Special-est Friend

 I haven't been able to write about this until now because I think I've gone numb about it.  I feel so devastated to have lost such a wonderful person from my life.

When I was a little girl of about 2 years old, my mother had a baby, my sister Luanne.  Evidentally, the birth of this baby--or just the fact that now my mother had two children & was overwhelmed or maybe it was undiagnosed post-partum depression--brought on the need for my mother to hire a helper.  At the time we lived in Blair Village and my father was working for Ford Motor Company, painting cars.

How we could afford any help at all is beyond me, but mother hired a Black teenaged girl who lived behind us on the other side of the forest to come help her out.  Her name was Grace and she was about 18 yrs old.  When she came, she brought her younger sister, Dorothy, aged 16, with her.  Grace would take care of Luanne, & Dorothy took care of me, mostly playing with me and giving me the attention that my mother sadly no longer gave to either of her children.  

When I grew up and had a child of my own, Laurie, I would run into Dorothy & Grace occasionally.  They worked at Treasure Island in Forest Park, GA, and I think it was in the jewelry department.  They would see me from a mile away and come running up to me to say hi and to ooh and ahh over Laura.  

After this time, I lost track of them when I lived in Athens and went to school and then in Norcross and eventually to San Francisco.  Over the years, I would try to find information on them, but back then, it was difficult--no internet, etc.  I started looking again a few years back and even with the internet I found nothing. 

Then I thought about FaceBook.  I posted on FaceBook that I was searching for two Black women who had taken care of me and my sister when we were little.  That we lived in Blair Village at the time and that I thought they lived in the Morrow area and had at one time worked at Treasure Island.  The post stood with no responses until one day my daughter pointed out that I had posted to my private community and that I should make the post universally public.  

Within two days, I got a message from someone who said she thought she knew who I was talking about and they were her sisters.  She said that she was going to give me Dorothy's phone number but to remember that this was the sweetest person that ever walked the earth and not to ever hurt her feelings.  (She must've thought I was going to try to scam her or something.)  Anyway, she had Dorothy's very sweet daughter, Tammy, write to me and give me the number.  Tammy was so generous and encouraged me to call her mother.

When I picked up my phone to call Dorothy, I was scared that she wouldn't remember me but so very excited to hear her voice.  We talked for so long that day and I told her how very much she had meant to me over the years.  That I really believed that she had taught me love.  A simple and pure love that had stayed with me all the years since and went into the raising of my own children.  I hate to think what my life would've been like without her in it.  I thanked her for just being a huge part of my childhood.  She was touched by this and couldn't believe that I remembered her.

She told me that Grace had taken care of Luanne, who was "a handful," she said, and that she had had fun just playing with me.  She said that I was such a sweet little girl.  And she told me that my mother didn't seem able to handle things and that she was a very strict mother.

I should've guessed at this for in my Baby Book, Mother had written that I turned two and "was a quite a mess."  (I think I can interpret this to mean I became more independent, which she hated.)

Dorothy and I had such fun catching up with each other and laughing.  Always laughing.  We kept touch after that, calling, texting often, exchanging photos, and sharing gifts at Christmas and birthdays.  Keeping each other up on our news.  And one time, I surprised her by showing up at her house with flowers--what a wonderful reunion that was!  

Dorothy's health began to be a problem in the last few years, and she was at the doctor's office more and more.  So I would call her and she wasn't home or couldn't take the call, and she would call me and the same happened.  

Then in early November, I was about to text her and suddenly my phone rang and it was her!!!  We rejoiced that we had finally gotten each other on the phone!  We talked for quite some time and I don't think we'd ever laughed so much.  It was so good to hear that laugh.  If you knew her, it was just the sweetest most sincere laughter that stayed in your memories.  I loved the sweet way she always said my name--it sounded like "Chusan" when she said it, and just the tone of her voice made me feel special.

We hung up with promises to get together soon, hopefully around Christmas-time.

Then a week later, I saw another call from her and answered happily, and it was her daughter Tammy.  Dorothy was in the hospital with an infection and the docotrs couldn't figure out what it was so they threw everything in the way of drugs at it.  But it didn't help.  Within days, she was being released into hospice care at her home.  All during this time, Tammy & I were texting back and forth, and Tammy told me she was reading my texts and messages to Dorothy, but that she was mostly unresponsive to anything at that point.  I will never forget the kindness shown to me by Tammy during this time.  

Dorothy died on November 11 at home with Tammy & Marvin, her sweet husband, at her side.  She hadn't responded to anyone in over a week.  My heart broke into pieces on hearing the news from Tammy.  

I wasn't able to go to the graveside service, but Tammy said that they were having it streamed, so I watched online.  It was beautiful.  

This whole time, I guess somewhere in the back of my mind, I must've known Dorothy's age, but I swear, she was so youthful and full of spirit, I would've guessed she was my age or younger, though I knew that was impossible.  She was 84.  She was loved by so many people.  That makes me even more grateful that I had her in my life--as a little girl and then again when I found her again.  

I can still hear her laughter.  Still hear her say my name in that special way.  Unforgettable--that's what she is to me. The most important person in my childhood.  I will remember her often & forever.  The most giving, loving, wonderful person & the person who taught me love--easy for her, for she was so full of love & joy.  

Dorothy, just a few years ago--you can see the sparkle in her eyes:

Photo posted in her obituary:

Dorothy at abt age 16 and me at age 2:

I think I've loved her longer than anyone else in my life.

Miss you, Dorothy, and love you so much...still!

 

Early Thanksgiving with Henry, Katie, & Russ--November 19-22, 2022

 Katie, Russ, & Henry came for a Thanksgiving visit and Henry finished decorating the tree for us by turning on the lights and putting the star atop it.  We had so much fun doing crafts and making leaf decorations for the tree and reading stories.  Going for walks in the chilly air.  Raosting marsshmallows and S'mores over the fire on Pepe's deck, exploring the Hagrid's Hut and all the other places around here.  

Henry kept saying our decorated and lit tree was the most beautiful tree in the world!

We were amazed that Henry can read so well already!  He's not even 4 1/2 yet!  You can write a sentence on papser and he will read it.  He was playing the piano with me and looked over at my bookshelf and asked, "Yaya, does that book say "Book Scavenger"?  Indeed it did!

Yummy food beginning with Peanut Butter Candy and Macarons, then takeout from Umi's & Sol y Luna, which I haven't had in almost 3 years, since the Covid epidemic began.  

We laughed and laughed over the silly stories we read and watching Henry listen to them.  You can see how concerned he was the first time he heard Sylvester and the Magic Pebble.  Then he read Two Christmas Mice to Pepe perfectly.  

He loved his futon bed with the forest creature sheets and blanket I found with his stuffed Toothless waiting for him at bedtime.  Wonderful time celebrating just being together and thinking of Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Over the river and through the woods....

Our Christmas tree lighter has just arrived....

On our first walk...BRRR...

Pepe & Henry reading Sylvester and the Magic Pebble for the first time....

...the donkey turned into a stone?!?!...

Rereading it a second time with Yaya....

...and a third time reading it, in our matching UGA shirts, as he requested...

Sweet Otis...

...and a 4th request for the Sylvester book...

Pepe and Henry building a hotel with his Lincoln Logs....

...and the finished masterpiece...

Katie's scratch off leaf of a Halloween house...

this photo looks SO much like Katie when she was little!

Playing with the Castle...trying to find the Knight...

Such a wonderful visit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

West Coast Trip with 5 Night Pacific Coast Cruise--Oct 19-Nov 2, 2022

 This is the first of many cruise trips that we've been able to actually do since Covid began.  

Wed, Oct 19—

We took our flight from Asheville to Atlanta then on to Calgary.  And even though we were in Comfort Plus seats, sadly, they were very uncomfortable.  Stayed 2 nites at Calgary Airport Marriott in-Terminal Hotel.  Easy access to A&W and Tim Horton’s.  We were relaxing after our long flight the 2^nd day and heard snow was expected.  Thursday morning, we had a huge breakfast in the café in the lobby of our hotel.  So good.  It was so nice to stay right in the terminal that we've decided to do this as much as we can in the future.  Fun to watch the planes, too.

Friday, Oct 21—

We decided to do our Banff adventures BEFORE our Icefields Parkway drive in case snow closes down Banff.  As it turned out, there were amazing scenes in store for us even BEFORE we got to Lake Louise!  

Then we stopped by Lake Louise, which was absolutely amazing, but Moraine Lake was already closed for the season.  

Our drive up the Icefields Parkway was incredible.  It was so gorgeous under sunny skies and in the crisp mountain air. 

Crowfoot Glacier:

Peyto Lake:

Bow Glacier:

We took our time going North to Jasper, where we stayed one night at the Mt. Robson Inn in their Miette King Suite which had a lovely fireplace.  As we slept, there was no snow in Jasper, but 6 inches of snow fell on Banff and Calgary! 

Photo in our suite of Marilyn Monroe when she filmed "River of No Return" in the Jasper area.  My mother loved this movie.  

Saturday, Oct 22--

Really glad we decided to do Lake Louise yesterday because the Icefields Parkway was closed because of heavy snow!  We drove East to Edmonton then South back to Calgary, having breakfast at the A&W on the way.  We spent the night back at the Calgary Airport Marriott again with the ground covered in 6 inches of snow—so pretty—and 1 degree Celsius (33.8 degrees F).  I love the hush that comes over the world under a white blanket of snow.

Sunday, Oct 23—

Something about Vancouver airport is always off for us.  Even though we were in the priority line, since it was “out of the country,” the line was frustratingly slow to get through security.  We flew to Vancouver on WestJet Delta connection and stayed one nite at the very nice Pan Pacific Hotel right at the cruise terminal.

Lovely crystal shop at the hotel:

Lobby of PanPacific Hotel--kind of looked like the atrium of a cruisehip:

Monday, Oct 24—

All excited because we received notice that since we booked a Suite with a Balcony on the Holland America Koningsdam, we get to board early at 10am!  However, we arrived at 10 and had to sit til 12:30 in a big waiting area in the cruise terminal until I got really angry and confronted the people in charge about the problem and they immediately let us board!  It was such an inefficient system!  

Once we were finally on board our ship, our balcony was a great place to watch floatplanes take off and land:

Up on the 14th deck to look out over the bow:

photos that incorporated tiny mini cars:

We loved our Vista Suite #4098 and especially the balcony.  Relaxing with a view of the ocean all the time is such a wonderful way to spend the day.

Ray was very happy that I agreed to eat dinner each evening in the big dining room.  Our waiters were great.  During the days if we left our cabin, we always wore masks.  And even to dinner, we wore them until we sat down at our table.  I love that Holland America upgraded their ventilations systems and that they were still doing the spacing out of tables for Covid reasons. 

But I especially loved our room service breakfast every morning.  Look at this cute little Weck dish that held butter pieces for our toast:

Vancouver skyline at night:

Tuesday, Oct 25—

Our ship left Vancouver at 11pm that evening, and we were informed that we wouldn’t be stopping in Victoria after all because of a problem with one of the ship’s engines.  Ok, so 2 days in a row at sea on Tuesday & Wednesday, Oct 25 & 26.  We had no plans for Victoria except to walk around, so we were okay with that.  

mysterious shape approaching us in the fog next morning:

Thursday, Oct 27—

Stopping in San Francisco from 8a-11p.  This is basically the entire reason Ray wanted to do this cruise, because as a little boy, he has this wonderful memory of going under the Golden Gate Bridge on the ship that took him & his family from San Francisco to Hawaii for his dad’s latest military assignment  We went under the bridge going in to San Francisco & going out, of course.  

Bay Bridge:

Golden Gate Bridge on far left as soon comes up:

Very cool views of San Francisco from our balcony—Oakland Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge—while we were at Pier 35.  The disembarkation was amazingly SLOW and INEFFICIENT, so we didn’t get off the ship until almost noon!

Us being patient:

So I entertained myself by watching the fake flying bird-kite:

...and watching the city:

This is the day I had my first experience of an In-N-Out Burger!  We were iff ti find the Fisherman’s Wharf location... 

...passed by Pier 39 harbor where I used to keep the sailboat we rented before we bought one...

Angel Island & Alcatraz:

Alioto's:

baking sourdough bread at Boudin's:

...and here it is!!!

...and oh my was it worth it.  The cheeseburger and the sauce on it were so delicious.  And I could’ve drank 10 of the vanilla milkshakes in addition to the one I allowed myself!!!

Gentleman who had written a book about his time as a prisoner at Alcatraz:

Views of the city including one building that looked like it had been destroyed at the top:

back to the ship:

Our balcony:

Coit Hill from our balcony:

And here is the video I made that I thought I'd lost, but no!  Yay!

After watching the movie "Salmon Fishing in the Yemen," the credits rolled and a portrait I thought looked like Walter "Beardie" Scott in the movie was credited as being an Archibald Scott?  Researching this now:

Friday, Oct 28—

At Sea

Saturday, Oct 29—

We arrived in San Diego Harbor at 7am and once off the boat, which we did all of it ourselves to avoid the inefficiency of the crew, we picked up our rental car because the tracks with Amtrak were still unfixed.  

Checked in to our Anaheim Best Western Plus just outside the gates of DisneyLand, where we will stay for 4 nites.  We immediately headed for the DisneyLand Park and we spent 4 days walking and doing and riding and just having fun.  Ray loves this park from his childhood, so he would actually go back in in the evenings sometimes to do the roller coasters that I don’t like.  So Sat, Sun, Mon, and Tuesday were Disney days.  

Loved the way the Haunted Mansion here was changed from Halloween into The Nightmare before Christmas overnight!  

Also loved the Jazz Kitchen meal we had on their patio with amazing Angus Cheeseburgers and Abita Turbodog Beer—I asked the waitress for a dark beer and she said this one was like a mix between Guinness and Newcastle, so I knew it would be good. 

and these candymakers making fabulous creations:

Goodies Ray brought me back from the park one evening:

All around the park on the train:

Beignets at the French Market:

Train passing by the Columbia:

I thought this tree looked like it had fallen and was asking for help up:

Oogie Boogie peeking out from trees:

I wanted one of these little ghosts until I discovered they were candles:

Still onne of my favorites:

Mr. Toad:

Alice in Wonderland ride:

Storyland--love that the little trees are REAL Bonsai trees!

Really good breakfasts at The Red Rose Tavern:

Star Tours:

David S. Pumpkins?

Soarin'!  We got there early and did it two times in a row:

CarsLand:

This truck/vampire guy came rolling down the street just talking away:

Headless Horseman:

Ariel's Under the Sea Adventure:

Coco Land:

So many people had written of their ancestors on these "leaves":

Inside Out:

The horrible ferris wheel that has these inner channels where some of the cars can swing and slide freely!

Truly terrifying roller coaster that went from 0 to 60 mph in 3 seconds.... on the count of 4:

Water Ride:

Birds of Paradise:

Monorail:

Saw this shadow and thought it was a skull, but looked up,,,

...to see just a lamp creating its own spookiness:

Another reversed shadow withspooky eyes:

Columbia boat ride:

I don't know where he found the broom, but the enjoyment this little guy was having sweeping this are was entertaining everyone:

Went to eat at P. F. Chang's on Halloween evening, walking through a decorated outdoors mall on the way:

Wednesday, Nov 2—

Took Delta flight from John Wayne Airport in Orange Co., California, back to Atlanta, then Asheville.

While waiting to board our plane in the Sky Priority line, a First Class Passenger in front of us—a young teenage boy, very clean-cut but with longer dark blonde bangs—was approached by this mid-twenties Black couple who ran up to him and asked, “Are you Bryan (Brian)?”

“Yeah,” he answered quietly with a smile.

“Can I get a picture with you?” the girl asked.

“Sure,” he answered and posed with the girl, then after they said thank you, he took out his phone and turned it so he could see himself and ruffled up his long bangs.

I have no idea who this was and wish I could figure it out.  Was he a singer or an actor or what?  I so wanted to ask him, but he seemed embarrassed by the attention, so I let it drop.  Wish I knew, though.

***I think I figured it out!  I watched The Voice and I knew this guy looked familiar.  I think it was Braydon Lape!  He's only 16 years old and is an excellent singer.

It was a very nice flight back to Atlanta with stewardess Nancy Kelly who was just the best ever flight attendant I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.  And a very good and relaxing trip overall, no thanks to the inefficiency of Holland America and the 6 inches of snow in Canada, which was beautiful but could’ve seriously disrupted our plans.