ON TO THE FUTURE

I have enjoyed writing my story; and as I have been creating the words in my mind to place upon the paper, so many memories have made me smile. I have especially enjoyed the stories told about the antics of my sisters.

My sisters and I are married now with children, grandchildren and Lynn has great grandchildren. Each of us has a story to tell and maybe they will write theirs.

Our parents were divorced after I graduated from high school in 1961. There was a better life for our mother after that when she married again in February of 1962.

My father died fairly young at the age of 54 and one day before his 55th birthday due to the health complication of the disease of alcoholism.

Mother passed away in March, 2008 at the age of 87, one month shy of her 88th birthday. She lived to see all her grandchildren and most of her great grandchildren.

Michele, Lynn, her daughter Laurie, along with her children, my daughter, Julie, her children, Christopher and Amber, husband Philip, my husband, Stewart and I live in the state of Florida and our youngest sister Pam lives in Texas.

Our grandson, Christopher, went into the Air Force in Feb., 2009. He graduated from boot camp in April and began attending Tech School training. Christopher is now stationed in England for two years.
His sister, Amber, graduated from high school in June, 2009. Amber went to school and is now a certified Medical Assistant.

We see each other mostly by meeting in Orlando, FL in the company of either Mickey Mouse or Shamu.

I am 67 years old and sometimes I sit and wonder where did all the years go. I wanted to write my story so my family could share in my memories.

We were a dysfunctional family and we are all survivors!

OUR PETS ARE IN ANIMAL HEAVEN

Over the years of our childhood, we had many pets. The most beloved of all was our Schnappsie, a mixed dashhound. The story goes that Lynn and Pam went for a walk to the drugstore, located on Rhode Island Avenue, (a very busy highway). Schnappsie followed them and ran out into the highway and was run over by a semi truck. The truck driver backed up to see what he could do to help. Pam was so upset, she kept yelling at the man that he had killed her dog. None of us are sure how Schnappsie got back to our house. We think the semi truck driver helped. This special little dog was buried in our back yard, as were other pets that followed.

Pam and her friend Kathleen had a conversation shortly after that day as to whether either of them had seen Schnappsie floating up to heaven; after all that is what happen in cartoons.

A special spot in our back yard was designated as the resting place for other pets; such as kittens, a bird and a hamster.

BANG,BANG,BANG

These were shots that were not only not heard around the world--but were not even heard in our neighborhood. When Lynn got bored, you could bet something was about to happen that would be memorable. To amuse herself she took the buckshot out of the gun shells she found in the house. The next step was to build a fire in the bottom part of our yard and throw the shells into the fire. Her Guardian Angel must have jumped ten feet; and yet still managed to keep her from harm.

Pee Yu

The spray man is coming. The plight of the mosquitoes was death by chemicals. Hot summer nights brought the pests out to make our lives miserable. The roar of the truck, or the stench of the spray usually sent us to the confines of our houses on the day the "spray man" would come. If your windows were open, you closed them; and all would be fine. However, Lynn decided to use this opportunity to once again torture her gullible little sister. Pam was told, in order to save her life, to go into the house, crawl under the bed and do not come out until Lynn told her it was safe. After a while, Pam asked if she could come out. Lynn replied no. Pam's question was--"how come it is ok for you to be out and not me"?

I am sure if there were spray trucks today--Pam would run and hide under the bed.