't want to miss the opportunity to get the pictures just the same.

A high school boy was driving a Cadillac westbound on Gore Blvd at a high rate of speed according to witnesses. A 68 year old woman was driving a pick up truck and was making a U-turn into the westbound lane of Gore Blvd. Witnesses said the Cadillac t-boned the pick up. The woman in the pick up was partially ejected. She was taken by helicopter to an Oklahoma City hospital. I don't know how serious her injuries are. The high school boy wasn't hurt.

From what little I know about what happened, I don't understand why the woman made a U-turn into the path of a speeding vehicle. People grow impatient with my driving all the time. I rarely pull out when a car is even remotely close or even if it's not close but appears to be driving very fast. "You can go now" is a common phrase used by whomever happens to be in my passenger seat. Personally, I don't see the point in jumping into oncoming traffic to please my passenger or the people in the car behind me.

I also live on a highway where the speed limit is 65 mph. I drive the speed limit and am often passed on the right, and tailgated. When I'm tailgated I slow way down sometimes to 20 mph and they usually back off. Coming from Lawton, I have to turn left into my driveway. I always have to be aware of impatient drivers behind me who pass me on the left when I slow down to turn. Stephanie, I gotta tell ya, it ain't so bad not driving!!!

A Blogworthy Horse, Of Course!

2008-12-15T11:39:00.000-06:00

I made a new friend this morning!! I pulled into the driveway and noticed someone I had never met before, hanging around in the pasture behind our house. I don't know his name and I think he must be new to the neighborhood.

I haven't had much experience with horses. I have gone riding a few times and every single time, I have been thrown!! Everyone tells me it's because they can tell I'm afraid of them and they are all wrong!! I am not afraid of horses in the least. I think it is something else. I spoil my dogs and my cat but I have always been unintentionally indifferent towards horses. I never regarded them as a pet to be loved and gushed over. I guess I sort of considered them transportation or something to do, like a go cart ride or something.

But this time, I talked to my new friend with respect like he deserved. I fed him some Quaker Oats and visited with him in twenty degree temperatures for at least an half an hour. As Sally Field once said, "He liked me!! He really liked me!!" He didn't want me to go and I didn't want to go. I was afraid I would never get to see him again. My friend Sue Ellen suggested he could be a stray. I hope not. I don't understand why he wasn't in a warm barn somewhere though. If he comes back, maybe I'll ask him to take me to his house so I can meet his owners. I think I better buy a bale of hay to keep on hand so he will have a snack when he visits too. I think he could use a little fattening up!!

Sam Bradford and Norton

2008-12-15T01:20:00.000-06:00

Is it just me or does my cute little dog Norton bear a striking resemblance to OU quarterback and 2008 Heisman trophy winner, Sam Bradford?

Thomas Comes Home For Christmas

2008-12-15T00:05:00.001-06:00

On Thursday, December 11, Mother and I went to Oklahoma City to pick up my brother Thomas from the airport. He flew in from the Solomon Islands because his job working for the Arch Bishop of the Diocese of Melanesia ended when the bishop retired. He'll be here for a month or two while he waits to get his visa in order. Then he's off to Vanuatu to do whatever it is he does. I just know it has something to do with the Anglican Church.

We had a great time in the city though. Thomas is always up for a good time so as soon as we left the airport, he wanted to go to Bricktown. I used to go to the all the Redhawks games when I lived in the city, and I was down in Bricktown all the time but I haven't lived in the city for six years now, so it's been a while since I've been to that area.

We went to Zio's for dinner. I wanted to go to Cheleno's for Mexican but Thomas was hungry for Italian. We went to the movies afterward and I saw Cadillac Records which I enjoyed very much. Mother and Thomas saw Australia. After the movies Jill met up with us and we went to a great blues club called The Biting Sow. It was a lot of fun. I don't remember the name of the band but it was Dr. Ron and the blues something. We got to visit with Dr. Ron and that was very nice. We got home around two in the morning I guess.

Mother took me to the commissary and the PX today. I finally got the ingredients for my Egg Cream. I first learned about it watching Ryan's Hope then my friend Judy told me how to make it via the Ryan's Hope message board. I had to make do with Oklahoma supplies since we don't have U-Bet chocolate syrup in Oklahoma. It was good anyway, but one day I'll try a real New York Egg Cream! It's pretty much just carbonated chocolate milk!! lol. I did use a Coca Cola shaped glass as instructed though!!

That's about it for now. We're expecting an Arctic Blast and it's already really cold. It's time to hunker down. You two stay warm!!!

Classic Christmas Commercials

2008-12-08T00:36:00.000-06:00

Buy the World A Coke

Toys R Us

Noelco 1967

Kodak w Dick Van Dyke 1970's

McDonalds 1970's

1950's Theater Ad

Pillsbury 1970's

Sears Stereo 1970's

Cousin Jack Had A Cancer Scare!

2008-12-04T12:26:00.000-06:00

A couple of weeks ago, while visiting Cousin Jack at Mother's house, I noticed a new growth on his chest. I felt it while giving him a hug and lifted him up to see what it was. I thought it was a sore but upon examination I dismissed it as a mole I hadn't ever noticed. I eventually learned that I hadn't noticed it because it wasn't there before. As you can see from the picture with me holding him, is chest is pretty much bare. In just a few days the new mole grew rapidly. I'll spare you a graphic description. Less than a week after I first noticed the mole, Mother decided to take him to the vet. The vet thought is was suspicious. She pretty much told us that most likely there would be no hope for Cousin Jack. She started talking to us about putting him down and everything. Cousin is ten years old, but he is a very healthy doggy. He didn't appear to be the least bit sick. So on Tuesday evening we took him to spend the night at the vet so he could have his growth removed Wednesday morning. He had never been boarded and was so afraid. He was trembling and as I put him in the kennel he clung tightly to me and tried so hard to jump back into my arms. They promised me they would give him a doggy xanax.

I went to get him yesterday afternoon. Doctor Bower (great name for a vet, huh) spoke with me and said he definitely got it all. He made sure there was nothing left of the growth. Most encouraging was that he said he had seen cancer many times and this was not cancer. It was simply a superficial mole. He said we still have to wait for confirmation from the lab in Dallas but not to worry. Cousin Jack was ecstatic to learn he was going to live!! He celebrated by eating a dozen dog treats at the vet. He then called Mother and asked her if he could spend the night with me in the country. He promised to be good and said he wouldn't run into the highway. He kept his promise and has been a very well behaved doggy. He only picked one fight with Norton. He's ready to go home now so in a little while, Billy and I will take him home to Mother.

Did you noticed the family resemblance in our picture?? You can tell we're related because we both have large luminous eyes and distinctive apple shaped heads.

I hope you're all having a pleasant holiday season. Tucson readers please tell all your friends to go to Sears at the Park Place mall and buy a mattress from Justin. Nothing says Christmas like a Sealy Posterpedic under the tree!!

2008-11-27T21:53:00.000-06:00

Billy and I went to his mom's and step-dad's (Stan and Shirley) house in Yukon today. We showed up nearly two hours late for dinner but there was plenty of leftovers. They took us on a tour of Stan's new store and meat snack plant. My friend Jill stopped by and visited for a while. Pictured are:

1. Jill and me. (Not Jill and I, right, Richard)?

2. Jill and Billy.

3-10. Stan's business in the store area. Don't forget to buy all your meat snacks from Stan and order early for Christmas.

http://stanssmokehouse.com/

11. Shirley (World's greatest MIL)

12. Stan (King of Meat)

13. Billy's cousin, Spike.

14. Billy's Uncle Bob (Spike's dad, Shirley's brother and all around great guy).

15. Billy and his daughter Celesta. (She's goin to Oxford in the Fall).

It was a nice quiet Thanksgiving. We left around seven to go pick up our landlord's granddaughter from the airport and got home around nine. I saw one place where gas was $1.54 but in most places it was about the same as in Lawton. I hope you all enjoyed your day.

Happy Thanksgiving

2008-11-26T19:08:00.000-06:00

It seems gas prices are still dropping for the time being. I'll be in Yukon tomorrow. I'm curious to know what the gas prices are in the city because they are usually quite a bit lower there than they are here.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Humdicted

2008-11-25T00:00:00.001-06:00

62%

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Veteran's Day Tuesday November 11, 2008

2008-11-11T15:31:00.000-06:00

Today, Billy and I went to Fort Sill National Cemetery which is very close to our home here in the tiny community of Richards Spur. (It might be Richard Spur, I'm not sure). My mother's husband, Ernie's first wife Anna is buried there and so is Justin's Uncle David. Anna died in February and David died in April. David was riding is bicycle and was hit by a car and died of massive head and trunk injuries even though he always put safety first and was wearing a helmet. He was only forty-six. The family of the man buried next to David was tending to his grave. Someone had left flowers but they were just lying there in the plastic wrapper.

Billy also got a shot of a memorial stone for General Critz whose wife Joy was a dear friend of mine in the 80's until she moved out of state and we lost touch. Joy was with me in the emergency room when Michael came down with meningitis when he was only five years old.

In Elgin today we spotted a girl riding a horse and I thought that was neat so I made Billy get a picture but I think we scared the girl cause she trotted of quickly when she saw us. The church in the picture is where Billy had to wait in line for two hours to vote a week ago today.

Forgy named Window Cleaner of the Month

2008-11-09T14:26:00.000-06:00

It is true that when it comes to cleaning, Billy is the best. It was actually the first thing I noticed when I first visited his apartment in Oklahoma City in 1995. That's probably because I am pretty much the opposite of Billy when it comes to cleaning. I'm certain it's because he's so good that is why his window cleaning business is doing so well, so quickly. The trick is to get people to give us a chance in the first place. Once he does work for them, the rest is easy. So I have to say I'm grateful to the Master Window Cleaners Association of America for giving Billy recognition for a job well done. They voted Billy window cleaner of the month for 2008 and issued a press release that was in today's Sunday Constitution. The association has been a tremendous help to us in learning and growing the business. We couldn't have done any of this without them. So please visit their web site and find a window cleaner near you. Everyone loves clean windows but it's a very hard job and you'll be thrilled with your windows once you have had them professionally cleaned. Here is a link to the member directory.

http://www.mwcoa.com/directory.shtml

I Was An Idiot and I Panicked so I didn't Vote!

2008-11-01T13:18:00.000-05:00

Today Billy and I were genuine idiots when we decided to drive to the courthouse and cast our votes early. When we got there and saw long lines of voters stretching almost to the mall (Nah na nah na nah nah, our mall is downtown) we panicked, thus classifying us as Panicky Idiots making us unqualified to vote. Refer to this link. http://giantmuh.blogspot.com/2008/10/if-you-are-panicky-idiot-please-dont.html. It was mayhem! Madness! We decided to wait until Tuesday when we can peacefully vote at our own designated polling place at Wichita Mountain Estates Fire Department where we surmise that the entire voting population is probably significantly less than the hundreds of Comanche County residents who were standing in that line!! There were folks who were nowhere near the front who had already been there for two hours!

In other news, gas prices in Lawton are creeping back up. It's around $2.08 a gallon now. It seems that Lawton didn't want the honor of having the lowest gas prices in the state. It's a good thing I got a picture before it went back up to over $2.00 a gallon!

A Little Bit of Lawton Oklahoma

2008-10-26T13:06:00.000-05:00

My fan base is growing by leaps and bounds. I have readers all over the world, in places like New York, Korea, Tucson, Vermont, Honiara and Byng. Many of you suffer from "Lawton Envy." So because you long to to be here, but since you can't, I took a few pictures for you with my trusty Kodak Easyshare. Enjoy.

1. Ernie and Mother's place decked out for Halloween.

2. Columbia Square Apartments where I lived in the late 80's. I put this one up to show Brenda and Kelly. This is the new building. The one's where we lived were recently torn down.

3. Billy and Mother's husband Ernie suited up for the game.

4. A friendly neighborhood buffalo.

5. Leo and Kens. A popular truck stop we frequent. The serve a tasty upscale prison cuisine. If you eat there don't bother complaining about the food. It's not their fault you chose to eat there after all.

6. Lawton schrub on Gore and Fort Sill Blvd.

7. Billy in front of his scoreboard on Gore.

8. Apac where I worked with Susan in the mid 90's. Remember all the fun we had Susan?? lol.

9. Sign at Billy's Uncle Dana's car lot. He's been selling cars in Lawton since the city was founded, I think.

10. Internet pic of the Lawton Constitution where I met Richard and Susan's ex husband Tom Jackson. They are both world renowned journalists these days. Susan gets her kicks reading books and teaching Korean engineering students how to communicate in English.

11. Pics taken Saturday morning out at the Wildlife refuge while we were driving to Cache to clean windows at Bank of the Wichitas.

12. Gas prices in Lawton as of Friday. They haven't changed over the weekend as far as I know. But I heard that Oklahoma has the lowest prices in the nation and a station in Frederick (SW OK) has it priced at $2.04 a gallon.

13, 14, 15, 16, 17. Accidentally posted these twice and don't know how to take them off.

18, 19. Welcome to Lawton, y'all.

20. Norton my darling doggy here at home in Richard Spur.

Yukon Oklahoma

2008-10-10T18:32:00.000-05:00

Not much happening around here. The window cleaning business is really taking off. Yesterday Billy and I went to Yukon and he cleaned his mom's windows and his Uncle gave us a pressure washer which is very cool. I saw gas as low as $2.59. I got a pic of it at $2.68 though. So what are the gas prices where y'all are??

I put up a pic of Billy, his mom and his daughter Celesta, his sister Kim and her little friend, and his step dad Stan.

Stan has a beef jerky empire. Currently he is in the process of opening a new plant and store in Yukon. We went there yesterday and saw it but I forgot my camera. I'm easily impressed and thought it was so cool that he actually owns his own fork lift! lol . I just never knew anybody who owned a fork lift, ya know? Here is the link to Stan's web site.

http://www.stanssmokehouse.com/

Everybody but Richard please feel free to go take a look. He takes orders from all over the United States and has great gift packages too. Okay Richard you can look too since you do know people who eat meat.

That one pic is of our front porch taken this morning.

Bill Goes Cleaning Windows to Make An Honest Bob

2008-10-01T11:57:00.000-05:00

Billy recently became a member of Master Window Cleaners of America making him the first an only Oklahoma resident in the second largest Window Cleaners association in the US. Here is the link so you can check out their web site. They have a directory so you can find a professional window cleaner near you. Our good friend and mentor Howard Connet of Tucson AZ helped establish our membership.

http://www.mwcoa.com/index.php.

And for your entertainment pleasure I present to you a you tube video with George Formby singing "When I'm Cleaning Windows".

...but we will never be here again...

2008-09-29T21:29:00.000-05:00

First, I'd like to thank both my loyal readers for your patience while waiting me to publish a new post. So thank you Stephanie and Richard.

Since I last blogged Justin and Cherise came to Lawton to pick up Justin's new car. His sis gave him a very nice 2002 Oldsmobile Alero with only 57,000 miles on it because she bought a new car. It's great for Justin because he had been saving for a couple of years to buy a car so he wouldn't have to be burdened with car payments. So I rode back to Tucson with them and Cherise's little sis Ciarre and was in Arizona from September 5 through September 12.

We were gonna go to the Grand Canyon, but we were pressed for time because Ciarre had to fly back to Lawton early on the 7th. So by the time we got to Winslow we stopped for the night and gave up on the Canyon. I always wanted to stand on a corner in Winslow anyway and it was a lot of fun. The dude on the corner is still standin there but he's a statue now. (I guess cause he's been standin there so long, he was bound to turn into a statue). I have a theory that the girl my lord wasn't actually slowin down to take a look at him though. I think she had engine trouble and he was just kinda egotistical and naturally assumed she was slowin down just to look at him. The flat bed Ford is still sittin on the corner which gives merit to my theory. The girl my lord is pretty reclusive these days and it's probably because she's old and saggy now and doesn't want to tarnish her image.

I couchsurfed in Tucson with a nice guy named Bruce. He had a beautiful home and a lovely back yard. It was a very nice place to stay. He took me and his friend Toni, his sister and her husband up on Mount Lemmon which is about 10,000 feet high and a 25 mile ride up. It was fantastic. The temperature drops thirty degrees up there and it's the most beautiful place I have ever seen.

Justin sent me home in style on an Amtrak sleeper. I had a private room on the train and truly loved every second of it. I even saw two Pullman cars somewhere in Texas. The porter told me it was rare to see Pullmans in Texas and that they probably belonged to some rich Texan.

While in Tucson, I met Bruce's brother in law, Skip who mentioned he was a professional window cleaner. He told me about the business and I thought it would be great for Billy because nobody cleans anything better than Billy. So when I got home I emailed Skip and he has been very helpful in telling us how to get started in the business. Billy loved the idea and we got started right away. We ordered our supplies, and business cards and put an ad in the paper. I have been out prospecting in the evenings and on Saturdays and it's already paying off. Billy did a job this past Saturday and we are booked this week and we already have three jobs for next week. The pay is unbelievable. He even has one filler job cleaning a house for a family once a week. Skip even made a one page web site for Billy on his own host site. So you can google us! Here's the link. http://www.cloudmesa.com/billswindowcleaning/. Skip is retired from window cleaning but he creates web sites for businesses, but he did ours for free.

I also renewed my insurance license last week because it was about to expire at the end of September. I had to read over 300 pages and take a 50 question test. I was tempted to just skip the reading and just take the test but I decided to just skim over the material and do the chapter review questions. I missed six questions but I still passed.

I'll post some pictures of my Arizona adventure and of my train ride home. One of the pics is of Bruce and me on Mount Lemmon and one is Justin and Ciarre climbing on rocks on a road between Winslow and Mesa. The scenic pics are Rose Canyon Lake way up high on Mount Lemmon and an odd rock formation on Mount Lemmon and I think the rest are self explanatory. Thanks again you two for stopping by!!

LeAnn

So This Is Pretty Cool

2008-07-28T01:07:00.000-05:00

I have learned over time that one of my favorite things to do is find people I have been out of touch with for many years. The neat thing is that I have discovered that I am quite good at it. Sometimes we exchange an email or two to catch up and sometimes we renew a long lost friendship. I've never been good at keeping in touch and through the years, I have made very dear friendships and I haven't been the best at nurturing them. So it's almost always my neglect that has caused a friendship to wane so most of my old friends probably wouldn't want to find me because they most likely figure I wouldn't care to talk to them again. My aunt told me a while back that as she's gotten older friends she hasn't even thought about for decades have come out of the woodwork wanting to reconnect. She thought it was cool, but odd, however, since I'm often a friend coming out of the woodwork, I appreciated hearing what it was like from her point of view.

A couple of years ago I found my bff from junior high whom I had not spoken to in about 30 years. She had been married twice and moved to a different state and doesn't even use the internet. It was very hard to find her. I had been looking for at least 20 years. My son, Michael was born on her 18 birthday, and by that time I had already lost touch with her. I am so glad I found her though, because we were really able to pick up where we left things. It has been clear to both of us that the connection that led us to become friends was still there.

When my cousin Amy was a baby she was adopted by my aunt and uncle who both recently died. Her real dad was also my uncle but Amy didn't know about that until she was nearly grown. Her adopted mom never let her have any communication with her biological parents. Recently both her adoptive parents died and although she's 31 years old she felt orphaned. Her biological dad died years ago and I've been looking for her mom for a few years. I guess the timing was right because we her mom for her this weekend. This one was very easy though because Amy had her last name and the names of her brothers and her brother was on myspace. The poor kid is only 15 years old and Amy and I sent him messages about her trying to find her family and he didn't know what to think about all that! In our defense his profile did say he was 18 so we weren't deliberately overwhelming a kid with tmi!! So Amy got to talk to her mom for the first time in her adult life. She talked to her a couple of times after she learned she was adopted, but when her adoptive mom found out she put a stop to it. For Amy something really was missing all of her life. Her biological mom loved her dearly and never wanted to give her up permanently. But while she was getting her life together Amy and her adoptive parents were bonding and becoming a family. So she completely unselfishly allowed her daughter to stay with the family she knew even though I know it ripped her heart out.

But the timing is so perfect for Amy to reconnect with her mom, three brothers and step dad. They are all the greatest people and Amy will have years to share with her family. She was raised as an only child and now she has three brothers and a niece!

I'm just so happy I was happy to share a part in this reunion. Finding people is fun, but this has to be the most rewarding, so far. I'll edit and add pics when I get some. I just thought this was a happy story and would be a good blog. I hope you enjoyed it!

Couchsurfing

2008-07-22T13:50:00.000-05:00

So I was gonna blog about my brushes with greatness and tell you all about the famous people I had met in my life. Richard and Stephanie both blogged about the famous people they met, but when I was comprising my list, it came up short. So instead I'm blogging about my latest interest which is couchsurfing.

CouchSurfing has been on the news a little bit lately and I discovered it somehow while surfing the internet. When I was in the hospital in NYC I didn't get a chance to be a tourist except for my one hour double decker ride just before I left for LGA. But the coolest thing about being in Beth Israel to me was all the people I got to meet. I was there for ten days, so I had several roommates and lots of nurses and doctors. I really dug that they were locals and they thought it was cool that an Okie was in their world for a little while. I got to experience through them what it was actually like to live there, while if I had gone there on a vacation I never would have had that type of unique experience. In fact, the only time that folks totally ignored me was while I was on the tour bus. Not one person spoke a single word to me or even looked in my direction.

I've often thought about all the people who live in NYC and how it would be so cool to get to stay in someones home rather than a hotel, so I could actually experience life as a real New Yorker.

Then in June, I learned about couchsurfing. It's a very secure social networking site where people all over the world open up their homes to fellow couchsurfers for free. Before you can even add a friend to your profile you are required to have met them in person first. You are highly encouraged to verify your identity by confirming that you received a postcard at your home address. In order to do that you must make a donation to the project with a credit card that must be in your name. The more you surf the more references you get as people share their experiences about you and you share theirs about them on each others profiles. Above that there is a vouching system that is even harder to get because you can only be vouched for by someone who has been vouched for three times. It's not at all a dating site, so you don't have to worry about creepy internet pervs hitting on you either. Once you choose a couch to surf you send a request and the person can decide whether or not to accept you. Most hosts prefer that you have thoroughly read their profile and know something about them and why you want to surf with them. They don't want an ungrateful traveler who is just looking for a free place to stay. It is free, but it's not about that, but about the experience. Also you can choose not to host if you prefer. I can only offer coffee or a drink which means I am available to visit with fellow CS'ers but have no couch available.

I actually got my first chance to host this past Friday. I had spoken with Tara on CS a few times and she gave me a lot of information about the CS project. Then she asked me if I would be available to host her for a day of sightseeing in the Wichita Mountains. I agreed, but I was very nervous. I knew Tara was fine, but I had never hosted before and I wanted to get a positive reference. She really made it easy for me, though. We spent the day visiting local tourist attractions and she bought me lunch at Meers which is a very popular spot for tourists. She said I was great (whew) and gave me a great reference and recommended me to others who visit the area.

It's very very hard to get a couch in NYC, though. Those folks are always getting requests and if they said yes to everyone they would never have any privacy. But when I do finally go if I don't find a couch right in NYC which would be my dream couch (lol), I can find a couch close enough to commute which would also be awesome.

So dear readers, please take a look at my CS profile and if it is something that interests you (I know it's not for everyone), then please join. Stephanie, I have an idea this may not be your thing, but if it is, I think I could add you as a friend cause even though we have never met in person, I think I know you well enough to do that, but only if you feel that way too. If you don't I would certainly understand. So I'll give y'all the link to my CS profile so you can at least take a look. And I'll post some pics of my day with Tara. She is camera shy though and I don't think I got any pics of her, though. Let me know if you looked at my profile, okay.

The pics were all taken by Tara except the one of the buffalo. It was very close to the car and I took it from my window inside the car. How did I do, Richard? There's one of Meers, a couple in Medicine Park of the Bath Lake swimmin hole, one of Billy and me, and a view from Mount Scott.

I also included a T Mobile CouchSurfing commercial for you to watch!

http://www.couchsurfing.com/profile.html

My Kids Lives

2008-07-13T23:01:00.000-05:00

I think I have great kids, and they are certainly worth blogging about once in a while. And even though they sneaked off on an airplane to Tucson, on Justin's 18 birthday, not telling me they had no plans to return, they are doing very well for themselves and I'm proud of them.

Cherise is from Tucson and it's where her family lives. Well until recently, when her dad got an awesome job in Las Vegas. So now Justin and Cherise live with her only Tucson relative, her grandmother.

They call me several times a day which I think is cool. After my oldest son, Michael died, Justin knows I get very worried if I don't know where he is at all times. These are really great kids. They work hard and save their money, so they won't have problems with debt. They don't smoke cigarettes, although Justin is experimenting with that right now, and I hope he decides it's not worth it. Justin is a top commissioned salesman at Sears in Tucson and does very well. He's hoping it will lead to a promotion very soon. Cherise works at the Texas Road House because she likes to cook. But she is an artist and I don't think she's gonna be happy until she explores the amazing possibilites in that field. She was invited to be a teen corrospondent at the Tulsa World last year and turned it down.

My stepdaughter Celesta is full of life and energy and has literally hundreds of friends she actually knows personally. Everyone who knows her likes her. She is going to graduate from Central State University in Edmond OK soon with a degree in PR. She spends her summers taking classes, working full time and flying to California to visit her awesome boyfriend Matt. He's a law student specializing in entertainment law. So this summer he is interning at MTV and meeting lots and lots of celebs. His law school is in Miami. I hope Matt and Celesta get married and he becomes a rich Beverly Hills attorney cause I will sooo show up on their door step one day. Yeah, like that's all they need!!

I also have a darling six year old Grandson who's name is Elijah. I only saw him once which was at his daddy's funeral almost seven years ago. His dad was my son Michael and he was like Celesta in the sense that he had many many friends. I still have contact with them via his myspace tribute page. His funeral, like so many young people who die was standing room only. It was down in Sealy TX at his dad's church and I didn't know most of the people but they were so gracious to me. Michael should have been 27 this past July 4. It's always hard, but I choose to celebrate and enjoy that holiday because I don't want to waste it grieving all day long. Let me see if I can figure out how to get some pics of my kids on here. I'll try but who knows if it will work.

Okay, it worked, I suppose. The top two pics are Justin w his Cousin Billy and with his sister Megan. Then there's one w Justin and Cherise in Orlando. The next one is Celesta and her bf Matt. The tiny one is My son Michael. I guess that pic can't be any bigger. But I have very few pics of him as an adult. I love my kids and more importantly, I'm waiting for them all to make their fortunes so they can indulge me in an extravagant lifestyle as I grow older. I think that if Tila Tequila could achieve fame and fortune via Myspace, then I should be able to do the same. Besides, it's not that I can't sing. I'm just pitchy, that's all!! lol.

So, is anybody gonna read this blog?? lol. Take care and Good night everybody.

Love,

LeAnn

PS I recently got another picture of Michael and it's the first one at the top. I think it was taken in December 2001 which was about one month before he died.

Encouraged to Blog by a guy named Randy, I think

2008-07-11T15:25:00.000-05:00

I have a little encouraging news regarding my case against AT&T. It turns out that at the time they fired me, I was eligible to continue on my disability because I was very sick with an undiagnosed bowel obstruction that became strangulated soon after I was fired and almost caused me to die. They actually fired me immediately upon my return from being on disabiity from this very same illness. I had no business attempting to return to work, but I thought I didn't have a choice. As soon as I learned I was eligible for disabilty due to relapse, I filed a claim (about a month ago), and they dated it back to May 1, 2007 which would have been my first day of absence. I returned to work on Friday April 27, 2007 and was off on the weekend. They suspended me pending termination on Monday April 30, 2007. AT&T denied my recent claim because it wasn't filed within 60 days of the first day of absence. That's because I didn't think I had any benefits because I was fired. So I actually found an attorney who is going to get my benefits for me. That means I don't have to worry about the cost of that expensive three week hospital stay last August. I'll get some money too, but I figure the lawyer will probably get most of that. But I'm thinkin that this will help strengthen my case with the EEOC against AT&T. That is a very hard case to win because the burden of proof is all on me. I have provided the case worker with every bit of evidence I can muster up and I think she believes me which is also helpful. I just really don't want AT&T to get away with this. I saw them do it to several people while I was working there, but most don't bother to do anything about it. But it just makes sense to me that proving I was very ill when I got fired should swing the odds in my favor. I sure hope so.

That's about it for now. When did I get to be sooo boring??? Keep reading. I hope I won't have more family drama to write about, but by golly, I'm gonna make this blog a must read one way or another!! So tell your friends!! Let everyone know this is the must read blog of the internet!! I'll see to it!! Take care.

My First Blog Ever

2008-05-18T19:03:00.000-05:00

So, I'm LeAnn and everyone seems to be blogging these days, so I've decided to give it a try. I'm not creative enough to come up with a blog name, so I just copied my friend's name. His is Behold a Giant Muh, so I just sort of reversed his name to use as my own. I don't think this first blog is going to be worth reading, but I think I'll get better in time. I guess I'll tell you something about myself. I'm 44 and these days I'm living in the tiny community of Richard Spur OK with my husband Billy our cat, Big, and our two dogs Frank and Norton. I have two sons and one young lady, whom I refer to as my daughter. My sons are Michael, who would be turning 27 on July 4,(but he died in 2002 at the age of 20), and Justin who will be 19 in June. Justin lives in Tucson with Cherise who is 19 and she is the one I call my daughter. Michael left behind one child. My grandson's name is Elijah and he is six years old. He lives in Southeast Texas and the only time I have ever seen him was at his father's funeral. He was only three months old when his daddy died.

I have been unemployed for about a year. I had lived in Tulsa for a few years and working for AT&T. I was very sick during the last two years of my employment there and missed a lot of work due to my illness. Last year, I was out on disability for about six months and immediately upon my return to work they fired me. So now I'm waiting on EEOC to complete an investigation and hopefully they will rule in my favor. So for now, my husband Billy works and I just kind of hang out at home.

So that's about it for my first blog. It's not much, but I think I'll get better. I don't have any subscribers anyway, so it doesnt' matter much right now. Till next time, I guess.

LeAnn