Grandpa Little Shortcut

I am not sure if it is all people in Ohio or just my family,  but if you talk to someone in my family and tell them you are driving somewhere they will always ask- Oh, which way are you going.  When you  reply, they will either tell you 10 places that you should stop along the way on your drive, or they will tell you three other ways to go.  It is really great (not) when you have two people in the room who have different opinions on the best way.  They start arguing for why their way is best. When an hour later you finally decide which way is best, they confuse you even more by giving you the directions in North, South, East and West instead of Left, Right and Straight.  I am pretty good at telling directions with the location of the sun, but in Ohio you only see the sun about one half of the year.  This is why we all had the little bubble compass thing that sat on the dash.  You also learned that if you wanted to get somewhere the fastest way you would not ask either of my grandfathers for directions.

Grandpa Gallagher did not try to hide the fact that he preferred taking the scenic route.  One time it took him and my grandmother 3 days to get to Bristol.  Typically 8 hours even driving slow.  I am pretty sure that trip caused a few burn marks on the seat. 

Grandpa Little was another story.   He was famous for his shortcuts.  We would get in the car and he would say - we could go "x" way, but I know a shortcut.  To most people taking a shortcut means that you will arrive at your destination in the shortest amount of time.  I am pretty sure Bill Little had a built in GPS that avoided Interstates.  Grandpa was a salesman for Teledyne Steel and drove all over his territory so he knew the roads and he always had a slew of maps in the glove compartment.  He knew the good diners.  He knew where the gas stations would be.  He knew the pretty drives.  We started to call the scenic route to any location the "Grandpa Little Shortcut".

While there are times that I want to get someplace the fastest way possible, I do find myself taking the Grandpa Little shortcut. As a kid my favorite GLS was when we got on the Turnpike at exit 11, one exit up from our normal exit.  That GLS usually involved a stop at Dairy Queen.  I love driving on Lake Road when I am in Ohio when going into Cleveland.  I like to drive down State Street in Bristol at night to see the sign, even when it is out of my way.  My husband actually prefers the GLS for most drives.  We always take the scenic route on vacations. When we went to Puerto Rico we rented a car and drove to many places that most tourists do not see.  Where I live now in rural Southwest Virginia is filled with GLS's.  Although many times the scenic route is the only way to get there. Just today I drove to a small town about 25 miles away for a birthday party. The one block downtown was very quaint.  The snow on the mountains was breathtaking.  Caroline was amazed by the icicles coming out of the sides of the mountains.  She exclaimed "That is just beautiful".  My kids didn't know my Grandpa Little, but I hope they inherit his love of "shortcuts". 

The 10 Year Class Reunion

Preface- Don't worry- no names are listed.

 It is hard to believe, but I have been out of high school for over 30 years.  Our class was supposed to have our class reunion in October, but alas... Covid.  I have been a part of the reunion committee since our 20th reunion.  It is fun to be a part of the committee.  I think our committee works well together because we all weren't in the same "cliques" in high school so we have good "representation".  The committee is also headed by quite possibly the nicest person in our class.  She has a kind heart and is so good, but not so good that you feel like you can't have a good time around her if you know what I mean.  She has always made it a point to make sure we tried to get in touch with all of our classmates.  Not just the ones that we were friends with.  She was in charge of our first reunion - the infamous Class of 1990, Tennessee High School reunion.  That was the reunion that will be regarded as one of the best reunions of all times.  

Your ten year high school reunion is strange.  You are an adult, but you aren't refined yet.  Most people have started on their career paths, and they are excited about the future.  You still think you know everything and think old people don't know what they are talking about.  If you are married you are probably on your first marriage.  You might have some people that are divorced, but very few with second or third spouses.  If you have kids they aren't teenagers yet so you probably still think your kids are really cute and sweet.  I guess what I am saying is that you are not jaded yet. 

Our reunion was at the Bristol Country Club, which at that time was really one of the only places to have a big party.  The dress was cocktail so everyone was all dolled up in fancy dresses and suits.  We probably had about one third to half of our class show up so with spouses and guests we were probably about 150 people.  It was really fun to see everyone.  I still live in Bristol so I get to see more people, but most of my close friends from high school moved away.  I still see them when they come back to visit, but it was very rare for all of us to be together at an event.  

The other thing that is different about your ten year reunion is you can still party.  And party we did.  I can't remember if it was a cash bar or if we got drink tickets, but the cocktails were definitely flowing.  It was all very refined while we ate dinner and gave awards for the person who came from the farthest place, the person with the most kids, the highest degree, etc., but then the DJ started.  It didn't take long for the dance floor to be full with mostly women dancing to the songs from high school and college.  Then the word got out that one of our classmates had chosen an interesting profession.  The word was that somebody recognized him from her bachelorette party and had no idea that he had graduated with us. Yes, boys and girls, one of our classmates was a male stripper.  There were some yearbooks lying on a table and I suspect there are probably some fingerprints on the page where his picture was because everyone kept going out to see who it was.  Somebody took it as a personal challenge to see if we could get him to show us what he did for a living.  It is all a little fuzzy at this point (I don't think I need to explain why...vodka), but it worked.  He came out on to the dance floor and started slowly taking off his tie.  Then he started with the buttons on his shirt.  It was all fun and games and everyone was cheering him on and then came the button on the pants.  We were sure he would stop, but .... he didn't.  All the way to his banana hammock.  Yep. He did it.  I was told by a witness that a spouse of a classmate went up to to our stripper classmate and said " 'Ey you need to stop,  People's wives are here." He didn't stop so punches were thrown.  My husband grabbed me, said Party Over and we left. 

Our other reunions have been much less eventful and I would expect that if we reschedule the 30th we probably will all keep our clothes on.  At least I hope so. No offense to my classmates, but I really don't want to see any of you naked.   

Owen's First Trip to the ER

 

I am prefacing this post with a comment that I really do try not to embarrass my family and friends with blog posts, but I do feel that after 13 years the statue of limitations has run out and we can now tell this story.  

It was Sunday morning, January 18th, 2009.  A day forever etched in history.  Liam, Owen, and I had just gotten back from Mass.  Mike had to be at church for Religious Ed and he was going to the later service.  I was probably cleaning something and I heard silence.  That silence when you know your kids should be making kid noises and you hear nothing. That silence when you know something is wrong.  I started looking for Owen.  Liam was 12 so I figured he was probably ok.  I looked everywhere and couldn't find Owen.  Finally I looked in the bathroom.  There he stood, very proudly, with his Diego potty training seat around his neck.  After gagging thinking about what might possibly be lingering on that seat I tried to help him get the seat off.  It wouldn't budge.  In addition to my good looks, all my children have my big head.  Not in a conceited sense, but we all have really big round heads.  My kids could wear adult hats by the time they were 8.  Anyway, I thought I better take a picture of this because I will want Owen to remember this some day. I had no idea it would get to the level that it did.  I took the picture and then tried to get the seat off again.  No luck.  I put oil on the seat thinking it would help it slide off.  No luck.  I called my dad who of course couldn't do anything because he was 8 hours away, but it was worth a shot. By this time Owen was getting scared.  It was funny for a few minutes, but he was starting to cry.  I didn't know what to do so I headed to the ER.  

The trip to the ER was nuts.  Owen couldn't fit in his car seat because of the toilet seat. He kept asking over and over if the doctor would get it off.  Liam was in the front seat in tears because he was laughing so hard.  I called my friend Anna on the way.  When she answered the phone I said in a very shaky voice (because I was trying not to laugh) that I was on the way to the ER.  I heard her jump up as if to get her keys and meet me at the ER as she asked why.  When I told her that Owen had a toilet seat stuck on his head I just burst out crying.  I was seriously crying because I was trying so hard not to laugh.  

We got to the ER and  I walked in, holding my child's hand, with my head held high.  This could have happened to anyone.  Right???  We went to the desk and I am still laughing/crying and met what had to be the dullest, least personable person I have ever met.

Ms. Personality: Name?

Me: Owen R O B I S O N ( you have to spell it because they never get it right and they still don't get it right most of the time)

Ms. Personality: Date of Birth

Me: Owen's DOB

Ms.Personality: What is the problem?

Me: He has a toilet seat stuck on his head.  ( As if it wasn't obvious.  Did she think we were trying to start a new fashion trend.  Or did she think that was his special toy that he wouldn't leave home without?  WTF???)

Ms. Personality:  Can I get your insurance card?  Ok - take a seat.

I mean really- she didn't even crack a smile.

Luckily I knew that we would not be considered a priority so I had brought Owen's Leap Frog for him to play while we waited.  Unfortunately, he couldn't see the game so he got really frustrated.  So frustrated that he tucked his head in and yanked that toiled seat right off.  We cheered- YAY!!!  Owen went up to Ms. Personality and said "I got it off".  She looked at him, never changed expression and said "so do you still need to be seen?"

Thank goodness we did not get fully checked in so we were not billed and it did not go down on Owen's medical history.  I am not sure what getting a toilet seat could exclude you from later in life as pre-existing medical condition, but I am sure the insurance companies would definitely try.  

Smoking

 

The other day I saw an Instagram ad for a little purse that looked exactly like my Grandma Little's cigarette case. It made me think about my grandparents smoking.  Each of my grandparents had a very distinct smoking style.

Grandma Little- Her smoking style was slow and deliberate.  She smoked like they smoked in the movies.  She wore red lipstick so her butts always had her color on them.  She kept her pack in a leather case with a silver metal clasp at the top.  She would slowly take the cigarette out of her pack, tap it, slowly light it, take a drag, lean her head back and a few seconds later exhale.  If it was morning she would be drinking her instant coffee with Coffee Rich and dealing out the cards for solitaire.  She smoked so much in that one spot that there was a yellow circle on the ceiling.  When they painted the ceiling they had to put on a least 4 coats of paint because the circle kept bleeding through.  If One Life to Live and General Hospital were on she would be sitting on the loveseat with a can of Planters Cheese Balls or Goldfish.  After she had her stroke she quit smoking.  She was in the hospital and rehab for many weeks and didn't have an option, but once she quit she became the anti-smoker.  She condemned anyone who did smoke, and couldn't believe they couldn't quit.  

Grandpa Gallagher- I remember him eating his breakfast with his coffee and enjoying his cigarette.  He would be in his white undershirt.  When he passed away and Grandma Gallagher came to live in Bristol for the winters she brought his car.  She wanted the car there even though she couldn't drive because nobody would let her smoke in their cars.  We would drive her around in her car so she could smoke.  The driver's side interior had little burn marks all along the window, but the burn marks that made me laugh were the ones on the seat.  Right in between where his legs would have been.  You could almost see him jump up when the ash fell.  I am sure a choice word was said as he brushed the ash away, but too late to not leave a mark.

Grandma Gallagher- I honestly don't know how much she actually smoked.  She always had a cigarette burning, sometimes two if she forgot about the first one.  She had these little plastic ash trays that went with her and her Pepsi can with the pop top turned around to hold her straw in.  The thing I remember most about her smoking is the ash.  I have never seen anyone who could hold such a long ash on a cigarette without it breaking.  I remember one time I had some friends with me at her house.  They couldn't keep their eyes of her cigarette.  They talked about it for years. 

Grandpa Little did not smoke.  He chewed tobacco.  But that was to kill the worms.  He didn't really do it for fun.  At least that is what he told us and who were we to argue.  

A Christmas to Remember

Like everything else this year Christmas 2020 was really one to remember. The Little's had planned to get together at my parents after Christmas for New year's, but as the Covid numbers grew and the CDC and health care professionals started to beg us to just stay home and not gather in groups we knew we had to do the right thing and postpone our trips. Graham, Hye and Lily's area seemed to be under control, and they are able to isolate more than my family so my parents felt they could go for a quick visit. Hye bought everyone matching pajama's. It was really cute. Even Sunny, the favorite granchild got in on the act.

Bristol on the other hand was another story.  It was determined that our region of Southwest Virginia/Northeast Tennessee was considered to be one of the worst areas in the world.  We were trying to be as safe as possible, but Will and I both had to go into work and Caroline was doing "in person learning" (a new term for 2020- along with "virtual learning", "hybrid learning", "social distancing", "positivity rate", and so many others).  We knew so many people that were getting sick and testing positive. We didn't feel we could safely meet inside, even for a short time.  Most families would have just cancelled the trip and shipped the presents, but of course we aren't most families.  My mom wanted to meet halfway and exchange gifts so we planned a trip to Ripley, WV.  

I don't know how many of you have been to Ripley, WV.  I am not sure that I can say that I have really been to Ripley.  I have been off the two interstate exits.  There is one that has the Love's truckstop where we often meet to exchange a kid that is going or has been at Nanacamp.  This is where we met the two previous times during the pandemic.  Once at the very beginning to bring Owen home and once to bring Caroline home.  We ate McDonalds in the dog park.  Mom said she did not want to be surrounded by dog poop at Christmas so we went a little fancier.  The other exit had a Long John Silvers and a Taco Bell.  It was perfect!  Right next to the Long John Silvers was a burned out fast food restaurant with a nice parking lot. We parked in the lot and proceeded to eat our fine family dinner and exchange gifts.  The view of the burned out restaurant really just added to the fact that it was 2020.  

When it came time to do Christmas with the Carty's we didn't feel we could all safely gather inside so we moved the party to the backyard. Larry built a fire in the fire pit, we wore masks and exchanged gifts.

When Christmas Day came Bristol got hit with a snowstorm giving us the first White Christmas in about 20 years. It truly was beautiful.

While it was definitely not traditional, our Christmas was filled with laughter and love. I cherish it more because I know so many did not get to see their loved ones this year.

Thanksgiving 2020

This will be a year that no one will ever be able to forget. I quit saying "that will never happen" about 4 months ago. Nobody would disagree with the fact that 2020 has been one of the scariest, craziest, hardest years ever, but it wasn't all bad. Here are twenty things that 2020 gave me, in no particular order. 

 

1. Dinnertime. For several months when everything was locked down we had dinner as a family every night. 

2. Puzzles- I completed at lease 15 puzzles.

3. Books- I read 10 books. I had forgotten how much I loved to read. 

4. Family Zoom Calls- We may not have been able to be together in person, but zoom was the next best thing. 

5. Fires- specifically fire pits and bonfires. If it is safer to be outside, outside is where we will gather. 

6. Hamilton on Disney+. I love it more every time I watch it. 

7. I am not as busy at home. Board meetings are via zoom. Fewer afterschool activities. 

8. I found the coolest yellow couch. 

9. My immediate family has been in good health. Living through a pandemic really makes one realize what a gift good health is. 

10. Learning to let some things go. 

11. Appreciation for a family that holds the same values as I do. 

12. Greater appreciation for my friends. 

13. Curbside Pickup. Seriously- can we keep this forever. 

14. Family walks. We started to take more walks as a family. 

15. I actually did several of my New Year's resolutions. - got rid of my storage unit, made lots of banana bread, found a casserole to share, read more, organized the house. 

16. I started baking cookies again. I might have made the most amazing Snickerdoodles ever. 

17. Admiration, Respect and Love for my children's teachers. 2020 has really shown us how much a good teacher can impact a child. 

18. Comedy- Memes, TikTok videos, cartoons, and everything else that makes me laugh. I think everyone being stuck at home has made most of us realize that we need to lighten up and not take ourselves so seriously all the time. 

19. New cat- White Tummy. Although Milquetoast is not very grateful for this one. 

20. Love. I feel truly loved by my family and my friends.

Aunt Bonnie

My Aunt Bonnie passed away yesterday in Arizona from Covid 19.  There won't be a funeral right now so we won't get to sit around and tell our favorite Bonnie stories so I am going to tell you mine. 

Bonnie is the oldest of my mother's siblings.  She is married to Rick Phillips.  She has two children, Missy and Kevin.  Kevin and I are only months apart in age so we spent a lot of time together as children.  Much of that time was at Bonnie's house which was almost directly behind my grandmother's house.  I remember cutting through the backyards to get to Kevin and Missy's house so we could play together.  Missy was older than me so she was doing her own thing by the time I was able to walk there by myself.  I am pretty sure that Kevin would have liked to be doing anything else in the world but playing with me, but his parents made him do it. 

I am sure my aunt had many talents that I am not aware of, but in my mind she is known for cooking and crafts, particularly painted ceramics. She tried to teach me how to paint ceramics.  I did make a Christmas Tree with the light in the middle that lights up the little plastic ornaments.  I was really proud of it, but let's be honest, it is hard to mess up painting something green.  I still put it out at Christmas even though over half of the ornaments are broken.  I do have several ornaments that she gave me as presents.  Here is a picture of one.

She was always trying to make me into a crafter.  I did successfully make a snowman out of a sock and some rice with her help, but the bugs eventually got it.  I am pretty sure she knew I was a lost cause, but she kept trying.

Now let's talk about cooking.  My aunt was a great cook. She wasn't afraid to try new recipes.  I think most of her recipes came from women's magazines.  She was especially good at cookies, desserts and party food.  I believe she was the first one in our family to make Sour Cream Cookies.  They are a cutout cookie that isn't as sweet as a sugar cookie and it kind of puffs up a little.  She frosted hers with the most incredible frosting.  She used to sell her cookies at Christmas.  My Grandma Little would buy them so we got Aunt Bonnie cookies when we visited both sides of the family.  I honestly don't know how many different kinds of cookies that there were.  I know it was at least 15.  When you went into her kitchen it was filled with baking supplies.  She also introduced us to Cream Puff Cake.  You make a Cream Puff dough and bake it in a 9x13 pan.  The filling is Pudding, Cream Cheese, and Milk layered with Cool Whip and Chocolate Syrup.  Yeah- it's amazing.  .

Where Bonnie really was amazing was with parties. The woman could plan a party. She was the originator of the Bourbon Slush recipe.  If you haven't had Bourbon Slush we need to talk.  I was never old enough, but she had a game with horses and dice that you bet money while you drank Bourbon Slush. Those games got pretty rowdy.  She and my Uncle Rick liked to play cards a lot and would often have people over or go to their house. She made some really good dips and other appetizers that could travel.  When they moved to Massillon after Kevin was in college she joined a newcomers group.  It didn't take long for her to be in charge of the group. (she was the oldest of 7 remember- she knew how to tell people to get things done).  She had that group make a cookbook and we all got a copy. 

Right now I can imagine that she is in the process of starting the New To Heaven group.   Everyone has been told to bring their favorite appetizer.  It is BYOB, but she will make some sort of really cool cocktail for everyone to try.  She is telling St. Peter that he better get the joint cleaned up because there is card game Friday Night. And St. Francis- please do something with the garden around the pearly gate.  It hasn't been updated in years.  She tells him she may run over to Pat Catan's to make a decoration for the gate. 

Goodbye Aunt Bonnie.  Eternal rest grant unto her O Lord.  And let perpetual light shine upon her.  May her soul and all the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Thanks Mom

  

It's Mother's Day and I would like to officially thank my mother.  I have so much to thank her for.

She carried me around in her womb for nine months and then gave birth to me.  Having given birth three times I know this is no easy task.  I am sure it was even harder in 1972 working on your feet all day as a nurse.  I like being in this world, as crazy as it is, so for this I thank her.  She also supplied all my basic needs- food, shelter and water.  Today I think we sometimes take those things for granted, but we shouldn't.  I want her to know that now I know that those things don't just appear.  She had to work for them.  While I am very grateful for having a childhood that all my basic needs were met, I am most grateful for the things that my mother taught me.  Here are just a few.

#1 When faced with a unpleasant task don't put it off.  Put on your big panties and just get through it.  My mother used to tell us she didn't understand the language "whine".  We could whine all we wanted but it wasn't going to get us anywhere.  Even if something hurt you just needed to grit your teeth and push through. This life lesson has really served me well, especially when dealing with children's vomit and explosive poo. One of my doctors loves to tell the story of the time my mom (who was his nurse) helped with a small procedure on me at his office.  It was painful.  Really, really painful.  As she held my hand, stroking my head she said "suck it up Meghan, you can get through this".  The doctor still to this day tells me how strange it was to see his nurse who was known for offering so much compassion to his patients just basically told me to get over it.  What the doctor didn't know, is that if my mother had acted any differently not only would I be in the same amount of pain, but I would have been terrified that something was wrong because she was coddling me.

#2 If you say you are going to do something- do it.  My mother is a woman of her word.  Let's say you are fighting with your brother in the backseat of the car and your mom says if you don't stop she is going to stop the car and make you get out.  Most kids know their mom is not serious.  My mom was serious and Graham and I learned the hard way.  Standing on the side of the road outside the car.  Now, she let us back in pretty quickly, but when she says something, she is serious.  But more importantly, you can rely on my mother to do what she says.  No matter what.  If you ask for her help and she says yes, not only will she help, but she will go far beyond what you expected her to do.

#3 Sitting around feeling sorry for yourself isn't going to make you feel better.  My mother is a firm believer that the longer you sit and wallow in your pain the harder it is going to be recover.  I think that is why she liked working in the recovery room at the surgery center.  When you are coming out of anesthesia all you want to do is sleep and the nurses are yelling at you to wake up.  They are making you sit up and drink something.  They know you don't want to wake up, but you have to.  My mom knows that you always feel better if you get up, take a shower and do something.

#4 Take pride in how you look. We butted heads on this life lesson.  A Lot.  Over the years my definition of taking pride was much different than my mothers.  One thing we always agreed on is a you should pull an outfit together with a statement piece, we just had differing opinions on what the statement should be.  She was really not fond of my black Depeche Mode, Smiths, and INXS t-shirts  and she just shook her head with my thick wool socks and Birkenstocks.  My mother would never ever in a million years leave the house without lipstick.  I don't quite live up to those standards, but I do think that it is ridiculous to go to out of the house in your pajamas.  I mean really people, it takes less than a minute to throw on some pants and a t-shirt.  I am not typically a judgmental person, but if I see you in public in your pajamas all I can think about is the fact that you haven't changed your underwear and I think that is gross.  I hate pajama day at school and I make my kids wear clean pajamas that they have changed into when the dreaded day occurs.

#5 Life is better when you are not afraid to step outside your comfort zone and not take yourself so seriously.  My mom has had so many friends throughout the years.  She has surrounded herself with friends from all different walks of life with different backgrounds, interests and lifestyles. She is not afraid to try something new and out of character.  I remember my mom going to see the Rocky Horror in the 80's and a drag show in Key West. She took me to see Madonna and U2 in the '80's.  She shocked us all when recently she got not one, but two tattoos.

These are just a few life lessons that I learned from my mother.  The most important one is that I learned she is always there for me, no matter what.  Thanks Mom.

Punch

I am on a mission and I need some help.  I want to bring punch back.  Let's just say I love punch.  We always had punch at parties when I was growing up.  There are so many things about punch that make it fabulous.  

First- the color.  Who doesn't like to drink pink, or orange, or green! 

Next- the fact that it is like getting dessert before dinner.  How often does that happen?  And it has sherbet in it.  Sherbet is lovely and as I get older and more lactose intolerant it is becoming even more lovely. Yes, I know it has some cream, but not as much as ice cream so the hangover isn't as bad.  Also, I can send my BFF the English Major into a complete tizzy by calling it sherbeRt.  Owen said it right when he called it her trigger word.  

Punchbowls.  Punchbowls are so pretty and so impractical.  It is like a deviled egg plate.  It only has one function.  Punchbowls (and deviled egg plates) spark joy in me and I will fight Marie Kondo if she says otherwise.  (just kidding- who would fight Marie Kondo- she is so adorable and really my zen hero).  My mom has a gorgeous Candlewick punch bowl with matching cups and I am publicly stating that it is mine.  Hands off Graham!!!!

Lastly- HELLO!!!- FROTH!!!  Gorgeous, lovely, foamy froth that you can slurp off the top, or try and tilt your cup just right so you save it until the end and then go hide in a corner and try and lick it all out without getting it on your nose.  

Can I say it again- I LOVE PUNCH! While sherbet punch is definitely my favorite, I am also a fan of the clear sparkly punch made with juice and ginger ale.  Bonus if there is fruit floating in it and OMG if there is a molded ice thingy with the fruit frozen into it.  

Now- let's talk about adult punch.  You may be shocked, but I love adult punch too.  My only request is that if there is adult punch and there are kids present, there should be two punch bowls. It would just be mean to drink punch in front of a kid and tell them they couldn't have any.  

So let's all say it together- We Love Punch!  We WILL Bring Punch Back!!  We can do it.  We can do it for our kids.  I don't want my kids to miss out on this glorious decadence that eats up all my weight watchers points for a day.  We can all agree on punch.  Maybe punch will be the thing that brings us back together.  We can all wear creamy orange hats that say MAPA- Make America Punchy Again.   

Grandpa's Tattoo

This past weekend my dad, my brother and his wife, my cousins Jason and Ness and their respective spouses, and I spent the afternoon at winery.  My grandfather used to spend quite a bit of time at this particular winery- The Quarry Hill Winery and Orchard when it was just an Orchard.  In addition to going there to buy fruit my grandfather would walk the orchard after it rained and search for Native American Arrowheads.  I never went with him, but I can imagine him walking up and down the rows. 

As we raised our glasses to toast him the stories started to flow.  My dad told us stories of spending summers on the boat.  He told us that many times as a kid he would go to sleep at the Beaver Park Yacht Club in Lorain and wake up in Put in Bay.  He could only imagine that probably somebody who was several cocktails in would say- "Let's go to the islands" and they would race over.  Dad loved summers on the lake.  He was pretty much left to his own while his parents partied the summer away. 

My Grandpa always had a very special way of saying things.  For instance, when we weren't moving fast enough for him he would yell- Do you want a size 10-1/2 boot up your ass.  Sure, he could have just said get moving, but then how would I remember his shoe size.  He was not a fan of facial hair.  Instead of saying you need a shave, he would say why cultivate on your face what grows naturally on your asshole.  We never had to worry about knowing how he really felt that is for sure.

Whenever we start on the Grandpa stories inevitably the poem comes up.  It starts "There was a little bird, no bigger than a turd..."  Grandpa would say that and never continue.  He would promise that one day he would finish it, but not until we were older.  He never told me how the poem ended.  I believe he eventually told Jason, but Jason was holding on to the secret.  Well thank goodness somebody invented the internet because otherwise we would never know. 

There was a little bird,
No bigger than a turd
Sitting on a telephone pole.
He ruffled out his little neck, and he shat about a peck
As he puckered up his little asshole. Asshole, asshole, asshole, asshole,
As he puckered up his little asshole.

Grandpa sure did use the word asshole a lot.  Grandma did too, but when Grandma said it she was talking about a person.  Grandpa was actually talking about anatomy.  (see we got science lessons too)

The best story of the day was when I asked my dad if my Grandpa had a tattoo.  I couldn't remember if he had one or not.  In my mind it was an Anchor, but i just wasn't sure.  My dad laughed.  He said don't you remember when Grandpa would ask if you wanted to see his tattoo?  If you said yes he would lift his shirt exposing his un-tattooed torso and point to his belly button.  He would say, I used to have a Hula Dancer but now she is faded and all that is left is her asshole.  I can never look at a Hula tattoo the same again.

Summer

 This is right before I was thrown in the lake.  You can tell I hated this camp.

 Random summer photo.  I felt so beautiful with my jewelry and feathered hair pulled up on one side.

 Grandma and Grandpa Little's Backyard

My kids are getting ready for summer break and everyone keeps asking what they will do for the summer.  As a working parent the stress of finding childcare for an entire summer can be very daunting.  I am lucky this year that between parents, in-laws and camps my two younger kids will not have to fend for themselves.  Sorry Liam- you are 20.  You are on your own buddy. 

I don't know about everybody else but all my summers as a kid just run together until I was about 15. It isn't a bad thing, it is just hard to remember what happened in what year.  These are some of my favorite summer things that happened every year.

Cedar Point.  For those of you who have not been, you are missing the greatest roller coasters in the world.  I haven't been in many years.  I hope that the Antique Cars and the Blue Streak are still there.

Water Works- the community pool in Cuyahoga Falls.  It seemed so big to me as a kid.

Szalay's Corn.  The best corn ever.  We may have good tomatoes here in Northeast Tennessee, but nothing tastes like Szalay's corn.  We would go pick it up in Peninsula and bring it home.  Graham and I would sit on the porch and clean it so mom could boil it.  The cob holders had a special home in the little cabinet with drawers that hung on the wall in the kitchen.  I don't remember what else lived in that cabinet, but I am calling dibs on it Graham. 

Going to Grandma's.  I would go for a week every summer.  When I got a little older I would go to the Heisey Convention as well.  We would go to Jamie's Flea Market, go bowling, go to Aunt Sis's to swim and to the Old English Parlor for ice cream.  I would hang out with Ness.  We would eat popcorn at least 3 nights a week while watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy.

Graham going to Grandpa's.  This was heaven.  I had the whole house to myself and didn't have to share.

Camp- at first it was daycamp with CYO.  We would ride the bus from Immaculate Heart of Mary to Camp Christopher every day.  I learned most of my camp songs there.  (Ohhhhhh, they built the ship Titanic to sail the ocean blue, and they said it was a ship that the water wouldn't go through.  It was on it's maiden trip, when the iceberg hit the ship.  It was sad when the great ship went down.  Oh it was sad, it was sad, it was sad when the great ship went down to the bottom of the, husbands and wives little children lost their lives, it was sad when the great ship went down).  Overnight camp was the best.  I went to Girls Camp at Stoney Glen, Camp Carl, and Beulah Beach.  More camp songs- Johnny Rubek's Sausage Machine, Up in the Air Junior Birdmen, Birds in the Wilderness.  The entire family would go to Boys Brigade Camp at Stoney Glen a few weeks after I went to girls camp by myself.  Dad was a counselor, Graham was a camper, Mom was the nurse and I was the poor pre-teen girl that had to spend a week at an all boys camp.  Rough Life huh.  I have two bad memories of camp.  The first is at the day camp at the YMCA.  It was horrible.  The kids were mean and all we did was swim.  The second is when I went to an Eastern Star camp one year that was just plain weird.  I am sure my memories are skewed, but I remember torches and people in white robes.  The only good thing to come out of that camp was the elbow on table song.  If you put your elbows on table they would sing -Meghan Meghan strong and able, get your elbows off the table.  This is not a horse's stable, this is a first class dining table.  Stand up, Stand Up, Won't shut up till you stand up.  - then when you stood up you had to skip around the room while they sang - Skip around the room, skip around the room.  I still sing this in my head sometimes. 

Just being a kid.  This is what I remember most.  Just playing in the neighborhood.  Kickball, Tag, Mudpies, Riding Bikes, and so on.  Entertaining ourselves.  Fighting with each other and working it out.  Climbing Trees.  Playing on the porch when it was raining.  Coming home when the streetlights came on. 

Graham says there weren't Gypsies, but I am saying there were Gypsies.

We will get to the Gypsies later.  This story starts with my brother working at a BBQ restaurant on Volunteer Parkway in Bristol.  It wasn't open very long.  There is some pretty fierce competition on BBQ here and people get really loyal to what they like.  It is a hard market to break into.  Anyway, Graham was working there one summer.  Everyday he drove his little red Pontiac hatchback to work.  On this particular day he drove to work and threw his keys on a shelf in the back of the restaurant.  He was working minding his own business when he sees his car getting moved.  He freaks out, runs out of the restaurant, jumps on the hood of the car and starts yelling obscenities at the two kids in the car.  The kids freak out, jump out of the car, run into the woods and are never to be seen again.  After investigating it was found that one of Graham's female coworkers had hired these kids to steal the car.  She had taken the keys from the shelf while Graham was working.  She mysteriously disappeared as well and was never to be seen again.  

Now this is where the gypsies come in.  About this time it was well known that the Travelers were in the area and scamming people all over the place.  There were notices in the papers warning people about paying in advance to have your roof repaired or your driveway resurfaced.  I had heard that the girl that was responsible for stealing the keys was a Traveler.  Graham said she was not and I am crazy.  I think it would have been pretty hard for her to just disappear so I am going to say until he proves me wrong I will continue to say that my brother jumped on the hood of his car as it was being stolen by gypsies.  And you can't stop me Graham.  

The Draining of the Beast

It is 12:11 on March 14th, 2017. I have insomnia.   I suspect that 42 years ago my mother wasn't getting much sleep either. I do know that she was cooking date nut bars and ate most of the pan in a third trimester pregnancy craving.  I also know that she had to be rushed by ambulance to the hospital and that because there was a blizzard the cart went through a muddy spot on the way into the house and left a mark on the floor.  My 2 year old self would point this spot out until we moved.  I was probably suffering PTSD from the birth of my brother. I am really not over it.  So, in honor of my baby brother here is a Graham story.

I would like to preface this story with the fact that I was away at The University of Tennessee during this story, behaving like an angel, and had no part in it at all.  

My brother had some friends, two brothers.  I won't mention their names in case they want to stay unidentifed, but I ended up working with their dad and he has confirmed the details.  Anyway, these two boys' parents went out of town.  The parents left the boys home alone to watch the house so of course the boys and their friends planned a party.  They found somebody of age to buy them some beer.  They had it chilling in the fridge and were waiting for the evening to unfold.  Well, the parents got partway down the road and realized they had forgotten something so they turned around and upon arrival realized that the boys were up to something.  They opened the fridge and it was full of beer. Bom Bom Bom...Party over.  My dad gets a phone call and it goes something like this.  "Hello Greg, this is J*** B****r, could you come over here and get your son's beer". Bom Bom Bom. Graham's in trouble.  Dad went and got Graham and the beer.  When the got home he made Graham pour all the beer down the drain.  (Some may ask why Dad didn't drink it.   It was Milwaukee's Best Light.  You can't drink that if you are over 21.  You lose your adult card for sure.)  My dad told Graham he was grounded for two weeks minimum, but he couldn't be ungrounded until he told him who bought the beer.  Graham refused to give up his source.  After 6 weeks my Dad was begging for him to give in.  Nope.  Graham was taking it to his grave.  Eventually my dad couldn't take anymore and he let him free.  Way to protect your source dude!  

Happy Birthday Bro!

The Barn

Dad and Caroline playing with the barn.  Dad is holding the Outhouse

When my dad and my uncle were children my grandfather built them a barn.  The barn was made of wood from orange crates. I think he ordered the pattern from a magazine.   My grandfather, never one to do anything half-assed not only made a barn, but several out-buildings, a stable, fences, and an outhouse (or as he called it, the shitter). He hand made the hinges.  It was painted red with white trim and a hunter green roof.  My brother and I played with it as children and when we grew older it was moved to the garage for storage.

One day, Graham and I ran across it while we were stuck with each other with nothing to do.  When Graham and I would fight our parents would punish us by saying we had to play together.  When we were really bad we got kicked out of the house until the streetlights came on and could only come in to go to the bathroom.  It must of have been one of those days when Graham was being particularly horrible to me because for some reason we were locked out of the house playing in the garage.  We came across the barn and decided that it looked like it needed an update.  It was probably about 30 years old at that time.  We thought we do something nice for Dad and we would paint his barn for him.  We found some paint.  The spray can said green.  Graham and I were not very artistic so to us green was green.  We took the can of bright lime green paint and tried to update the barn.  I am pretty sure neither of us had ever used spray paint before. As the paint started to drip down it was very apparent that we were going to be in really big trouble.  (I can't believe Graham would do something like that.  What was he thinking?)  As usual Graham wouldn't take all the blame so we both had to tell my dad what we have done.  I remember the look on my dad's face when he saw what we had done.  I know now as a parent how hard it is to look past what was done and instead look at the intention.  My dad knew our intentions were good.  We got in trouble for getting into the paint, but not for what we did.

Fast forward 25+ years.  It was probably August because my mom was asking us what the kids wanted for Christmas.  Of course the kids really didn't need anything, but for some reason the barn came to mind.  I asked my dad to clean up the barn for Owen.  It was the best Christmas present ever.  Owen loved it and played with it for years.  When Caroline was old enough we set up the barn for her too.  Now my nephews and nieces are playing with it at my in-laws house where it is staying for safe keeping.

Thank you Grandpa Little for lovingly making the barn.  Thank you Dad for cleaning up a mess that I made so many years ago.  But most of all, thank you Dad for showing me how important it is to not just look at what someone did but to look at the intent of what they did.  It really is the thought that counts.

I am going to be an adult soon

My First Work Picture from 1999

So I am coming up on my 18th year at my company.  I am thinking we need a party or something.  I mean it isn't everyday that a girl turns 18.  I have held several different positions at my company and I have seen many people come and go.  I even ran away from home for a few months only to return appreciating what I had.  I have so many great memories of my colleagues.  Everyone knows that you spend more time at work than you do with your family, so you either learn to get along with people or you are miserable.  I have had several different "work husbands" over the years and currently am in a polygamist relationship with several depending on the day and project.

Our company is very old school.  We work 8 to 5, in the office, no working from home.  Ties and jackets for the men and business dress for women.  We most definitely do not have a pool table, ping pong table or a dart board, but who says there is no Fun in Fiberglass. The people are what make work fun and we have definitely had some characters. Don't worry, I won't name names, but here are a few of my favorite memories in no particular order.

• Après Sales Meeting Soirees on the Boat
• Peach Moonshine (or at least the first part of that night, definitely not the next day)
• Rocky Horror Ladies Night Out
• All Ladies Night Outs
• A certain custom products manager retirement roast.
• Going to Appomattox with an Operations Manager who was like a grandpa on the way home from a site visit
• Afternoon conversations with above Operations Manager
• Putting somebody's face on a shirt since they didn't want it on a retirement cake
• Walking into work and having the hall plastered with pictures of me doing Karaoke the night before- I think it was Family Tradition.
• Coming back from a conference and my office being plastered with pictures of me pretending to be a Dallas Cowboy Cheerleader
• Relay for Life and learning to do the Electric Slide
• My pitiful attempts at redneck photoshop- aka color printers, scissors and tape
• Creating Jib Jabs of co workers
• A certain estimator doing the Cupid Shuffle
• Dale Carnegie
• Sharing a dumpling
• Saying something stupid when the Go To Meeting is asking for your name
• Lunch room random conversations
• Giving a book to a colleague who was leaving- a book written by someone who had the same name and was about a gay stripper- still makes me laugh thinking about the presentation
• Trying to teach a co worker how to get his game on so he can get a date
• Negotiating ice cream parties for big order days
• Pageant for Relay for Life
• Bartending in the NASCAR Race Suite
• Posting pictures on FB of me with the new UT Football Coach and then having to take them down because he turned out to be a major %**&^$
• Having Dinner with Pat Summit at Tribute to Women
• After Work Cocktails ( I said AFTER work)
• Parties
• All the Babysitters that were coworkers kids
• Pen Kidnapping
• Ice Ice Baby

There are just too many to list really.  

I told the owner and Chairman of the Board that I moved out of my parents house to go to college when I was 17 so in a few short months he will have had the pleasure of being in charge of me longer than my father did.  He rolled his eyes and grumbled something about that must be why my dad has more hair than him.  (Don't anybody tell him but I have a tremendous amount of respect for JDT, but he would think I was mad at him if I didn't give him a hard time).

So in a few short months I will be 18.  My days of childhood and teenagerhood (is that a word?) are coming to an end. I guess that means I have to act like a grown up so I will try and be serious and professional at all times.  Anybody want to take bets on how long that will last?   And if anybody is interested my start date was March 1, 1999 if you want to plan the party. 

We're off to see the Wizard

When I was a little girl The Wizard of Oz was my favorite movie.  I used to wear red shoes that I called my Ruby Slippers and would say in my best witch voice "Take off those Ruby Slippers".  I am not sure why it was my favorite, but I think part of the reason is when I was kid, before VCR's and DVD's, the only way you could see the movie was when it came on Thanksgiving weekend on tv. We were usually at my grandparents for Thanksgiving and we would all gather in the family room with Grandpa's popcorn and watch the movie again.  Somewhere Over the Rainbow would come on the screen and I would dream of being Dorothy.  I would get so excited when the munchkins would appear and I would hide my eyes when the Wicked Witch would come to scare everyone.  I was so enthralled with the songs and the sets that I didn't realize until much later that the characters in Oz were the same as the ones in Kansas.  I know, I know, I am a little slow on uptake.

When I went to DC for the first time as a kid I couldn't wait to get through the monuments so we could go to the Smithsonian Museum of American History to see the Ruby Slippers.  I still go to see them.  Every. Single. Time.  Here I am the last time I went.

I was so excited when Liam auditioned for a part in Theatre Bristol's production when he was 11 years old.  He received the role of The Mayor of Munchkinland. I couldn't have been prouder.  He owned that part.

Seeing Wicked on Broadway was life changing. I had always loved the Wicked Witch of the West and knew there had to be more to the story.  (People always think the pretty girl with blond hair and the sugary sweet voice can do no wrong, but it is generally the dark haired girl who is kind of awkward and brash that you want on your side. Right?! )  I took Liam and Owen to see the traveling show a few years ago.  After the first song Owen proclaimed that it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen.  When we hear Defying Gravity in the car we all sing, very loud.  I make Defying Gravity my theme song when I need to make positive changes in my life.  (yes, I have different theme songs for different times in my life as well as a supporting soundtrack.  doesn't everyone?)

A few years ago we were able to go to The Autumn at Oz.  In Beech Mountain, NC there is an old amusement park that is a replica of the movie.  It is closed now, but once a year they have a festival where you can walk through the park on the yellow brick road and meet all the characters.  We met up my parents and rented a chalet for the weekend.  It was unseasonably cold, and by cold I mean crazy cold for North Carolina in October.  There was snow and crazy cold wind, but we bundled up and went to Oz.  I have to admit, it was magical.  For a short time we were there.  On our way to see the wizard.

So why do I love The Wizard of Oz so much?  Well, it is a musical, and musical's have singing and dancing and of course Jazz Hands.  But seriously, my memories of the movie aren't just the movie, they are family moments related to the story and it is such a great story with great lessons.  Black and White Kansas is really dull compared to Oz with all it's colorful characters on the other side of the rainbow. Those colorful characters deep down are more like the black and white characters then you think at first. You already have inside you what you think it is that you most want, you just need to find it.  In the words of Scarecrow- "Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking don't they".  The great and powerful are really just people, just like us.  The Wizard says "A heart is not judged by how much you love; but by how much you are loved by others".  Dorothy learns that happiness doesn't come from a place, but comes from being with the ones you love. There is no place but home.

The Camper

Some of the Cousins

My mom comes from a really big family. She was one of seven and her mom was one of seven  of McPhillips. I can't ever keep them all straight.  My mom had a ton of cousins. Real bonafide first cousins. Not third cousins twice removed or anything like that. 35 First cousins.  They all grew up in the same town and have always been very close. Several years ago they started the tradition of the family reunion. When my grandmother and her siblings were alive these were huge multi-day events. There were even t-shirts. Each of the families would take turns hosting and planning these reunions.  One year would be my grandmother's families turn, the next would be one of the sisters turns, and so on.  One year the family in charge found a really nice campground with an indoor pool, a great pavilion and even a tractor for hayrides.  My mom asked my brother and I to please come to the reunion that year.  Liam was about 3 and she knew there were several things planned for the kids that he would enjoy.   She also wanted to have all of us together which had not happened in a while.  I think she was also losing her mind a little because instead of staying in a hotel she decided that we would rent a camper that the campsite had for rent. She kept saying how nice she heard they were and then she told us it was only $35 a night. Really.  What kind of place goes for $35 a night. Now Graham was kind of used to living in some questionable apartments. I think we found that at least 3 of his apartments where he lived in college got condemned after he moved out. Me on the other hand, not so much.  I knew it was bad when I walked in and mom was spraying Lysol everywhere.  I mean everywhere.  The mattresses, the seats, the bathroom, everywhere.  We may die from asphyxiation, but we would definitely not catch the rotavirus.  Mom and Dad were taking the "bedroom". The mattress was visibly sunken in the middle.  This brought on visions of mom and dad laying on top of each other and I really didn't want to go there.  Graham was going to take the couch bed in the front of the camper.  Probably the best spot. Of course. Right. Liam and I were to share the table bed.  The bed that is made by turning the table upside down and putting cushions on it.  I am sure when the cushions were new this would have been delightful, but 20 years and God knows how many families splurging for the $35 a night camper later the cushions had lost whatever fluff they once had.

My mother was surprisingly optimistic about everything.  I think it was probably because she wasn't going to give dad the opportunity to gloat and say I told you so, but she kept saying how it wasn't that bad was it.  We weren't planning on spending that much time there right.

The reunion was fun.  Liam had a blast. By the end of the day he was covered in mud, food, hay, and sweat.  He was exhausted .  We threw him in the summer's excuse for a bath, the pool, and planned for him to pass out from exhaustion.  Didn't happen.  Parent's Worst Nightmare- The OverTired Child.  We were all trying to go to sleep.  I imagine mom and dad on top of each other in the sunken bed.  Graham trying to sleep but mosquitoes hanging out buzzing in his ears, me on the table bed with a kid that won't quit crying.  Graham finally lost it.  Jumped out of bed and yelled "Oh my God, this sucks so bad.  It is like we are the F*****g Griswolds".

Things eventually calmed down and I wouldn't say it was restful, but we were able to get some sleep. The next morning when we were all pretty sure we had all the family togetherness that we could take I hear Graham screaming from the bathroom.  " Oh my God, oh my God, come quick, it happened again". I rushed to him thinking he might be getting attacked by a giant cockroach (as if I would help ) and he is standing in front of the mirror.  He turns and says to me- " I got better looking than I was yesterday".  Yes, he has always been like that.

Graham and I headed back to our homes that day.  Mom and Dad were supposed to stay a few more nights at the camper.  She has never really admitted it, but we know she checked into a hotel for the rest of the trip.  Even penny pinching dad was happy to pay for it.

New Year's Resolutions

I am really bad at making New Year's Resolutions.  The years that I make them I undoubtedly break them before February.  Most years I don't even try, but this year I am documenting them for all the world to see.  Accountability.  Friends and Family- I challenge you to call me out when I am straying and also please commend me when I not. I was at a party the other night and someone said I wish I just got a Report Card on my life.  Please give me a report card.  So here they are- in no particular order.

Meghan Little Carty's 2017 Resolutions

• I will love more. 
• I will not try and lose weight.  ( If I say not try I think it might work better than the other 30 times I said try.)
• I will not eat the things that make me feel badly, except for Taco Bell.  I can't give up Taco Bell.  I know my limits.  I will limit my consumption of Taco Bell compared to this year.  
• I will drink Vodka instead of Red Wine so the morning after isn't as taxing, BUT if I do drink wine I will remember to take my Claritin to offset the red wine's inflammatory response.
• I will only read my news from reputable news sources. 
• I will not read social media posts that are hateful, racist, sexist, homophobic or anti whatever religion. I am not saying I won't read things with which I disagree, but you can bet if it came from Breitbart or Addicting Info I will not read it and I will question how we are friends if you posted it.  
• I will try and see the other side of things
• I will not subscribe to Donald Trumps twitter. 
• I will be "For" things instead of being "Against" them. I will compromise if it means that progress can be made.  
• I will not sit quietly when I see hatred and I will teach my children to do the same.
• I will cherish my friendships and realize how lucky I am to have those friends for so many years.
• I will do more things in life that if I were to post on social media would require a jazz hands emoji.  I have recently found out that some feel the jazz hand emoji is actually the give me a hug emoji.  I still say it is jazz hands, but feel free to give me a hug if you want.  (Just don't grab me by the p***y please)

My Saint Patrick

My Godparents- Pat Gallagher and Cindy Kohart

In my family St. Patrick's Day is a big deal.  Not only is it a celebration of everything Irish, but it was my Uncle Pat's birthday.  Uncle Pat was my Godfather and half of my cousin's too.  He was a good guy.  A really good guy.  He had nicknames for all of us.  I was Muggsy or Muggs for short.  He said because when I was a baby I would punch the air like a prize fighter.  I can't remember if Graham or Kevin was MadDog, but the name fits either of them actually.  Uncle Pat read more than anyone I knew.  He was a total history buff and knew so much about the Civil War and World War II.  He loved all things Irish.  He was into ancestry way before Ancestry.com.  He wrote letters to the post office in Ireland to find some of our relatives and he succeeded.  He mapped out the family tree and went to the library (his favorite place) and made us all copies.  My kids will have no problem going back several generations if they ever have to do a school project.  He was a Vietnam Veteran, and the war was very hard on him.  Not physically, but emotionally.  He never really talked about it, but the pain was always there.  You could see it.  He had the kindest heart.  He always remembered my kids at Christmas and I always appreciated his gifts more because I knew he was on a fixed income.  He really connected with Owen for some reason.  They were about as different as two people could be.  Pat was kind of quiet and calm while Owen, well ...  He rarely traveled far from home but he went to Arizona to see my Aunt Bonnie and all along the way he sent Owen postcards.Owen loved getting those in the mail and still keeps them in his bedside table.  I will never forget the last time I saw him.  We were at my mom's for a visit and he was over and so excited about his trip to one of the Dakota's ( North I think).  He was going to ride the train and meet up with his regimen from Vietnam.  I believe it was the first reunion he was going to attend.  I don't think I ever remember him being so excited about something.  When he got up to leave I gave him a hug and told him  to have a great time.  He started to cry which made me cry too.  I am not sure why he cried.  Maybe he knew.  Who knows.  All I know is I miss seeing him sitting in the chair at family events.  I miss listening to him talk to me about civil war history.  I miss him calling me Muggs.  I am pretty sure he is hanging out in heaven listening to a Celtic Reel reading a Civil War book.  Grandma probably made him some Corned Beef and Cabbage (the best in the world, BTW).  He is most definitely wearing green.

Happy Birthday Uncle Pat!!!!  Love Muggsy