Slumdog Millionaire..."WOW"!!!

Just got home from the most intense two hours I've ever spent in a theatre.

My sixteen year old son and I went for a night out...just the two of us and were not disappointed in the least. It's been a while since we have seen eye to eye on anything, but after the movie my son said "That was pretty intense".

After the movie was over everyone just remained in their seats to watch even the credits roll.

My daughter's doctor grew up in Bombay and has told me the conditions were not the greatest for many, many people and now I see exactly what she means.

I have never been disgusted and disappointed by so many people in such a short time and learned how blessed I and my family are during that same span.

The obstacles and tragedy of his entire childhood...his perseverance and determination to do the right thing and his wonderful and unwavering good character made me realize the power of the human spirit.

For those who have not seen it...it is a MUST SEE!

I don't often spend $19 for two tickets to a movie, but feel this was pretty darn close to being well worth it.

From the opening scene to the dance scene at the end...it was an experience I will not forget.

It makes you realize that even with our crumbling economy and ridiculous health care system...we are still pretty darn lucky.

The last movie that touched me this much was "Crash"...another movie that will open your eyes to the world around you.

Say a prayer of thanks tonight that you are lucky enough to live here...even with all the problems, worries and crises...we are more blessed than many.

TIL NEXT TIME...COTTON

"THAT'S"... Nice !!

That was the favorite saying of one of my dearest friends that I worked with over ten years ago.

A yankee through and through (she grew up with Amy Fisher...Big Joey Butafucco's ex) on Long Island.

We struck an immediate bond...we were both smart ass and full of ourselves.

We virtually RAN the restaurant that we both worked for...everyone else was in awe of us and cowered to our every request or demand. Of course we were the only two with any kind of experience or know how when it came to serving the public.

I was old enough to be her mother, but young spirited enough to be her best friend.

She took care of my youngest two kids so often that I worried they would begin to call "Her" Mom.

They both still remember her because at the time her sister was battling cancer and they had never seen a bald headed woman before (they both still talk about it).

She always longed to be a mother.

When she became pregnant (OOPS) out of wedlock..she was tickled to death.

She didn't mind her circumstances..she embraced her good fortune of being blessed with a child.

She moved back to New York with her parents...grandkid in tow, and I missed her terribly, but was so glad she had accepting and loving parents to help her on her way into the marvelous and trying experience of raising a child on your own.

We kept in touch, although sporadically, but the bond has held throught the years...THAT is why it is called a friendship.

Webster decribes a friend as " A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause: a comrade."

That is exactly what we are..."One who supports, sympathizes with...To befriend".

We are hundreds and hundreds of miles apart...talk rarely on the phone...but when we do the years disappear, it all comes back in a simple "Hello..It's me".

She has gone on to marry, have more children and achieved the dream she always wanted.

It hasn't been easy...nothing worth having ever is.

But I am proud of my girl, proud of my friend and so lucky to have had her come into my life.

Recently she has come swooping to my defense on a stupid classmates site that a former ...HUH how should I phrase it...PSYCHO has belittled and outright lied about me , my sister (OOHHH...That's a BAD) and totally ruined a once great site for friends to re connect and relish the past.

TAG!!! She is it now...taking all the brunt and "viscous" attacks from my cyber stalker(my stalker is a terrible speller).

WHAT A FRIEND!!

To me...that is the meaning of a true friend.

Literally YEARS can pass...but it doesn't matter.

A FRIEND IS A FRIEND IS A FRIEND..FOREVER.

That is the great thing about having a friend, you can count on them, they will always love you. Miles or time do not matter, what matters is that you love that person and they will always love you right back.

Now that this whole facebook, twitter, email, myspace phenom has occurred...I feel closer to her today...being hundreds of miles away, than I did nine years ago when I actually had to pick up the phone.

I am not sure what that says about our society as a whole...but it keeps me in touch easily with a dear friend and seems to bring us closer with every click of the mouse.

I have many friends..I am lucky in that respect.

I just want to point out how important it is to keep the bond, and remember that Webster also calls "friendly" ..Warm and comforting.

Those are two words that describe my YANKEE friend completely.

She is amazing...I always knew she would be....and her being a staunch "DEM" doesn't hurt either.

Just a shout out to you, my "Friend"... Thank you for loving me as much as I love you!

When The Son Doesn't Shine

I have three kids.

Love them all equally..all have qualities that I enjoy, some more than others.

My oldest son graduated high school with a 3.89 without ever cracking a book.

My daughter (who I have to SHOVE down the path of education) is more interested in her social activities and her baby sitting empire, yet she still manages to pull out the grades.

My middle son (GOD HELP US ALL) is bombing out of school at the rate of a sonic boom.

What amazes me is that HE is my really smart one!

He can tell you how to build an atom bomb, or tell you ANY historical fact that you never knew existed..and he would be right on the mark...Trust me..I have googled some of them.

He just doesn't like being "judged by numbers and letters". He is such a fantastic debater...even the principal of the school he attends has told me he needs to be an attorney.

He JUST falls through the cracks.

He hates school...(Not the social part) but says it is a waste of his time.

I emailed two of his teachers this past week...Zach is just dishonest about homework unless I email them.

The first response I got was ALMOST uplifting.


"Mrs.Cotton, your son is not disruptive or disrespectful, he just chooses to not complete or turn in assignments".

WHEW!!! I almost felt good!

No parent likes to hear that their kid is being a snot to the teacher or "sassing" them (old school term I know, but I am AM almost 50).

Then came the email from his Science teacher:

"Mrs. Cotton... Thanks for your email.

Zach is on the borderline of brilliant.

He is lazy in class and does not turn in assignments.

The other day I asked a question that involved intuitive thought. I only expected the high scoring kids in the class to answer, and as they were all scrambling through their books and notes, Zach woke up and gave me the exact answer I was looking for".

This teacher told me that on a daily basis he tells Zach to unleash the talent, use the wonderful brain he has and make it work FOR him.

My oldest son was so easy...I guess I should have seen Zach coming!

He seems to be easing up a bit and realizing MY take on it all.

He is wasting a potential that even "I" would kill to have.

Granted he is right...judging by numbers and letters is ridiculous...but it is school and that is the standard they use.

As my husband often says..."Let's just try to get him out of school and he will be the next Bill Gates".

I hate to have to keep my thumb on him on a daily basis...but I do.

If I email his teachers and check his grades online every day..he seems to at least do the work...but why, oh why does he have to make it SO hard on me?

KIDS...go figure!

At least he has the potential...maybe one day he will realize it.

Sorry...I have been distracted

I have the biggest soap opera going on in my internet world!

My thirty year grudge has kept on and on and on.

On classmates...she chased me off with her "vinim" as she spells it.

Then after I left the site, she continued to rag on me for a couple of weeks...until one of my friends responded in one line..."All the hate seems to be coming from one person".

She wrote back a two page diatribe mentioning me every step of the way.

My friend responded "The hate seems to be coming from one person".

She blasted him back again with another manifesto..to which he responded (God I love him)...."As I said, all the hate seems to be coming from one person".

Baby, that didn't stop her!! It got so ridiculous that I printed off the entire thread to take to work and show my co workers...they had a field day reading it.

We have all abandoned the classmates site..she is basically left to argue with herself.

I didn't get really pissed til she started talking trash about my sister..WHOA!! Don't dis my sis!

She said that the posts I made were written by my sister..and that she could prove the isp numbers were the same and had been written on the same computer...Who in the hell has THAT kind of time?

Number one, cin only types on my family.com and I had to BEG her to post on classmates(guess that was a bad suggestion).

She actually went to the realm of sanity when she called me and Cindy "specious pontificators" and added "Look it up...see I can use big words too".

I don't consider myself a talented writer... but I feel like I do have some type of gift when putting my feelings and thoughts into words.

That may be what irritates her the most, but it is WHAT I DO.

I used to enjoy classmates so tremendously...and not to brag, one of my discussions has had over 1400 views...I think that may be what started it all.

That and the fact that I sat first chair in French horn and she was second....I am serious...that was her first battle against me on classmates..HELLO!!! That was 1977...do we see a possible mental issue here?

So I left classmates and joined facebook...I gotta have somewhere to write!

At least on the facebook high school site they have an administrator and when she starts her tirades they can bounce her off the site.

I promise to come back here more often.

I finally broke down and bought a new computer..it goes so fast and is so FANTASTIC that I can almost feel good about the $500 I spent.

At least my kids are loving it. I have to kick them off of it when I get home from work.

If you want an interesting read and a psychological moment..go to classmates.com and go to schools from East Point Georgia Russell High School. go to the message boards and read under the post: "Keeping the message board nice". It is a trip on the internet that you may find hard to believe...but better than "Dallas" or "All my Children".

Check it out if you have fifteen minutes to spare, or want to observe an obviously rare specimen of the human psyche.

I have just been riveted by it! Not to mention her spelling or cryouts as a victim.

Promise to be back tomorrow with a post about my sixteen year old son (that could go on forever) and a post about people I have waited on recently at work. Thanks Frances, Joannah and Elizabeth for being followers..I have tons to tell you all...but my clothes are done in the dryer and I have to toss another load in before I go to bed.

Thanks for waiting and thanks for reading!!

My Eye's Aren't Bad, But My Arms Are Too Short..

When I am at work...I card everybody. we had a bartender go to jail one night because the police sent in an underage person and she ordered a drink...It sounds more like entrapment to me...but who am I to argue? You "Can't fight City Hall"...

Now I find myself carding EVERYONE...just to cover my own butt.

The problem I am having is that I can't hold the driver's license far enough away from my face to read the date on the card.

Of course sometimes the person is a visiting associate with Hoshazaki( probably mis spelled) or Panasonic when I ask for ID it is in Japanese...so my usual comment is "ko-nee-chi-wa" which I horribly mis spelled..but know that it means hello in the Asian world.

I had a customer ask me if I needed to borrow his glasses..NO! What I need is longer arms.

DAMN...I am getting too old to be able to read a license..(Who had to make it in such tiny print anyway)? Like the government is TRYING to save us money....HELLO...I can give you a LOT more ways to save money than making me look old at work...(thank the Lord for the dim lighting).

Sometimes...no A LOT of times old people come in and comment about how dark it is in our restaurant.
I tell them that is the main reason I work there...the lighting takes ten years off of My life..If they change to florescent..I will walk out the door.

I just try to give good service...I always have a good time (I just make light of the worst case scenarios) and hope that it all evens up in the end.

Pretty much my job is a crap shoot these days...but I have been here thirty odd years and think that if ANYONE can survive...it is me...not to brag, but wooing the public has ALWAYS been a forte of mine. I have said it before and will say it again..I have my PHD in BS and put it to use to the fullest extent every day I walk into my store...and you know what...Hell , I have people I don't even remember saying "HEY. it's our good friend Kelly"...when I walk up to a table...but if they love me..I LOVE them.
I almost feel like saying "Thank you to my adoring fans...and thanks for remembering me".

My job is such a sales and marketing gig...but one that I feel I am good at.

I am one of the few people in America today that has SOME type of control over their income.

I do a crappy job and I either get fired or don't make money..I do a great job and my daughter gets a new lap top and I feel REALLY good about making other people feel better for coming out spending $50 on a meal for two in these struggling and worrisome times.

I am TRULY a BLESSED person....Cotton

Stormy, Stormy Nights...

Boy, we had a NIGHT here in my hometown.

Storms blew in from the west...when I went into work at 4PM, the tornado siren was going off.

I called home because my two younger kids were at home and my husband was still at work.
No answer...they BOTH have cell phones (that WE pay for) and they were not answering the house phone either.

I finally got in touch with them..they were in the driveway shooting hoops.."It is SO warm outside".

I told them there was a tornado on the ground in our county, headed in the direction of our house.

My son (who is sixteen) just handed the phone to his sister (who is thirteen and went directly into panic mode) ...Thank the LORD for girls!

She asked to go to a neighbor's house and I replied that would be a good idea.

My sixteen year old was picked up by his 23 year old brother who drove through the warnings to take my youngest son back to his "crib" in downtown Atlanta.

As they would say "A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do".

IDIOTS!!!

They DID beat the major storm, although the storms have lasted all night.

When I arrived home from work, my 13 year old daughter was sitting next to her daddy, watching the weather channel, clutching her bible, her pillow and a flashlight!

THAT'S MY GIRL!!

PREVENTION...PLANNING...THINKING... THAT'S a woman for ya!!

So far we have been lucky, although the neighboring county had windows broken out of their houses from the baseball size hail.

My daughter (obviously is sleeping with me tonight)... and we directed my husband to stay on the ground floor JUST IN CASE (not really, but it is nice to not hear his snoring).

I think most of the storms have passed...and even when they hit...what are the chances that your house will be hit by a tornado? If I am lucky...small..but at least I can relax in my king size bed with a girl that likes to watch the same shows I do...and daddy is downstairs with the dogs (they fart too much for me).

If I don't post again, I was wrong.

If I DO post again...I got a night off and my daughter and I had a wonderful, exclusive and quiet night just bonding...HEY! We need a LOT more of that!!

Living in a house full of men is like living in a frat house...unfortunately I am the only advisor and the only one that gives a "Crap".

I love them, but want them to know that THEY will be the one's to flip me over to prevent bedsores one day....and they had better not gripe! Can they not remember the stomach viruses and trips to football and basketball practice...not to mention the fact that they have given me more grief than the current economy? Thank the Lord I have ONE girl... of course she is only 13..I may have to get back to you on THAT one

DANG...I'm OLD!!

Went into work at 10:30 this morning and got off at 9:00 tonight.

I love the people that I work for ..and love SOME of the people that I work WITH.

What amazes me is that at the ripe ole age of ALMOST fifty...I continue and constantly work circles around my co workers..most being 25 or younger.

Oh they complain, they gripe..they leave dirty dishes on the ledges (they are ten feet from the dish area where they are supposed to put them).

They leave computer printers out of tape when there is a roll sitting RIGHT next to the terminal.
It is almost like working with my kids...but you know what?

They aren't my kids , my back went out today and I got pretty sick and tired of cleaning up behind them, finishing jobs that they should have and in the same breath...doing my own job as well.

I started waging my own personal war.
I wouldn't pick up the dishes...but would write a note..."Take your dishes to the dish pit".

I would leave another note..."Don't leave dirty glasses on the ledges".

I would actually call people out by name when I saw them doing things that not only I knew ...but THEY knew were wrong.

By the end of my shift I had many enemies...but For Pete's Sake...Do your stinkin job!!

I told my husband last night that I was twice the age of most people that I work with..yet I work circles beyond circles around them.

He remarked that they do it because I LET them. They KNOW that I will do the job, just to keep things running.

He is EXACTLY right...I am an ENABLER...I make their job easier and help them make money because I am committed to my standards as a server.

But approaching fifty...the tide is about to turn.

Clean up your OWN mess...run your OWN food...do your OWN job.

HEY!! We are all making money here, let's all contribute equally.

If you don't..I'll be dead in a month and THEN who will do all your work?
Just had to vent...not that it will change anything...but a steaming hot bath and a heating pad will!

What Kind of Idiot Do I Look Like?...REALLY!!

So I am at work today...a pretty busy lunch (people wanting to avoid the horrendous VALENTINE DAY MASSACRE in the restaurant industry).

The hostess asked me to pick up an extra table...I'm ALWAYS up for that!

I greeted them and asked what they would like...cranberry tea, strawberry lemonade or maybe a glass of wine?

I was met with a brusque..."I want sweet tea with NO lemon, NO lemon, NO lemon".

I actually felt like putting three lemons in her glass and saying..."I AM SOOO sorry, I thought you said to bring you a sweet tea with a lemon, lemon, lemon....did you say NO lemon, No lemon, No lemon?

It gets worse.

She ordered a salad...I believe this is pretty much verbatim.

"I want a salad with iceberg lettuce only..and I mean no cucumber, no onion, no tomato, cheese or crouton...bring us a LOT of bread with extra, extra butter...just so you don't have to go back."

Her obviously beaten down husband said "bring me a cheeseburger".

I made sure the "princess's" salad was PERFECT...took them tons of (free) bread and refilled her sweet tea..with NO lemon, NO lemon, No lemon as often as it was emptied.

My point is...don't treat me like an imbecile until I act like one.

I really had to try hard to not give her my "Mama is ticked look". One that I frequently give not only my three kids, but my husband as well.

When their (perfect..thanks to me) lunch was over..she came back at me with "I would like one of your delicious sweet teas to go...with NO LEMON". Thank the Lord she only said the word "NO" once.

I told a co worker....If I could be truly sure she wasn't highly allergic to lemon...I would have sunk three lemons in the bottom of her to go cup!!

But needing my job as I do, and rising above her condescension... I gave them both a smile...took her a tea with NO lemon, No lemon,No lemon in a go cup and thanked them for coming in for lunch and told them that it was my pleasure to have waited on them.

Ya know...I have been doing this for thirty years...and granted I AM a goofball.

But wait until I really screw up before you treat me like I am Gomer on the Andy Griffith Show.

But what goes around comes around...they tipped me $5.00 on an $11.00 tab.

My psychological skills have been honed to perfection over my thirty years in this business.

It is almost a game to me...treat me like an idiot and I'll show you just how GOOD a server I am!

Just like I always say "I have my PHD in B.S".

The rest of the shift, my co workers and I made a game of repeating EVERYTHING three times.

When I walked out the door with the $90 in my pocket for a three hour shift...I said "Goodbye, Goodbye, Goodbye".

OH, I'll be back tomorrow....BRING IT ON!!!

Paranoia, Will Destroy Ya...

Can't remember the band...I THINK it was AC/DC.

I just loggd off of my "new" facebook account and my computer was running so slow that I folded two loads of laundy while typing a ten word message.

Am I being paranoid about my cyber stalker...or could she actually "hack" into my computer and just 'mess things up'???

I know that this modem is older , but only when I try to get in touch with classmates...it seems to freeze up.

Now that I am on my blog...things are moving rapidly and I am amazed at the instant movement and speed of my post.

I just can't think of any other reason...and like I said, I hate to be paranoid..but if this little, bitter person has done ANYTHING ...and I mean ANYTHING...to my computer system, isn't that illegal?

I just don't get it...When I am in my email...all is fine...when I am on my blog...all is fine.

When I go to post on classmates...it takes fifteen minutes to type a ten word message. Same with my new facebook account that I started for high school connections.

Some computer geek that MAY be reading my blog, help me out...am I being paranoid or am I being a victim??

I am certain she doesn't know about my blog...YET...but the venom and acidity of her comments directed towards me on the high school site let me know that she is unstable and obviously holding a major grudge .

Everyone has dropped off the site...and that only seems to encourage her rath...and now it is MY fault that people have left her hanging without a person to talk to.

Some one that knows the inner workings of the internet HAS to read my blog.

Am I being crazy? Or could I possibly be right?!

Lovin' Me Some Face Book!!

Since my fall from grace with my Classmates site...I have returned with a vengeance.

My sister first suggested facebook...and once I got my teenage son to sign me up (I didn't have clue how to do it)...I am off and rolling!

Not only have I acquired 37 friends in the first few days (I only had 20 friends on myspace after two years) I found a group from my high school that has a site that was NEEDIN my help!

I have been a typing fool (no pun intended).

Just to be able to write my memories of my high school without a scathing and bitter reply is an absolute joy.

Granted some of the icons are silly...ie throwing beads, chocolates etc.

But it is a really great site, one that you have to be INVITED to (good on my part) and a great place to re connect.

I also posted the website for my blog on my profile and it is amazing that my former class mates are ACTUALLY reading this site....and seeming to like it.

I just got home from working a ten hour shift...WHEW, I am too old to do this anymore.

I do have a funny story to share though.

One of the servers met her mom for lunch today in the restaurant...it was her mom's birthday and there were several of her mom's friends there as well (all women around my age).

YOU KNOW ME... I went up to the table and said to her mother..."So I hear it is your birthday...we have a male stripper named Vince that will be out here as soon as you get through with lunch".

All the women clapped their hands in mock glee and laughed.

Only the server , who's mom was celebrating her birthday, knew... that in fact OUR MANAGER was Vince.

Not two minutes after I left their table...my manager (Vince) came cruising through the dining room and stopped at their table to introduce himself.

The look on not only the server's face but the entire group was enough to get me through the whole shift.

I don't know if they were thinking..."Keep your pants on son" or "Will we be charged extra for the show"?

All I know is that it made me chuckle...made my fellow server know that I AM officially insane... and made a bright spot in a long and tedious day.

Everyone at work knows what an idiot I can be...HEY! It breaks up the monotony and I believe I am the favorite 'House' comic.

How great is it to have a job that you not only love, but a free platform to perform your routine ... whenever you can squeeze it into your shift?!

HEY...I Haven't gotten fired...YET!!

I cannot think of a better profession for me than the one I have....sales and marketing with a sideline comedy routine as a bonus.

Home From My "Marketing" Job

Just blew in the door after a WONDERFUL night at work (Seriously).

With the economy, I have taken a big hit in the paycheck. People just don't eat out like they used to and even when they do, they tip a LOT less these days. I think some people don't realize that I make $2.13 and hour and I NEVER see one penny of that because they take taxes out on what I claim for tips. I claim EVERY penny I make mainly because when you go to buy a house or even a car...would you rather show that you make $20K or $40K ? Also we were audited a couple of years back. The IRS said I had two kids when I have three.

It took three months of faxing records and documents to the IRS to prove that I was right and they were wrong.

Did they reimburse me for all the faxing and overnight mailings? I don't think so!

It was more like an "OH YEAH...YOU DO HAVE THREE KIDS...OUR BAD".

ANY HOO... tonight was a banner night. I got my butt kicked from the time I walked in the door until I clocked out.

I had one table that stayed for almost four hours. A birthday dinner for a guy in his thirties. They ordered Jagermeister shooters, lots of beer and had a good ole "Throw down". They closed out one tab (tipped me GREAT) and thirty minutes later started another tab. When I brought their round of drinks (they had a designated driver) the birthday boy said "Gracias" to which I replied "Da Nada...mi amigo". He said "Habla Espanol"?? I quickly came back with "Hell yeah...who do you think is back there cooking your food"?? I told him I had learned more Spanish working in the restaurant industry than I did in all of my schooling (which included Spanish lessons from grade 4 through 12).

They LOVED me...and thankfully showed me their love on their charge slip!

Moving on to the next good table!

My wonderful sis came in with two of her good friends..sat and had delicious salmon salads with our awesome "house" dressing...lemon , oil, mustard with crushed green olives, diced tomatoes and a hint of garlic (just to brag a bit).

They were seated really near the kitchen (anyone else would have complained).

When they went to leave, my sister's friend...facing our dish pit as she gave me a hug said "Be careful over there, the floor looks really wet".

I told her not to worry, the floors were treated with a non slip coating. She said "REALLY"??

I shot back "Oh yeah, I could go do a cart wheel in the dish pit".

As another server walked by, I handed him the coffee pot I had in my hand and said "Hey Rob...hold this for me while I go do a cart wheel in the dish pit".

As all the young people that I work with do...he obligingly obeyed me and took the pot from my hand and carried on (although glancing over his shoulder to see if I would really do it).

The dish pit is the worst place in the house (for obvious reasons) but I have often told my co workers...if you DO fall in the dish pit, I don't care if you break a vertebrae...between the grime on the floor and the humiliation of falling, you are up in a flash stating "YEAH, I'm okay".

Tonight was a glorious night...everything ran smooth, the peeps loved me and showered me with their monetary praise.

Tomorrow could be a completely different story.

That is the only downfall of being a server...YOU CAN'T COUNT ON BANKING EVERY SINGLE SHIFT!!

I truly believe in my heart that I excel at my job and it will all even out in the end run if I give every shift my best effort...and I genuinely try to do just that.

It "IS" sales and marketing... and I enjoy it almost too much.

I make people enjoy having me as their server and in return...they come in and specifically ask for my table.

It's like I have my own comedy club that I don't have to pay overhead on!!

Of course I know WHO to joke with and WHO to kow tow to...and I can kiss butt when I have to...It is part of the job.

But the good ALWAYS outweighs the bad (so far) and I enjoy what I do for a living ALMOST too much.

It is just in my personality and persona...I think I was meant to be on stage SOMEWHERE...I am just not sure where........YET!!!!

The High Cost of Self Esteem (but I'll pay it) !

My youngest is my only daughter.

A total gift in her self.

An average student, but a tremendous young person. I have never seen a girl that enjoyed a math tutoring class as much as she did (it was her very own social club) but it did greatly improve her grade.

Last year she decided to try out for the track team...went to practice every day for two weeks...gave it her all...and was cut on the last day to be replaced by three girls that came to the last two days of the tryouts.

My sore point was "Let her make the stinking team...she doesn't have to run in every meet, but if my girl wants to run...LET HER".

It totally crushed her, mainly because they took her picture with the track team for the yearbook one day and cut her the next.

This year...half way through the year she volunteered to try out as a sub for the Winter Guards (the fancy dancy flag twirlers).

She tried out for the sub position and HOT DOG was asked to finish out the year in their remaining competitions.

The director/choreographer/leader and obviously part time teacher told me when I went to pick her up that she had caught on very quickly and even helped out some of the girls that had been on the team all year.

He told me that I looked so familiar to him and when Massey told him where I worked...that was it! He said I had waited on him several times at the restaurant and that I was a fabulous (a word I think he uses a lot) server. I thanked him and gave my standard reply "I didn't go to college for nothing"!!

He gave the me forms to fill out and some information sheets. Then he hit me square between the deposit slips with "The cost is six fifty", I knew immediately that the decimal point wasn't after the SIX. I think that I threw up in my mouth a little bit.
He quickly came back with that since she was joining halfway through the year we could work out a payment plan with a discount.

Hopefully this means $325.00

As far as a payment plan, I felt like telling him to get in line...I am already on so many payment plans that I feel like the next twenty years have been mapped out for me.

I felt like adding...since I am such a fabulous server, you'll need to be uppin those tips when I wait on you too.

I told my husband that the joy in my daughter's face and the total elation of being good at something and being encouraged was enough for me...I'LL DO IT!!

I can pick up extra shifts and work seven days a week if need be...to have a child not only WANT to be a part of something but actually excel at it is reward enough for me.

The only downside is that if she is THAT good...next year I'll be shelling out the entire $650.00.

I look at it this way...I never had to buy HER braces...both the boys cost me $3500.00 a piece. They aren't in Winter Guard...but they both have an extremely winning smile (thanks to Mom).

All that matters in the end run is that she feels wonderful and a part of something that means the world to her.

I just wonder what precious metal this flag she is twirling is made of? $650.00...

PLEEZEE...talk about inflated pricing!!

I may end up in a bail out package before it is all over...but my little girl is happy, and to me that is all that truly matters.

You're My Only Outlet Now

Too much drama and totally childish mud slinging on my classmates site for me.

I do not mean from everyone. I mean from ONLY one.

I tried to back out gracefully and even THAT didn't work.

It was alright when she was just bashing me...but when she started in on my sister, she started to really piss me off!

We tried several attempts of offering the 'Olive Branch' only to have it slapped back at us like a whip.

I decided to just let her have the site, and return to my Peeps that love me!

I am thinking about creating a high school FACEBOOK page, and maybe we can all reminisce there without constant friction and ridicule.

What I think amazes me most is the bitter and caustic attitude that this poor girl still harbors after over 31 years.

So what I was the first chair on French Horn? Does it matter to her THAT much after over three decades that she never challenged me for the chair...and if it does, who's fault is that...mine or hers?

At the very least she has given me material for my blog and a good read for people that haven't read a tabloid lately. National Enquirer ain't got 'squat' on this girl!

I think that in some way, high school was a difficult period in every one's life. I know it was in mine (and I didn't even know at the time I was obviously ruining someone else's).

But it is over three decades down the path of life...BY GONES BE BY GONES!!

After she posted her last manifesto to my sister, she tried to start up a new chat acting all happy and upbeat.

NOT ONE RESPONSE from anyone.

I truly do feel sorry for her, but I have tried time and time again to apologize or re connect in a positive way and have been cyber stalked at every turn.

Life is NOT a bowl of cherries...but spitting the pits at people isn't the greatest option either.

Til next time...COTTON

The Triumphs and Trepidations of Raising a Son

I waited on a couple at work today that had a son, MAYBE almost two.

They ordered their food, having a side dish to spare that they didn't want, and I told them to order something for the toddler instead.

The mom said okay..bring a baked sweet potato with butter and cinnamon, maybe he will eat it.

After the meal came, I asked if everything was alright...and how was that sweet potato going over with the toddler?

The dad, who was currently eating the sweet potato said "He won't eat it".

I told them, just wait until they can SAY what they won't eat and challenge you at every remark, comment and turn .

I told them to enjoy it now, because when he is 14, it will be a nightmare.

I also told them to hold on to their sanity throughout the 13-14 year old stage, because when they hit sixteen they seem to soften and return to reality.

I told them the story of my own son, who at 14 had hair down to his shoulders (front and back) and looked like cousin "IT" from the Addams Family.

My husband and I both agreed it was a useless and unproductive battle , that we chose not to pursue.

It is kind of like when they bring home a girl you hate...tell them you hate her and they will bring her back in a week and introduce her as their wife.

We left the hair issue alone for over a year, when one day he came to me and said (thankfully) "Mom, will you take me to get a haircut"?

I was so excited..A HAIR CUT!!!

When we got to Great Clips... I sat in the car (like the mom of a 15 year old should).

When he came out twenty minutes later... he had a mow-hawk.
Not just a mow-hawk... but one with Liberty Spikes.

(Refer to a parental guide for a definition).

What could I say? What could I do?

We decided to ignore this next phase and pray for the next one.

He went to school to have his class picture taken and the principal told him to take his hair down for the picture.

My son was devastated and embarrassed in front of all of his classmates.
It was the first time in over twenty years that my husband EVER went to the school to fight his kid's battle.

He asked the principal if it was a COUNTY rule against mow-hawks.

It was IN FACT...NOT.

It was the Principal's personal opinion that my son's hairstyle was a distraction.

My husband (God Bless Him) stated that It was a violation of my son's freedom of expression...(although both of us hated it)...HE HAD THE RIGHT!!! AND HE KNEW IT!!

Once this battle was fought and won...it quickly fell to the wayside.

He now is clean cut and handsome.

He is just one of those kids that KNOWS "his rights"...and he is correct.

If he wants to look like an idiot...that is his right.

He stands up for his rights... knows them hands down...and uses , upholds his rights and liberties as he knows he is entitled to. (Damn , he is smart...just not using it wisely at this point).

He has moved on, and has grown into a son that I am proud of... maybe a little prouder.

He is a man that will change the world one day.

He has visions and ideas that even astound me!

My husband has even said that if we can get him out of high school...he will be the next BILL GATES!

He has worn me thin over the years, but made me love him even more for standing up for his beliefs and convictions...and being able to back them up every inch of the way.

Sometimes I wonder who's son he really is?

I HOPE HE IS MINE!!

Gotta love those boys... they try you, they test you and they can wear you out.

The biggest problem I have with my 13 year old daughter is keeping her room clean.


I am sure my day with her is coming soon...at least SHE is on a cycle!

HELP ME JESUS!!!

I decided to back out of classmates, because of my "cyber" stalker.

She had turned the website so negative and so ranting that no one even enjoyed it anymore.

I posted that I was leaving and told classmates and new friends I had met, I would check in on them, but would remain silent.

TWO minutes after posting, I received another rant...titled "BOO HOO".

What kind of vindictive, waiting assailant is bent on the edge of their chair...wanting to type yet another sarcastic attack?

At least I am out of the chat room, out of her spiteful touch and out of the biggest online drama I have ever known!

I am going to my sister's tomorrow to print off a copy of the entire "SitCom" because my printer isn't working yet. (maybe she has hacked into my entire internet system).

It is on the edge of unbelievable and outrageous.

This has been a big lesson for me..and will be a bigger lesson for her.

What you put out on the internet is out there FOREVER. I can go back and print off all of these attacks, tirades and rants.

How can a fifty year old woman be so freakin bent on destroying me?

I had a former classmate call me at work tonight, telling me that she was worried for my safety (yes, it is THAT vicious).

I believe this person is nothing more than someone who obviously has a lot more free time than me and a chip on her shoulder the size of Stone Mountain.

We are probably the most "watched" site on classmates, if for nothing more than entertainment.

I am moving on, leaving her, and her "redunkilus" (as my thirteen year old daughter says) posts in the wayside.

If I don't post tomorrow...maybe I was wrong.

If I don't come in from pushing out the trash...someone come looking for me.

I will have to say she has me looking over my shoulder, but looking at my past too.

Could I POSSIBLY have been that mean to her thirty one years ago that it still is THAT big of a deal to her?

I don't remember being an alter boy, but I know that I wasn't the demon she projects.

PRAY FOR MY SAFETY!!

Just kidding...(I HOPE)

"CRASH" !!!!

I have been off line for over a week.

I never knew how much I depended on my computer.

Four Trojan viruses, a corrupt system file...and I was "OUTTA" touch with the entire world(so I felt).

Back on line, with a loaner tower from my brother in law until we buy a new computer.

I feel as if I have been on a deserted island...frantically searching for my "WILSON". (You would have to watch "Castaway" with Tom Hanks to get that one...although it is an excellent movie and brings a lot of what we take for granted into perspective)

If you read my blog at all, last year I wrote a post called "The Thirty Year Grudge".

Guess what?

She is back with a vengeance, and attacking my sacred(to me) sister as well.

This girl that I went to high school with OVER thirty years ago, has made it her personal mission to verbally and literally assassinate me, my family and my name.

Obviously being the "PEON" that I am, she has way too much spare time.

It really didn't bother me until she included my sister in her cut throat remarks.

She assumes since I have written several comments on my classmates website that are pretty stinking savvy (if I may say so myself)...that my sister is writing them for me.

My sis rarely ever types on the classmates site, I guess that I was such a doofus in high school that she doesn't think I am capable of expressing myself intelligently or articulately.

ANYHOO...

In her last post she summed me up this way "Your hypocrisy has no bounds".

What in the hell is she smoking, or what does she NEED to smoke?

I have decided to totally ignore her comments about me and continue "wowing" the readers with my fluent verbal diarrhea and just leaving it to them to question her acidity on the site.

My friends at work think that she is stalking me and consider her dangerous...I consider her a challenge for me to be above her petty attacks, and will rely on my true friends to do the responding(which they have done quickly and savagely).

THIRTY YEARS...this girl has hated me for thirty years.

What does that say when you can't believe that a person grows from the seventeen year old person you knew in 1978 and is a totally and completely different person now?

I truly think it may be because when I joined, the message board was rarely followed and dull as dirt.

I made a couple of posts about East Point, the town I grew up in, and it brought so many views and responses that it is still the most "viewed" item on the entire site.

My classmates have rallied behind me, I have stopped responding to her threatening and vindictive posts...I will let the other masses speak (and BOY are they).

How can you take a grudge from 1978 and turn it into a life mission?

It really didn't bother me until she dragged my sister into the mix...now she is just being a "BEE-AACH".

If you ever get a free moment, go to classmates for Russell High school in East Point, Ga and read the sitcom we have going on.

Desperate Housewives has NOTHING on us...It is an ABSOLUTE HOOT!!

Her posts about me read like a manifesto from the uni-bomber.

It truly IS entertainment (at the cost of my good name)...although I know that any one that knows me...knows the real Kelly...and to me that is all that matters in the long run.

If you decide to look it up, just look for anything written by me and there will be a response by my biggest fan(..NOT..)

Glad to be back on line, and will post more tomorrow....COTTON

New Day, New President, New Hope

My two younger kids watched the "I Have A Dream" speech given by MLK in August 1963(I think that is the right year) on CNN today with me.

My daughter said that it gave her chills.
My son said that he was well read and intelligent.

Their mom says that it has finally come full circle.
MLK has found his voice, he has seen his dream come true.

Barack Obama is NOT a black man.

He is half black, but he is a man that is young, inspired and ready to face an enormous and daunting task.

Our country has floundered and suffered...are we not wanting and needing a change?

My friends have come at me with attacks at every level with my choice, all have been dis proven.

Can people not see that the entire nation...mostly and most importantly "YOUNG" citizens have been awakened and want to do what EVERY American should do...CARE ENOUGH TO VOTE!

It all starts with a vote, and ends up with a decision.

The decision has been made, the ball has been tossed into his court.

What he does with that ball is out of our hands at this point, but it is where it needs to be in my estimation.

Whether you are a dem, pub or indy, have you ever, ever seen such enthusiasm or support for an incoming PRES?

DOES THAT NOT TELL YOU SOMETHING?

If you are disgusted that a "BLACK" man is in office...you are DISGUSTING to me. You need to look at yourself in the mirror, and realize that only by the grace of God, you are who you are...and there are millions more created by him out here walking amongst us...and MAYBE looking at you the same way.

"To be judged not by the color of your skin, but by the content of your character".

It is a new day in America...it is a new hope and possibility not only for Barack's supporters, but for us ALL.

It will take time...but not the eight years that Cheney took.

ANOTHER COUSIN...Was I asleep?

When I posted about my cousins and their grand kids, I inadvertently said that my cousin had two kids...I don't know what I was smoking... I tend to mix up my two cousins from afar. This cousin has two girls and a boy. (Sorry Kim...OR Beth).

I see them only at reunions or funerals these days.

One cousin has two kids and the other has three.

Also my cuz wrote back that his grand daughter wasn't the best flautist in the nation, but the state of Georgia.

I'll still let "The Nation" stand.

Unless the #1 in the country reads my blog...

We are sticking to my original post...I am quite sure she will be there one day!

Kids excelling.
Kids making a difference.
Kids becoming our future and our hope.

This is the hope and refreshing promise of a greater tomorrow.

I am tremendously excited about Tuesday.
I worked a ten hour shift today and will pick up a shift tomorrow (My only day off).

That way I can take Tuesday off to not only savor the moment, but to watch history being made and watch one of the greatest moments in my time... the turning of an era, the awakening of young people at the polls, and their realization that EVERY vote makes a difference.

It will be a long , hard road...not unlike the one that FDR had to go down.

You have to admit, whether you are a Dem or a Repub...the country has never been more excited or alive about a new administration in my lifetime as a voter.

He is not a messiah ... He is a man with a vision, enthusiasm and millions of supporters that want to believe that he CAN make a change...And in my book...a change is DEFINITELY needed.

As he said at the train station yesterday...he will make mistakes.

Blessedly, keeping Dick Cheney around won't be one of them!

Bragging Rights !!

Got an email today from my cousin in Rabun Gap , Georgia.

He is a retired dentist (YES, I actually have an intelligent lineage from which surprisingly I come).

He has a son and daughter that have always been extremely intelligent and real go getter's.

His grand kids have picked up where their parents left off.

One is the number one flautist in her age group in the country, the other is a rising vocalist that hopefully will send me free tickets to her Broadway debut.

Me, with my funny little self sent him back an email... after he brought me up to speed on his grand kid's latest and greatest accolades.

I informed him that my youngest son held the world record for the longest stint on a video game (nine hours...not to brag too much) and that my daughter was very popular in every class...especially her after school math tutoring (her FAVORITE social club).

My oldest son has postponed his college degree in his sophomore year to move to LA to pursue his dream of being either an actor or a model. (I wish he had a little more self esteem) JK !!

KIDS!!! What can you do but love them for who they are and pray every night that they FINALLY see the light?

I know that they are a product of having a mother that works too much and one that is WAY too easy on them. Hopefully what I instilled in them on the "fly by" will kick in one day. Don't get me wrong, they are GREAT kids...just not living up to their potential.

Sometimes... no...ALL the time, I think it is my fault they are so lackluster in their studies, and I am most probably right.

But I have a deep and sincere belief that ONE day...ONE DAY...they will wake up and not only realize, but use and put forth the potential that they all three have inside of them.

I truly believe in "KARMA".

My kids may be wearing me and my husband out now, but hopefully it is to make it all the sweeter when they realize what they can do with themselves, when they actually apply themselves and strive for a goal.

They are all three SO much smarter than me, I just haven't pushed them enough.

But when "Push comes to shove" I am sure that they will all at least land on their feet and not only make me proud, but themselves as well.

HEY!! At least they have some really smart cousins they can call on!!

JUST kidding.

My kids will be fine( I hope and pray)... they are just stumbling, not quiting.

I will be here every step and mis- step of the way.

When my cousin's grand daughter has an LA premier...We will all stay at TJ's mansion for free and it will all have come full circle...don't ya think?

Til next time...an optimistic COTTON

Guess Who's Coming to Lunch? ...AGAIN!!

Once again the walkers were piled up and the wheelchairs rolled in!!

The ladies from the "home" paid me another delightful visit.

The same two nurses were with them. Two incredibly patient and reassuring individuals who make these folks mere existence (that is all some of them are doing...just existing)the epitome of quality care , respect...and realize that each and every one of them are due these things , having to bear the burden of Alzheimer's.


My manager came up to me before we opened and said "Your girls are coming in today for lunch".


I knew immediately who he was talking about. If YOU don't, please go back to last year's posts and read about my previous visit from these ladies. I posted it on Jan 9, 2008.

We had a male visitor today along with the ladies...a "Dapper Dan" type. He and the woman next to him ordered the same meal and he was so attentive and protective of her, that I asked the nurses if they were married. ?

They told me in fact they were married.

I replied that "At least they were going down this road together".

Everyone kept their granny panties on today, and no one even wandered off!

One woman did ask if she could take her steak home with her.

I told her I would box it up for her, and she pulled me down to her head and whispered..."Could I take it on this china dish ; I'll pay for it...I just want it".

I took her steak (on the china dish) wrapped it tightly in foil, threw in a loaf of bread and some plastic utensils. It just seemed to make her day...I know it made MINE!!

Another one of the women ordered hot tea, I made her a cup with the boiling hot water out of the coffee machine.

I returned to the table and my new friend (with a sweet English accent) said that the tea was cold. I KNEW it wasn't, but if SHE felt like it was...I would comply with her wishes and get her a new cup. I did it three times and every time, she complained that it was cold. I told another server, I hope she isn't scalding her throat with the tea.

I nicknamed this sweet lady "The Queen" since she was obviously from across the "Pond" as we say over here in "Hooterville".

They made my day.

I told the nurses that I had told about a hundred people the story of them coming in last year, to which they replied that they had probably done the same!

To wait on, not only these ladies but the two women that take such tremendous time and care with them...is one of the high perks that I have being a server.


Some are quite lucid and some are almost pitiful. But I treat every one of them the same. They are all someone's daughter.

They entered this earth years and years ago, and now are biding time until they leave this earth to return to their Father.

It was an EXCELLENT day for me and I hope at least a GOOD one for them.

On the way out one of the nurses said "Oh, we'll be back".

I love their optimism!!

Till next time...COTTON

Ole Folks...Ya Gotta Love'em !!

I went to my sister's house today for lunch. YUM YUM...gettum some! The lunch was great and she even offered to give me a Lenten rose to take home and plant.

She dug it up out of her side yard and told me to go home and replant and surround it with pine straw.

Went to the grocery store first and once home, brought in my groceries first.

My neighbor across the drive is an elderly retired gentleman who lives with his wife...and seems to watch our every move in and out of the house, while leaning across the back of the bed of his truck smoking a seemingly endless cigarette and staring at our house...waiting for movement. (I will have to admit, we do a LOT of moving and shaking over here in our "CASA").

So anyway...I finally got the Lenten rose plant out of the back of my car and sat it on the ground next to the car.

My "OLE" always watching neighbor...spat out.."I hope you are taking that plant inside tonight".

I said that actually I was fixing (a BIG southern word) to dig a hole and plant it right into my front yard.

He came right back at me like a swift volley...

"You know it's gonna be 17 degrees tonight".
I told him that the plant had just come straight out of my sister's yard and it seemed to be doing okay.

With a doubtful shrug of his shoulders, he shook his head like "Okay, idiot...go ahead and plant it".

When I got home from my sister's house I called to tell her my little story...and as usual, she had one ready to beat it!

After I left, her door bell rang.

She answered it, into the face of a happy and pleasant older woman who seemed flustered.

She told my sister that she was just SO SO lost and could my sister possibly help her.

My sister told her that she had only recently moved into Senoia, and hoped that she could help her.

They went into the house, the woman was looking for Lawshe road.

My sister couldn't find it in the phone book map and told the woman she could google the street.

They struck up a conversation and the older woman told my sister that in fact she too had just moved to the south side of Atlanta and really liked it.

My sister found the directions for this woman on line and went to send her on her way, my sister said, "Well you know where I live now...so come visit anytime"

The woman said to come visit her as well.

My sister responded...WHERE?...where do you live?

The older woman said "Right off of Lawshe Rd".

We thought she needed directions to a new friend's house...She needed directions HOME!!!

At least she stopped and asked, and at least she knocked on a really nice person's door.

This will be me in such a few short years. Thank goodness I have three children.

One of them will get the short straw...but the one that gets the short straw will take care of me, and be in charge the rotation of my care between siblings.

I hope they all remember what a good and "suck up" mom I am now.

If it makes my kids feel ANY better...


I WILL have a "DNR".

Til next time...COTTON

All Roads Lead Out of Atlanta

Just got home from a party with my husband.

One of his customer's companies had a belated Christmas party ...trucking companies are extremely busy during the holiday rush and put off company parties til after New Years.

It was by the CNN center in downtown Atlanta.

It took 30 minutes to get from the exit off the downtown connector to the CNN center (a usual five minute drive).

When we finally got to the parking deck of the restaurant...we discovered the "Monster Truck" show was at the Georgia Dome. (Only in the south would it attract thousands and thousands of people on a rainy January night)!!

When left the party, to our delight we realized the "Monster Truck" show had just ended as well!!

We sat in traffic for another fifteen minutes before my husband (a former truck driver in downtown Atlanta for twenty years) wheedled us onto side streets and got us out of the throng of people...

Straight into the Ghetto...I can say this because I have lived here on the outskirt of Atlanta for forty eight years and have seen people, neighborhoods and conditions like this my entire life...so when I say we were "In the Hood"...I know of what I speak!

At first it was "Shoot, maybe we should turn left here to try to get on 29"?!!

It quickly became "Damn, look at those women kicking her out of the liquor store and beating her down"!!

When we finally started to come to an intersection, I leaned forward and was looking around for a street sign, when My husband said "Don't be all looking around and leaning forward like we are LOST".


The intersection we finally were able to see said "Hamilton Homes". My husband said "We don't need to be here if it was DAYTIME"! Turned right on red and headed another direction.

My husband felt relieved when it finally turned into a four lane and eventually turned into I-285.

We were miles out of the way, but on our way back to suburbia. PLUS you are less likely to get car jacked going 70 MPH.

The party was really nice, good food and a great eclectic crowd. I am really glad we went. It was nice to have a "Date night".

But the ride home... "Can my husband show a gal the sights or WHAT"???

We didn't dare even joke about it until we were half way around the perimeter, when my husband said "I feel like someone is STILL following me".

He is my knight in shining armour and he got me home safe and sound... when he said " I almost need a double deuce" as we pulled into the gas station of our nice and safe neighborhood, I thought he was talking about some type of lottery ticket ...then he told me that was slang for a 22 ounce bottle of beer. (He can be really funny when I let him...I just rarely quit talking).

My husband and I both know how lucky we are to not only have each other but to have our kids and extended family, good jobs and advantages that millions of people may never have ... we know how blessed we are.

I made light and fun of the ride home...it was a blog too good to pass up!!

But it WAS scary at the point that even my husband (who has been driving and delivering in this city for 25 years) knew it wasn't a good situation for us to be in.

It is sad there are so many millions living like that. Violence and poverty with crime thrown in for free.

I pray that America is on the verge of a hopefully tremendous recovery.

I pray that the newly elected President can SOLVE not just try to FIX some of our many problems and concerns.

I pray that my husband stays with me for the rest of my days... I really REALLY got lucky when he chose me to marry.

After 20 years...we can still go out for 4 hours and have fun, partying, tension, drama, danger and suspense...topped off with a happy ending!!!

AND A GREAT ADDITION TO MY BLOG!!

I live a very blessed life... as my wonderful husband (who is obviously the most patient man on earth if he is married to me) pointed out tonight, as we finally pulled into the driveway of our house he said "This house has never looked better".

OR MAYBE YA JUST HAD TO BE THERE.

ANYHOO... back at you soon

COTTON

Gotta Love That Sister!!

My sister is feeling better...Thank you JESUS!!

So I decided to let her continue her charity work at my house today!!

I am just THAT kinda gal!

She came over and painted my bedroom. I vacuumed up about ten pounds of dust and dirt, while she artfully painted my master bedroom...including the "Trey" ceiling. (hope I spelled that one right...but you know what I mean).

We laughed all day, sometimes to the point of tears...I love this woman more than I can describe or put into any kind of sentence.

My bedroom is the only room in my house that has never been painted (I always avoid it on a tour of the house).

Now it is my centerpiece, and I will blindfold people until they get upstairs to see it first!!

I never have more fun than when I am with my sister.

I never get more done than when I am with my sister.

I never feel closer to a person than when I am with my sister.

I have lost both my parents...but they left me in the most wonderful hands that they ever could have...the hands and heart of my sister.

My back is aching, my shoulders are killing me...and my heart is singing!

To spend one entire day with this woman, this splendid human being who I am lucky enough to call my sister...is almost worth me letting her give me a $500 paint job for free!

HEY!!! I am JUST that nice of a little sis.

She'll probably want her vacuum cleaner back now too (NOT GONNA HAPPEN).

What a good life I have, what a great brother and sister I have.

I almost feel like posting a picture of my bedroom on my blog for you to see. If I can figure out how to do it, I will!

At least I gave her a couple of massages that she seemed to enjoy (judging from the sounds she was making).

I hope every person has a best friend like I do.

Going to take a scalding bath now...and return to the ole workplace in the morning.

I can't wait to wake up in the fresh morning sun and see my new bedroom gleaming at me and reminding me once again how lucky I am to have such a wonderful sister with such a tremendous and giving heart.

Keep looking for my pics...I have a friend coming to town tomorrow that is a computer whiz and is going to put a search engine on my blog and show me how to upload pictures...If you think I am amusing now...wait til I actually SHOW you some of my life!!

The Shack...

It is almost two in the morning.

I just finished "The Shack".

It was the most intense, meaningful book that I have read in years.

If you read my ramblings or want to find the purpose for your life on earth, I want you to borrow or pick up a copy of this book.

It was hard to get past the first part, but it makes the second part a reason for "BEING".

Some may find it offensive ...but as you keep on reading, it is only our narrow mindedness that makes this so.

This is a book that brings it all into our own life and our own heart.

We all seek God... But who is to really say who or what God is?

He is the ALMIGHTY... and to read this book, although it is only a book, brought HIM to a new definition and a new and clearer meaning in my mind and soul.

Pass this book on to friends and enemies...IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE..at least it did with me.

"THE SHACK" by William P. Young.

I almost feel like this could be a new road to Heaven for many, many people.

I usually read a book in a day, but this book made me pause at many points, ponder at even more and although it took two weeks to read, it has made a difference in the way I see not only my life, but the grand scheme of things, and how I was made to "Make a Difference".

Til Tomorrow...COTTON

I Don't Need Help Looking Stupid

Sooo...Anyway, I am am work again, waiting on people for a living.

Sometimes the public totally amazes me.

Granted I work in the "City of Snobs".

I go up to my first table of the day...four business people, two of which are currently on their cell phone.

I introduce myself to an uninterested group (I always thought I was MUCH more fascinating).

I gave my little spiel...offering special drinks and asking if they " had eaten with us before"??

I was cut off short.

They ordered their drinks with one of the more wimpy men saying "and I would really like to have a whole dish of lemons with my water".

I returned to the table with their order and began my sales pitch.

"How about starting out with some boneless buffalo wings or some shrimp and lobster dip"??

The wimpy one immediately said "What I would REALLY like is a dish of lemons"!!

I tried to reign my smart mouth in and replied "Will that dish in front of you be okay, or do you need more"??

The woman with them tried to cover for the doofus by saying..."What we really need are four straws".

To which I handily responded "They are right to the left of the dish of lemons".

I sucked it up, took their order, and returned with their lunch in a prompt fashion.

I returned to the table after one minute to see that everything was to their satisfaction and was cooked and tasted great.

My wimpy guy (my favorite by now) was once again on his cell phone and waved his finger over and over again over his baked potato in a fashion that made me think he was trying to cast a spell on it.

The woman with them translated "He needs more toppings for his potato".

I almost said "OHH...I though maybe he wanted me to mix his potato up with my index finger". I held back, smiled and went to get him some more toppings for his spud.

I realize that I am just a waitress.

I realize that I am so far down the pole to them that I make their secretaries look like a big shot.

But I did EVERYTHING that they wanted..the FIRST time they asked for it.

Did they just want to repeat it to remind me that I was an insignificant person to them?

I do my job well...not to brag, but I am GOOD at my job.


It reminds me of the time we had a shrimp promotion and I was waiting on a pompous ole fart out with his wife trying to act like a bigshot. We had two different shrimp specials and I was trying to sell the ole wind bag on one of them.

He looked over at me and said "I can't decide between the two, so why don't you just surprise me"??

To which I quickly replied..."Okay...I am pregnant with your baby".

His wife snorted her margarita out of her nose, and to my relief...he fell out laughing . It turned the whole dinner around, and we ended up having a great hour together with them enjoying my PHD in BS.

You have to know who to kid around with and who to just put quietly in their place.

I take the good with the bad. The good tips are great, the bad tips will happen as well. It is just the average that I am worried about.

In this economy, I am just grateful that people are still going out to eat.

I try to do my best at EVERY table. It is a psychological game to me. I am there to sell, sell , sell.

I want them to buy, buy , buy.

If I do a great job; I make their meal a treat...a flawless dinner that they enjoy so much that they forget they have just wasted more money on one meal... that could have been spent on groceries for four meals.

It is my job in "Sales and Marketing", to make sure that every customer, whether I like them or not...has an exceptional experience at my table.

That is how after over thirty years in this business...I have regulars that come in and not only request me as a server, but will sit in the lobby and wait for forty minutes to sit in my section.

I may only be a waitress (server is the politically correct term these days).

I am proud of the job that I do, it has provided me with an excellent income for the hours that I work...and given me a lot of time to work on my comedy routine!!

YOU PEOPLE JUST CRACK ME UP!!!

Til next time "ROSEANNE COTTON"!!

SISTER TO SISTER

Another grueling day of waiting on the public...got home and called my sister, like I always do.

She sounded WEAK at best.

She had felt like she was getting sick during church. She just felt a tightness in her chest and anxious. (I live that feeling every day).

We often laugh about our ailments (I have one thumb that is completely numb..I know that it is carpel tunnel..but I have another thumb that feels fine, so why worry)?

My sister felt unwell enough to be taken to the fire station to have her blood pressure taken, and it was extremely high.

To me, in my small world..I know what it is...she does SO much for others, always on a charity basis, always forgetting her own well being...not drinking enough water and not taking care of herself.

This happened during church about 11:30, when I spoke to her at 10:00 PM she sounded weak as water.

The trip to the hospital showed all tests OK, but the high blood pressure not only worries her, but terrifies me.

My sister is my fail safe.

My sister is my best friend, my mentor and my guiding beam of light in my entire existence.

I know that she means the exact thing to SO many people that are not even related to her, but have been blessed with the presence of her in their life.
I KNOW that it is just her OVER EXTENDING herself, doing more than she should.

Hopefully and prayerfully , I know all will be OK with "My Girl".

She will kill me when she comes upon this post...


But before she gathers her anger up, I hope she stops... takes a deep breath and a long drink of water.

This woman, this sister, this friend; Means more to me than anything in this life .

I love my husband and kids first, but she runs a pretty close second.

She goes more than ANY person I know, and makes me look like a slug in comparison.

I am sure that it is all just stress, just a message for her to slow down.

She is totally loved by so many people, family and organizations that I know prayers are being sent up as I type.

Just don't give me this scare...don't make me have to EVEN imagine what would happen to me if I didn't have my sister in my life.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

Take a break from all of your exhausting and continuous good deeds, and take a little time for yourself.

I need YOU... more than I can ever let you know.

By the way, I will be over tomorrow to give you the greatest massage of you life.

I LOVE YOU CINDY... I wouldn't be where I am today unless I had you by my side for 48 years.

See you in the morning (with bran muffins and decaffeinated coffee).

HANG ON SISTER...I AM ON THE WAY!!

TEN...NINE...EIGHT...SEVEN...SIX...

Where has the year gone?

It seems like last week the kids were out on spring break!!

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve...another year will be tucked under our belt and we will forge into 2009.

I feel a great year coming... a new President (I think a wise choice) and a year full of new resolutions and opportunities.

I have already made quite a few resolutions and hope that I can make at least a few of them a reality.

I want to be a more understanding person and a better mother and wife.

I want to be more patient with my husband...who is as laid back as I am hyper.

Looking over the past year, I have been blessed more than I deserve. I have three wonderful children, who wear me out on a daily basis although I couldn't imagine my life without them.

I have a wonderful job, with bosses that respect and appreciate me (a HUGE plus) and I have customers that seem to genuinely like me being their server and take tremendous care of me every time they come into our store.

I work with an eclectic bunch of goof balls that I love, admire and make fun of on a daily basis. I am 48...most of them are in their early twenties (which makes them extremely easy to pick on).

If they knew what this ole gal knows now...they could all change the course of their lives and save themselves a ton a heartache, money , fines and probation!

My kids are growing up WAY too rapidly, and it leaves me opened mouthed...wondering where the last 22 years have gone?!

My brother in law survived open heart surgery..my sister survived nursing him back to health( A greater feat if you ask me).

My husband has started his own trucking business and survived thus far in this terrible economy.

Our house is another year closer to being paid off (Thank You 15 year mortgage).

Although I am a year closer to turning fifty...I feel just as good as I did when I was 25... except for the carpel tunnel, the bad knee , back aches and the ever growing gray hair and crows feet!

But HEY!! I am here, I am healthy (sorta) living in a great neighborhood with my next door husband close by for repairs and my retired neighbors on the other side always ready for a thirty minute chat any time they catch you before you shut the garage door (That will be me one day...I am sure)!!

Enjoy your last day of 2008 and let's kiss this disastrous year goodbye and welcome 2009 with the optimism and hope that we need.

Thank you all for being readers of my drivel and for taking time to stop and listen to my stories, opinions and rants!!

I wish only the best and most for you and yours in the coming year...and keep on reading...

Til NEXT year....COTTON

Take the Good With the Bad

Had a great Christmas here... The kids got spoiled rotten, and had a great time at my sister's new farm house.

Went into work today to try and pay off our last remaining Christmas bills.

Got a phone call about 3:00 from my daughter.

My middle son had cut himself with a small knife (a Christmas present) trying to open a Wii game that we had gotten the kids.

It was extremely busy at work when the call came through.

My daughter who is 13 is EXTREMELY dramatic... told me

"It is a REALLY deep cut".

I told them to go next door, where an RN lives...NOT HOME!

I told them to go across the street where another RN lives..NOT HOME!

By this time, I told my son to go to the urgent care center (my next door neighbor who is a seventeen year old) offered to take him.

I received at least three phone calls from the urgent care center saying that if they didn't have his insurance info, they could not proceed.

I had tables all over the restaurant, and people at the door waiting to be seated.

I thought... he cut his finger...he has a friend taking him to be possibly sewed up . Everything will be alright

They called my husband who left his job and arrived to give them their precious identification number for our insurance (I had left my purse at home, and was obviously driving without a license...or any form of ID).

My husband said when he got there, Zach was sitting barefooted in his pajamas and it was not a finger that had been cut (which I was imagining) but had cut his wrist!!

Thank the Lord that I didn't know he had cut his wrist by accident..or I would have been out of my mind with even MORE worry!

It all ended up fine..no tendons or arteries cut... just a scare and an added $250 to our Christmas bill.

KIDS!!!! What are you gonna do?

I guess just love them...and be glad every day that they are healthy and happy...minus the $250 deductible .

By the way, since WHEN does it take $600 to put in three stitches, and give a tetanus shot...and THAT is when you DO have insurance?

How ridiculous IS our health care..and how can the average "Joe" afford it?

Happy to report that it wasn't his "controller" hand...he is still playing the video games as I type!

Til Next Time...Cotton

OMG...Christmas is HERE!!

Started shopping yesterday for Christmas...I have three kids...no pressure.

I have to go into work at 10:30 on Christmas Eve and won't get off till six PM.

I guess I will be at the gas station telling the attendant (that rarely speaks English)

That I will take one of those daggers he has behind the glass case and maybe a couple of crack lighters for my middle son to start fires with...and give me one of those pink "Ga. Bulldog" hats for my daughter...and maybe some condoms for my 22 year old...What the heck...give me some of these light up pens and some bubble gum tape.

Throw me in some lottery tickets to fill their stockings with...and I guess that I will be done!!

I ALWAYS, ALWAYS wait until the last minute.

I swear every year I won't do it but I do!

But the good thing is that I make SURE all my bills are paid before I spend anything on Christmas.

My husband (God Bless Him) bought the ipods and the nanos.

It only makes me a nervous wreck when I have to work on Christmas Eve..otherwise I could knock it out all in one day.

When I get off of work on Christmas Eve, it will be too late to buy anything except a six pack or some Christmas tree going for a dollar.

It will all work out...I have faith .

Christmas is not about the spending, but about the caring.


I care deeply about my family... about my friends and about the reason for the season.

This is a time to look into your own heart...What are YOU doing to help others?
What are YOU doing to make this a greater place?

If you want your life to be blessed ...you HAVE to "Pay It Forward".

I feel like I am a person that thinks of others, gives to others...and feels the reward almost more than they feel their gift.

It is all about balance.

You give to receive...If you don't GIVE...how can you possibly think you can receive?

This Christmas has been especially heartfelt to me...last year I was at a low point, and my friends and family took care of me.

This year we are doing so much better and I feel compelled to spread my good fortune...and KNOW that it will come back to me TEN FOLD.

Merry Christmas to everyone , God bless

Till next time...COTTON

The True Meaning of Christmas

If you follow my ramblings at all, you know that I am a sever in a restaurant.

Every year we choose a family to collect money for to help them out with their Christmas. Last year...embarrassing as it may be...it was my family.

Not that I wasn't eternally grateful, but it is hard to accept such a gift from the people closest to you, that you see every day working hard for their dollar as well.

Without their help, we would have had a very difficult Christmas...which is hard to explain to your kids!

This year, my bossy friend at work and I (who is probably bossier) decided to keep it once again in our restaurant family.

He was a single father of two who recently remarried. His new wife is expecting, and with the economy in the tank...things just weren't going his way.

I think everyone in America can identify with this.

It wasn't easy collecting money this year...there IS none.

But my faithful fellow employees stepped right up to the plate. Some gave a dollar...some gave ten...some gave twenty...the fives count too!!

This is a man that is the day cook. He is there when we first get to work to set up the store for opening. Sometimes he comes in at 5AM to unload the truck delivering product...rotating all the old product, staying in the cooler for hours on end...and STILL comes out of the cooler at 10:30 when we servers clock in, with a smile on his face.

He makes us grill cheese sandwiches, DELICIOUS patty melts, and pretty much anything we ask for.

I bring in leftovers every Tuesday, because Monday is my only day off and when I cook for my family, I always make extra so we can heat something up to eat on my Tuesday day shift.

He is on the line busy cooking, char grilling and frying...but never refuses when I ask him to heat up our leftovers.

He is a worthy, WORTHY recipient . He puts up with 50 annoying servers wanting HIM to fix THEIR mistakes on a daily basis.

I took the Christmas money to him today in an envelope...took him in the back and gave it to him quietly. He was BEYOND touched.

I think that some of my fellow servers may have been upset that I didn't give the money to him in front of a whole group.

But being the recipient from the previous year, I know how hard it is to accept what seems like charity...but is ACTUALLY a gift. Who do we want to make feel good, him or us?

If I had been given my Christmas gift last year in front of everyone... I think I would have fainted...which I almost did anyway...but at least only a couple of people saw me break down into tears, and sob like a baby.

Giving is the ABSOLUTE and true meaning of Christmas.

We gave...he received... WE ALL WON!!

I know for a fact that I will have a greater Christmas knowing that we at our store have once again helped one of our own. I can personally attest to fact that it is a marvelous feeling to know that your co workers care THAT much about you...especially in these hard and trying times.

"THANKS CO WORKERS"....You not only made his Christmas...you made mine!! (Once again)

Til next time...Have a MERRY one...COTTON

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas

Tis the Season to be Jolly....Fa la la la la la la la ooomph!!!

It is a rough year for everyone, it is a year to return to the true meaning of Christmas...not the exorbitant spending but the joy of just having your family with you enjoying the decorations, cookies and the fact that you have your health and a home to live in.

My family is in such a greater place this Christmas. Last year at this time my husband had been ousted at his job, we were in dire straits and luckily my "Family" at work took me under their gracious wing and gave us the greatest Christmas we have ever had.

My job as a server has taken a big hit... people just don't tip like they used to. I can understand, but wonder if THEY understand that I make $2.13 an hour? If I don't make tips... I don't get a paycheck .

Sunday, I went into work giving the same type of service that I have for thirty years. My first tip was $5.00 on an $81.00 tab. My second was $5.00 on a $65.00 tab... HEY!! At least I was going in the right direction!

Just to give you an example; I sold over $850.00 and walked out of the restaurant with $90.00. I would have normally made at LEAST $125.00. Not only that, but my oldest son came in and gave me a 50% tip and some of my regulars came in and did the same. Without their generosity, I would have made $50.00.

I realize people do not have to give me any tip at all, and I am grateful for EVERY dime that I receive.

If I make a 10% tip...I feel grateful for that tip.

If I receive a 5% tip, I may feel dismayed but I am still grateful that I am bringing in SOMETHING.

I have been a server for over thirty years, and this has been the lowest of times in my occupation.

People come in, already ticked off that the economy is in the tank and that they may lose their job at any time. If they are in my store...spending hard earned money, I realize that now more than ever, they expect me to almost kiss their feet or at least make their visit so good that it doesn't seem quite so painful to leave me a tip.

I have stepped up my service, I go above and beyond.

Sometimes my customers appreciate it and sometimes they don't.

In my business you take the good with the bad...my job is to make it all average out.

Some days, I make "PHAT" money...some days just suck!

But if you give people...ALL people the ultimate in service, you will make out on the positive side of things, build new customers and keep yourself in the "Red".

I work with so many young people that JUST DO NOT GET IT!

I guess that I was young one day...although I can't seem to remember being young anymore.

It reminds me of the beginning of the Dickens classic..."It was the best of times and it was the worst of times".

It may be the worst of times... but we have to make the "Best" of it.

I am a firm believer that if you tough it out...if you give it your best... you will be rewarded, you will be taken care of and you will be okay.

Say a prayer for us servers; We need it as do so many millions of people at this point in time.

Have a Merry Christmas...remember it isn't about presents, it is about being .

What are YOU being?

Til next time...COTTON

My Christmas Present To Elizabeth

DAMN!!! She is a hard woman to shop for.

Her Christmas present from last year is still in my knitting basket. (Not that I knit, but I HAVE a basket just in case I get the urge). She had already read the book that I had bought her and I was too embarrassed to admit it.

As a member of Barnes and Noble, I picked out the greatest book to buy her for a present..and guess what? She just emailed me that she has already read it!!!

How do I keep up with this woman ,who had better be into her eighties or I am a REALLY LAME duck.

I just can't keep up with her.

What does that say about me being 48?

She is sharp as a tack...OUCH!! Maybe sharper!

She gave my Diddy the happiest of times in his latest years.

She is the reason that he died being genuinely happy and at peace.

My gift to her this Christmas can't be a book, because she has already read everything that I was thinking of giving her...@#&$!!!!!

She is one of the most amazing, collected and together seniors that I have ever had the opportunity or privilege to have not only known , but to have LOVE me.

My gift to her; Is to tell her that she made my Father's last days sweet. She made them full of love, full of care and devotion and that he would had never wanted to go out of this world any other way...

He loved YOU, Elizabeth Burton...and in my book , he was a very smart man.

Once upon a time he loved my Mother, and it was a CAMELOT for over twenty five years.

But after trying and faltering for years, he came to love YOU..ELIZABETH BURTON!

I have no doubt in my heart or soul that when he finally passed , he knew that he was lucky enough to have been loved by two incredible women.

I love my Mother..always will...and I love you Elizabeth for letting my Diddy be happy in his fading times.

It came rapidly and unexpectedly...but we dealt with what God gave us... and to think back on those memories in the hospital...

I know now that God wanted Cindy, Chris and I to just be together for a few crucial days, to gather our thoughts and memories... to bond as we hadn't since Mama's death and be happy that Diddy's life had ended with him being serene.

It was YOU, Elizabeth ....You are the reason that my Father died a happy man.

It was truly a tragedy , but if you remember what he told the neurologist on his last coherent day...

I am in Blue Ridge....and it is a Sunny day.

Hopefully this is one book that you HAVEN'T read!!

WHAT is wrong with This World??

The day is "NO gay for a day".

What are people thinking? Do you really think that people choose to be gay?

Do you really think that people would choose a lifestyle that would condemn them and leave them open for torment for the rest of their lives?


Do you really think that they chose this venue, this direction and this choice of life?

If you do, you are so misunderstood and so misdirected that it would take me a few million years to get my point across.

I have a cousin that is gay, my sister's college room mate is gay and I have several friends that are gay.

It is a genetic, born into thing that happens...just like being a red neck just like being a racist, just like being a right wing closed minded Christian.

So you think that you are a Christian...

I feel compelled to tell all of my readers and my friends that I have a gay cousin who has risen to considerable heights in the art world and he is a cousin that I am proud to not only claim, but take my hat off to for being the person that he was destined to be and the cousin that I will always admire.

It is not a life that you choose, but a destiny that you are headed for.

Who is above us to judge, except THE LORD himself? And you know what he would say?

He would say "I love you as yourself, and if you love me...welcome to my kingdom".

To my right wing friends, loosen up and look at the world in the society of today.

I have gay relatives and gay friends...it doesn't mean that I am going to hell nor are they.

We are a varied group, we are a melting pot of society... We are AMERICA...and we stand as one and will live as one...at least by MY standards.


Just a sore point with me that I had to get off my little chest.

God will bless every person...He doesn't pick or choose...WHY SHOULD YOU??

The Little Red Engine That Could...MAYBE!!

One of my favorite people at work is a young Irish gentleman.
In his early twenties (as most of my co workers are) he is an absolute delight.
He is from a strong family and is a favorite target of mine at work.

Let me tell you the first story I remember about him and it will tell YOU a little bit about him.

He came into work one morning for a day shift. A couple of our guys were tossing a football in the parking lot. As my friend got out of his car, they tossed the football to him. He caught it, tossed it back and went inside to work his lunch shift.

After the shift, one of the servers found their car battery dead. They asked if they could get a jump from someone and of course my Irish friend said that he would be happy to do it.

As he went out to the parking lot, he noticed that his headlights were still on. He commented that he hoped his battery wasn't dead as well.

As he got closer to his vehicle, he hears a humming sound. When he reached his car, he realized the car was still running! He had gotten out of his car to catch the football and had slammed his door shut with the car running, and after his victory catch...had run into the restaurant for his shift...leaving his car idling for three hours while he worked an entire shift. He had idled his car almost out of gas, and became "Our Victim of the Day".

I bet we made fun of him for two weeks before we got tired of it.

A couple of weeks ago, he had the section of tables next to me. He IS a man, so of course his tables always have plates, dirty dishes left on them and it looks like the party just got up and left. My tables at the end of a meal generally have napkins and a fork on them when they leave. (Granted, I have been doing this for over half my life).

I couldn't resist the temptation.

I went over to his table and grabbed a cocktail napkin off the ledge and penned a note ...I wrote "Server smelled bad". I left it on the table and went to hide to watch his expression when he discovered the note.

His face was PRICELESS!!!

Only when he looked up and saw me laughing so hard that I almost wet my pants...did he find me out.

I enjoy torturing him on an almost daily basis. Of course so do most of my cronies.

This past week, my sister sent me an email about a flight attendant friend of hers that was selling "Throws"...you know that thingy that you cover yourself with to stay warm. after reading the email describing this great Christmas present, I opened the picture of the "Throw" to discover a nude picture of a marvelous specimen of the male variety spread eagle, face down (thank you ).

It was too much ammunition to waste.

I asked my "LIL" Irish friend...who happens to be over six feet tall...what he was getting his girlfriend for Christmas??

He said he just didn't know, so I told him I would email a GREAT idea for a gift that my sister had sent me...A "CHRISTMAS THROW".

He seemed really receptive, and I told him he only had two more days to order one.

I had to call him two times to remind him to open his email, and both times, he said "Thanks sweetie...I'll be sure to look".

By this time, everyone in the restaurant knew what I had done.

We waited with baited breath for him to open his email from me.

I got a text from him last night..."NO, I will NOT be getting this for her"!!


I only pick on the people I love, and I truly do love him.

He is one of the nicest most sincere people that I have ever met.

He is just still "such a boy"...of course I am 48 so he IS a boy to me.

He is so much fun to pick on, and seeing his Irish face go beet red when I get him with a zinger is priceless.

I haven't seen him since the "THROW" debacle, but be assured, his face will be beet red again and will have a few choice words for me!

Another fave of mine is for all of us older servers to tell him to go onto the patio (a banquet room that we have as an offshoot of of main dining room) and tell him that we will call him when we need him. (Just giving ourselves more tables)

He will look out at us, and one of us "OLE" farts will holler..."DID WE CALL YOU OUT HERE YET"??

He tucks back into the room, and probably thinks to himself..."I hope they call me out there soon".

He puts up with me and all the "OLE" farts and takes it pretty well...although by this point he is probably in therapy thanks to us!

He is a joy to work with, we fluster him to death, pick on him non stop...and you know what? I think deep down, he likes it!!

He'll make a GREAT husband one day!!

His actual name is RYAN. We have tagged him with "CRYAN"..."TRYAN" and probably four other names.

My hat is off to him for still loving me after all the enjoyment I have had tormenting and teasing him.

I told him that I was going to buy him a tee shirt with a bulls eye on it, because he is my favorite target.

Yes, I work with a young, eclectic and varied bunch. But you know what? THEY are keeping ME young!!! (At least I hope so).

Til next time..COTTON