Much To Be Thankful For

With all the craziness that is world, I am blessed to have a wonderful family who constantly add life to the years.

We've started having Thanksgiving at my brother's house in Orlando every year. Number one it's an expensive holiday when you host it and number two he has a really nice house on a beautiful lake. He buys all the groceries, a plethora booze and my sister and I cook. Actually Cindy does more of the cooking and I tend to be more of the clean up person and funny sidekick. It works out really well...at least for Cindy and me!

All we have to do is show up and sling one meal together to put on his huge dining room table while drinking up all his booze. As Chic Fil A says "It's our pleasure!"

All three of us Leach kids have aged pretty well if you ask me. On the other hand (small pun) it's pretty sad when a brother's hands look better than his two sister's. I laughed after taking this picture of my hand and Cindy's side by side while we were cooking. I had a cut from work healing up and she's obviously losing a thumb nail soon...not to mention the road map of bumpy veins on both.

Zach had to work until close on Wednesday and work early on Friday morning so he didn't get to go. Tim is still stuck out in Texas and Cin's husband didn't come but everyone else made it including TJ and his new family.

 We laughed every minute of every day. It was a vacation I really needed and certainly didn't disappoint.

The weather was spectacular and so was the company.

There was no fancy table setting. We used paper towels as napkins and just got up and grabbed what we wanted. It was awesome!

My brother is always the ultimate host. The beer and wine never ran out and  has a fully stocked bar he let us trample and stumble through.

The lake he lives on is beautiful and even owns a twenty five foot boat always at our disposal.

The sunsets are breath taking.

He's an avid golfer and keeps a basket full of balls to hit off the dock and my nephew Griffin showed us just how it was done!

NOT...

Naturally I posted this to Facebook immediately and last time I checked had almost 300 views.

It was the most relaxing time I've had in quite some time. I even shaved my legs to celebrate! I haven't shaved my legs since Tim left for Texas last January and was tired of french braiding those wiry things.

I certainly wish I had this view from my own back yard but at least have a brother who does.

It was an awesome time with awesome people. My cup runneth over (another pun).

The first night it was just Massey and me there. We got there around eleven at night. We walked in and the first thing I spied was some fancy dancy looking scales my brother had. I dropped my bags and went to step onto them to weigh my tiny self when Massey stopped me and said "Mother, that's a vacuum."

Looked like a set of scales to me but what do I know? Obviously not much...


Massey and I had to work on Saturday afternoon at three so we loaded up the night before and bounced at six AM. My sister hitched a ride back with us so was another fun trip even though were leaving paradise. We got home in time to drop off luggage and change into work clothes. Worked until after ten thirty and got home close to midnight but was well worth it.

It's hard to beat being with my brother and sister. I'm one lucky sib, always have been.

The youngest is now fifty five and oldest sixty two but we're still the kids in the above photo.

Trust me, we're brother and sisters and pretty pumped about how lucky I got!

Til next time...COTTON

Getting Our Eat On

Having Thanksgiving at my brother's in Orlando. Everybody but ole Jed / Fang will be there but would much rather have him home with us at Christmas for three full days.

I bet it's hard for him, being married to a woman who is a mix of Phyllis Diller and Granny Clampett.

Guess I better keep him, and thank him.

I decided to pick up two double shifts in a row to make up for taking two upcoming extra days off for Thanksgiving. The first one ran smooth as silk and was well compensated and just ended up to be almost thirteen hours.

When in my twenties, thirties and even forties I could work seven days a week fourteen hours a day and was a piece of cake....almost laughable.

Guess we see where that got me , but at least it got us here.

Got to open again at work in the morning, moving into my scheduled mid shift and hopefully be off before ten.

 I'm gonna be a 95lb pile of exhaustion on the floor they could sweep into a dust pan. But if survive will be off until Saturday afternoon.

Pray for me...I really want to eat at that fancy eatin' table.

Til next time...COTTON

It's A Crazy World But's All We Have

The recent bombings and attacks overseas disturb me greatly. Actually all  attacks on innocent people alarm me more than words can convey.

It's almost like these terroristic cells are in a pissing contest, which really pisses me off. Until the entire world comes together as one united force, will we ever be rid of this pathetic small corn on the pinkie toe of earth. By entire world I mean every country and nation. I mean Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Catholics, Greeks, Christians, Agnostics and non believers. I mean huge corporations, technology giants and billionaires with plenty of money to spare. I mean every military and every organization.

We need to all stick our heads out this small broken window of life called terrorism and scream:

"I'M MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE"

Bet the sick bastards would listen THEN !!

Of course, that's just me and I'm kinda crazy anyway. Look at me in the above photo...I scream NUTS.


On to happier topics...

I'm still not sure how or why I landed my current job almost two years ago but am more grateful each and every day. Bonus points I've even gotten to work there with two of my kids.

My youngest is working with me there now, putting herself through her third year of college all on her own dime. I've worked with all three of my kids over the years. They grew up with me working in the restaurant industry and have all three dabbled in it along the way,  often working beside me.

TJ worked with me there when I first started.

 He needed a good job, I'd just landed one and they were looking for another server. They loved TJ and he was great at his job. The above photo is from the company Christmas party last year.

I'll have to say Massey tolerates me better at work. Well...not at work but on the way to and from.


TJ was mortified by things I would laugh at, say out loud or to other people. One case in point, the time the elevator doors opened on the second floor of the parking garage while we were riding with two other totally unknown males passengers simply going back to their vehicles. The doors opened and I said (in total old school elevator opening door announcements) "Second floor....ladies lingerie."

They both stood there, then one moved forward to get off  then reconsidered but finally moved out dragging his suitcase behind him. When the doors shut the other guy cracked up.

TJ rolled his eyes, looked away from me and shook his head.

Crazy, his dad does the same thing a lot with me.

We were broke back then and I still rode Marta to work. Added four hours of time to each work day and was a pain  but saved us tons of money.

I was totally mesmerized with and by a woman who rode with us. TJ would roll his eyes every time I got out my cell to tape her but not once in six months did she ever look at me once.

She zips and unzips her purse over seventy times in less than two minutes and is just fine with that.

It's like what's goes on in my  brain every waking moment. We were twins!

Then there was the dude on the shuttle bus who voluntarily sat very far away from all three of us other passengers on a bus for fourteen people.

TJ still insists I said it loudly (when I took this this picture) but couldn't resist:

"Nobody puts Bobby in a corner!"

I laughed about it for weeks...and just did.

Five years ago we were flat slap broke. The financial noose turned into a choker and even I couldn't find anything to laugh about.

Both siblings I have, other family members and every person I ever called a friend; acquaintances and even strangers came to our rescue.

If  around a hundred people can save my  family...why can't almost seven billion of us save ourselves from 184,000 idiots?

There's got to be an answer I don't know about but wish I did.


Maybe Jimi had it right.

Til next time...COTTON

Operation Heaven Over Population

Like the old person I am quickly becoming, went to yet another funeral today. Met up with two high school friends at another old peeps hangout, Cracker Barrel for lunch before the service.

Dick Lane was a state representative for my old home town of East Point for decades. I grew up and attended school from kindergarten through high school with his daughters. He was also the superintendent of the Parks and Recreation department for East Point and was known, respected and liked by everyone. My parents were friends with them as well and I spent many hours and nights at their house.

I got to be a page at the state capitol with his daughter one year. We pretty much did nothing but hang out in the snack bar eating tomato soup and crackers but it was an awesome day out of school. Laurie was always tall blonde and beautiful and I pretty much always looked like a short skinny boy.

Not much has changed.

We worked together at the East Point swimming pool in the summers during high school. The pool was a hangout for every kid in East Point. I took swimming lessons there when I was five and spent every day of every summer after there...then worked there when I turned fourteen or fifteen.

There was an old juke box blaring out "Ride Captain Ride" "Brandy" and all the other old hits while you bought frozen candy bars from Old Nash (Mrs. Nash who ran the concession stand) and ate them on the blazing hot painted concrete sun deck.


It was great to grow up in East Point, Georgia.

When I was still a little girl, Mr. Lane even took our Bluebird troupe for a tour of the state capitol.

We all attended Harris Street School. They never called it Harris Street Elementary. Don't ask me why... and still not sure. It even said that across the bottom of all our class pictures.

Then we moved on to high school and cheered together. High school in East Point was just as fun if not more than elementary school. We grew up in a "Leave it to Beaver" town and roots went deep. If you grew up in East Point, you'll always be an East Pointer. We have reunions where sometimes hundreds show up, once even over a thousand.

We may have drifted away and apart over the years but thanks to modern technology and social networking have all re connected and still stay in now constant cyber touch. It's great to have been part of a community which refuses to die, even when one of them literally does.

We all show up and give each other that ole East Point support. We reminisce, retell stories and introduce kids, grand kids, partners and new friends.

We laughed, we loved and we smiled.

We all grew up less than eight minutes from the heart of the largest city in the south east but kept our small town feel and appeal. We remember where we came from and feel proud to.

If the world had as much love as my hometown did and does it would be a much better place to live.

It is sad for my friends to lose their father but was great to grow up in a city he was so instrumental in making a terrific place to live. He's gone on to his just and much deserved reward and joined the hundreds and hundreds who got there even before he did.

He's probably drafting a city charter as I type for the East Point Angels.

Til next time...an older EP COTTON