RIP GALE STORM AND FRED TRAVALENA........

Just a short clip - Gale Storm passed away at 87 years of age (another one bites the dust), and I grew up watching her "My Little Margie" series, shown here. Later she had another show "The Gale Storm Show" with Zazu Pitts. They were a hilarious couple, with Pitts being the quintessential "straight man" to Storm. In my humble opinion, Gale Storm presented the hilariously funny comedic shows that were a precursor to the Lucille Ball phenomenon. RIP Gale Storm.



Since June is apparently now the month of DEATH, Fred Travelena, comedian and impersonator has also passed away from cancer. He was a regular on the Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas shows long before he hit the Las Vegas circuit.

I have some houekeeping chores to start, so I shall return......later..........

ANOTHER YOUNG ONE PASSES....BILLY MAYS...

We definitely get NO guarantees in this world. Here we have another 50 years young person passing away unexpectedly. I caught the "twitter" yesterday, as he was on a US Air flight landing in Tampa, and the main nose wheels blew out upon impact. No one was hurt, but a little excitement to the flight was felt by all.

I was over on FB, and Dr. MVM made a statement about Billy Mays dying, so I had to, of course, check it out. I would NEVER doubt Dr. MVM - ever.

Noted names over the past 5 weeks include, David Carradine, Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and now...Billy Mays. The theory of "coming in threes" has been blown out of the water.

I can't say I was a fan of Billy Mays so much as the novelty of his career. We have reached an age where the "pitchmen" are becoming larger than life stars. One would only have to hear Mays' booming voice to recognize him. He was definitely good at his job - as OxyClean and other products sales soared. If he had cornered the market on most items - he probably wished he had garnered the Sham Wow also.



RIP Billy Mays and all those who have recently departed this world. As I said we have no guarantee on tomorrow - so tell those that you love how much they are appreciated. I never end a conversation with those I love - without saying so. We may have our disagreements and disputes, but I never want there to be a question when I'm gone - that I do so love those near to me.

Have a great Sunday......later............

Was it murder..or a natural death?????

Update: 11:58 a.m. I changed the picture to a better "death pose."


This picture is really bad...but I wasn't taking the time to "set up" perfect lighting here. If you can't make this out very well, this is/was thegrandson's former pet goldfish Aragon. Thedaughter finally cleaned the tank last night - only because you could barely see the fish through the muck - and apparently it could no longer thrive in CLEAN water. Shortly after placing Aragon back in the tank - he was almost motionless. He wasn't even chasing after the fresh food dropped in the tank.

This fish has been rather weird since thegrandson brought him home, almost 2 years ago. For whatever reason, he liked to swim "backwards." Leave it to us to end up with a brain damaged fish. I sort of poked him last night to see if he would move, but with his nose pointed to the bottom, his fins would move, but he kept floating back to the top, tail first. I just chalked this up to its weirdness.

I found a note on the kitchen table this morning, from thedaughter - THE FISH IS DEAD!! Thegrandson showed sadness over the demise of Aragon, but I'm sure it will be short lived. When Brownie, the hamster died (right before obtaining the fish), he did express considerably more sadness - because we played with the hamster. I can't imagine playing with a goldfish - other than an occasional poke!

Now the big question (thedaughter's - not mine) flush or pitch the damn fish????

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Theson bought thegrandson an "eye-toy" which operates with the Playstation 2, I believe, three years ago. Many hours of enjoyment have been had with this attachment, but thegrandson grew tired of its limitations and childish games. So it has sat idly on the shelf for several months.

For whatever reason, thegrandson hooked it up again on Sunday - and he apparently found many more interactive games. He is on Cloud 9 once again. He stated to me at the time "I can't believe I didn't know it had so much more." Aha, the ever exploring, potential genius.




I grabbed the camera to catch the moment, as it were. This picture reminds me of the old Mr. Wizard show - no clue why - just does. On this challenge, he could pick an orbiting planet and then set out to explore the planet. thank you to theson - for being so intelligent and encouraging his nephew to walk the same path.

I have a lot to get accomplished before my 4 o'clock "Client from Hell" arrives. This man is 84 years old - has OCD (extreme), Alzheimer's, and is a mean, bully type of a person. I make sure I COMPLETE his return while he is here - so he does not have to come back again. He is repetitious, asks personal questions and is a general pain in the ass. Of all the things he forgets - he hasn't forgotten me - DAMNIT!! At least his wife now tags along to keep him under control - but he can be mean to her also.

Being raised to respect my elders...I truly do try to adhere to that rule. But this man, may cause me to rethink that philosophy. Losing him as a client will neither make or break me. I'll be sure and let you know how this goes.

have a great one and I'll be back.....Later...........

Climate change you say???? Could be....

This was the scene earlier this morning in New Orleans, as a freak snow swept through the area. My son-in-law works in that area, as a cable installer, and the crew apparently were sitting out this snow storm - as I am sure, roads could be treacherous in an area that probably does not switch to snow tires, chains or four wheel drives.

The last snow in New Orleans was in 2002, but I believe I heard earlier, that the largest snowfall in Louisiana was close to 100 years ago when 4" of white powder fell. Woohoo...I can live with that. Unfortunately, here in the Ohio Valley, we sometimes get real messes. Right now, we are on our second day of perpetual rain - cold, icy water drops...brrrrrr!! there are times I wish I had a burning fireplace.

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Now, I go off on a tangent. I prepared some deed papers for a friend, and we were going to the courthouse this morning for the filings. As I went on my front porch waiting for theRuss to pick me up, I noticed the E-car (ambulance) at his next door neighbor's house. During this wait, I would guess a matter of fifteen minutes, I noticed the cop outside, just BS'ing with the EMT, and then they both non-chalantly got on their cell phones and were walking around.

Usually, when I see this kind of behavior, I KNOW that something serious has happened...as in a death. As we drove to the courthouse, I called another neighbor to see if anything had happened yet, and she said no - the ambulance was still there. After we went to 3 different offices in the courthouse and filled out the necessary paperwork, we decided to go to lunch before returning home. So, again I called the neighbor and there was no answer...hmmm. After a couple more calls to my home and another neighbors, we still did not have any answers.

While we were eating lunch, both our cell phones started ringing and we were both being told that yes, indeed this neighbor had died.

Now, death is handled so differently by people, this is hard to explain...but it about comedy and tragedy. This man is 66 years old, high blood pressure, bypass surgery, severe diabetic and heaven only knows what else he suffered from, but he was not healthy by any measure. His wife is a hypochondriac, who swears by her doctor, one of the biggest quacks in this valley - but he gives out Vicodin like candy and will prescribe anything her heart desires. **Makes his job easier - he just agrees with her self-diagnoses.

Now, these people live on next to nothing (financially) and in the 21 years I lived here, I know they have refinanced their home at least 12 times. The reason for all these machinations was because they own five, I repeat FIVE LARGE Standard poodles. (They live in a 4 room house for heaven's sake!) This woman eats, sleeps and breathes POODLES. There are no pictures of her 2 grandsons in her house on display - just POODLES. I once asked her point blank - if your grandson was in the hospital and you had a dog show to attend, what would you do? Her reply without hesitation was "go to the dog show!"

I have always had issues with her laziness, her prioritization of choices in life and personality in general. Now that her husband's body has been removed to the funeral home, she can only think of the cookies she had ordered for the dog show this weekend, and should she go, because her husband did all the driving........she is fukking nuts. She has never worked a day in her life and feels that everyone should take care of her. That would be nice in a perfect world, but LADY - get a grip.

There is no doubt she will lose the house (which the bank or finance company will never recoup what is owed), and she refuses to think of moving into housing (which will be all she can afford) unless she can take her 5 dogs. I should note that unless one has a strong stomach, it is hard to spend any length of time in her house, due to the smell, soiled carpet and dust. She has 2 large white and 3 large black poodles, and has them groomed regularly, not to mention Vet bills.

Realistically, we all know what kind of an expense that can be.

Anywho...I feel sorry for anyone losing a spouse, but this woman is just not like the rest of the world. Our street has become a mass of widows and widowers. Oh btw...poodle lady made the statement that she was having her husband cremated, so when she goes...the ashes from the dogs, her husband and herself can all be mixed together!! All rightey then.....as I hit my head off the wall.

Just a little excitement on my street for the day I guess. Back to watching the news and see what comes of the child's remains they have found in Florida. Is it Caylee or not, we will see.

Have a good day guys....Later..........

...deaths and holidays - very tough

This has been a bad weekend/early week so far. Three deaths of good friends, which puts me in the kitchen and cooking more than usual. Between casseroles and cakes I am the bomb! Unfortunately one of the funerals is going to be on July 4th, which puts the end to any holiday plans. I have volunteered to drive my friend's (quadriplegic) van in order for him to attend his great uncles funeral. The usual "designated" driver had events he could not cancel. No big deal - they are good people who have been impacted by their family members passing.

Theson will be coming home today and I know he is "down in the dumps" a little as things have not been going well for him (in certain areas of his life.) But he is young, intelligent, charming and working on the social skills and there will be light at the end of the tunnel for him. So I can foresee us on the deck watching TV and me consuming "the wine" again. Love my Cafe Zin. Before he left for Salt Lake City, theson, thedaughter and I had a long gabfest on the deck. It is a lovely place to spend a cool evening. We have lights on the table umbrellas, coolers, and a TV, what more can a person ask? Maybe we will get some fireworks and set a few off later on the 4th.

To all - HAVE A HAPPY AND SAFE 4TH OF JULY - and stay healthy. TTFN.