The Tiburon Lodge.....

I just sent a 'voice message' to Michael. No response yet. He has been very sick for the past couple of years, & I'm just 'checking in'. I have not talked to him in a couple months & hope he is getting better. He was the owner of Railhead, an apartment complex in OKC. I started pre-leasing in december 1972 & opened the complex in the spring of 1973, and continued to manage it until I moved to Guam, August, 1988.

My life on Guam was conflicting. I made the best of it by working for a wonderful filipino family, the del Carmen's. I stayed on the island until 1999.I managed approximately 400 apartments, condominiums, and commercial property as well. I loved it there, & would probably still reside there if it was not for my grand daughter, Lauren. Vicki, John, Brittany & Lauren arrived for Christmas '98. Vicki, John & Brittany had been there before, but this trip was different. They stayed about three weeks, & when they left, I knew it was 'time to go home'.

So, around the second week of January I call Michael to tell him I am 'ready to come home'. I tell him I need to 'get my ducks in a row', sell my property (five lots in Talofofo), and a condominium in Dededo. 'If you have something for me, I will appreciate it'. 'Okay", he says, let me think about it, see what I can find, and call me back around June. 'Okay, thanks'. About three days later, my phone rings & it is him. 'I have a position for you, but you need to be here in three weeks'.....THREE WEEKS!?! 'I can't be there in three weeks! I have to give notice to Mr. del Carmen, & have too much to do'. 'Where do you want me to work'? 'At the Tiburon Lodge in Tiburon, California' 'Are you shiting me? That is 'not going home', that's California. 'Frances, it is only a three hour flight to Oklahoma.............not twenty three, like Guam'! 'And what is my position' says I....'you will start out as Director of Sales', then move to 'General Manager'........'director of sales, what is that? I had never even heard of it! 'Don't worry, you are a quick learner..........you'll get it'. OMG!, what in the world am I getting myself into? So, I agree, and to this day, I think it was a big mistake. 'mistake' is probably the wrong word here. Because if it weren't for this particular job, I would not have had a newly constructed home sitting here waiting on me mortgage free/
So, I arrive in San Francisco the end of January, 1999. I stayed unti May, 2004, and hated every minute of it. The Lodge @ Tiburon was a very nice hotel, but 'Tiburon was not my cup of tea' .

Long story short, he sold the Lodge & I finally got to come 'HOME'.....and retire. Thanks be to GOD!

Istanbul At Night ! .....see the concierge

We had heard this announcement repeatedly as the ship was entering the Bosphorus to dock overnite at our port in Istanbul. We were probably on day three or four of our Greek Cruise, and were really not 'that into' going on another group gathering. It was late afternoon & we had pretty much decided to stay on board ship, but the hype for trip was persistant. Oh, what the hell, everybody we had made an acquaintance with was going, so we decide to sign up as well.

The rule is to take your identifying tag from the roster as you disembark. We are close to our destination when I realize neither Vicki nor I had ours. Oh well, we are one big happy family here........no problem. We were'nt the only ones to forget. So we load up in our transport vehicle and set out for our Istanbul by night excursion. And, what an excursion it turned out to be! We unload, shuffle & stand in line what seems forever. Our group must have been the last to arrive, because by the time we were seated waaaaaay back in a corner, (binoculars would have been handy), the bellydancing had already begun. OMG! not another BELLY DANCE! We had seen 'our fair share' since leaving Oklahoma eight or ten days ago. After about thirty minutes of this, and, still no drinks served to our table, I told Vicki I had seen enough & was ready to go back to the ship. She was too, so we bid our table farewell and headed out. As we leave the nightclub & head up the street to find a taxi, we notice several military men standing guard with rifles.......what the heck is this about? hmmmm, this is strange......and, I'm a little concerned. We see a lone taxi parked. We climb in & tell him we want to go to our ship. 'Solonu', please.......he doesn't understand......'solonu, solonu'..(is this the right word)? 'Ship, ship', still nothing, so we get out & run up the street and around the corner. Oh, this is much better, there are several taxi's lined up. We hop in another one....'solonu please'...he smiles & nods. Just as we are about to pull away from the curb, a buddy of his starts hollering something & runs over & climbs in the front seat, and away we go. They're chattering away and now I'm getting really concerned. I look down & notice both back seat doors are minus door handles! We can't escape if it comes to that. My mind is going places I don't want it to go....what can I do to defend us against these characters? I look at Vicki with non verbal communication, but don't want her to know how frightened I have become. I secretly start feeling around in my purse for something to use as a weapon, only to find a few swizzle sticks I had collected along the way. Not very comforting, but they had sharp points & were better than nothing. Then another horrible thought,.........we didn't take our disembarkation tags! They would'nt even know we were missing. What seems forever, we keep winding around narrow streets & I keep asking 'are we there yet'? & they keep talking & laughing with each other. We top a hill & just below sits the harbour & the glorious sight of ships. STOP!, STOP!.....the driver stops, I throw him enough money & they let us out. Thank You, Jesus. We are safe! I learned Vicki had exactly the same thoughts running thru her head as me during our taxi ride. She had also searched her purse for a weapon. The ship was still several blocks away, but we didn't care! The streets were dimly lit, but we didn't care. As we walked along, we could hear foot steps behind us, so we sped up. The foot steps behind us sped up....another fear creeps into my mind. 'Run, Vicki, run'...the foot steps are running........'Mrs King, Mrs. King! We stop & turn around. It was one of the steward's aboard ship. We walk back to the ship together, us telling him our horrifying experience and have a big laugh. As we board ship, it becomes crystal clear why they were promoting 'Istanbul by night'.......the ships Captain was throwing a huge party for another ships Captain docked next to ours. We were invited to join in and had a way better time than those still sitting in an overcrowded nightclub watching one more belly dancer. Can't remember your name right now, Mr. Steward, but will never forget that nite!

Next morning we head out for a wonderful day of historical sight seeing. Istanbul is the only city in the world that spans over two continents, Europe & Asia. We got to have the experience of standing on the suspension bridge connecting these continents. We went inside the Blue Mosque, then to Hagia Sophia, a Christian cathedral, The Hippodome, & the Grand Bazaar which has literally thousands of shops. It was a wondrous, exhilarating, exhausting day. We set sail in the evening, on to Ephesus.

Where did my upper lip go?

I just came from the bathroom, glanced at myself in the mirror, and was horrified!.......Who is that person looking back at me? She doesn't look like how she is supposed to look! I know she is nearly seventy, but, she still feels like forty...well, maybe fifty, but, my God!, not seventy! Why am I even examining myself?

Maybe it is because I just talked to my friend, bill, on the phone. He was one of my 'old honker's' (one of his terms) in the '80's . He is a wonderful person. I love him still, but I was CRAZY FOR HIM back in the day...... another story. He has had numerous hardships with his health in the past few years, but, he is stubborn, strong, and determined. Has endured way more than most of us. He has been at deaths door several times recently, but I heard more optimism tonite than I have in a long time. I visited him a couple of years ago, and we had a great three or four days together. One of his daughters lives next to him & is an earth angel for him. She & his grandson Tanner are with him daily. He went to the top with the FAA, & retired with travel plans & all the dreams that come with retirement, only to lose his good health within the first six months. He is, and has always been grounded in his roots, and planted On The Highest Hill In Ray County, Missouri,thank you. I think he has a few hundred acres of that good Missouri land. He is a good man. I should have gone across the wide Missouri instead of the Pacific Ocean. Coulda, woulda, shoulda, if.

"I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and democrats, and frothy elequence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri, you have got to show me .

pegge........don't Fandango in PLAKKA

Yesterday my dear sister, pegge would have been sixty six. I thought about her all day & had a good trip down memory lane. She was a very happy, determined, hard working gal all her life. I hope she gets a chuckle out of this particular memory. I still LMAO everytime I think about it. It was around 1983 or '84. Vicki & I were going on a 'Greek Cruise'. Our plan was to fly into Athens, spend a few days, then board ship for a seven day cruise to several Greek Islands, Istanbul, & Ephesus. Pegge & Marshall were living in Saudi Arabia at the time & we decided she would join us during our days in Athens.

We had a wonderful time seeing History open up to us. The whole trip was absolutely fantastic! We spent our nites in Plakka (old town). Plakka is filled with shops, restaurants & bars all along very narrow walking streets. It is traditional greek....and do they love to eat, drink, sing & dance! The first nite there we meet a couple of guys wanting to be 'our guides'. After our introduction, we learned one was actually a Southwest pilot, living in Dallas. He was in Athens visiting his mother......spoke fluent english, and his name was Stefanos...bwahahaha. That is another story. They were good guides, and showed us a lot of 'non touristy' places. Now, the 'local greeks' drink Ouzo, a licorice flavored (white lightening), well, really a liqueur. And the locals also have their favorite wine Retsina. Of course, we must try them both!

So, here we go for a nite in Plakka. Around midnite, with our fair share of eating, drinking, singing, drinking, dancing & drinking......it's time to learn how to dance 'Greek Style'.........hollering 'OPA', 'OPA', 'OPA', and yes, even 'breaking the plates'. Well, pegge decided somewhere in the back of her foggy mind that she would share her knowledge of the dance FANDANGO. She had lived on the island of Majorca, off the coast of Spain, a few years and knew all things Spanish.......So, she gets up on stage....or, was it a table?......no, it was the stage...she is wearing this dress with a full skirt, and spiked heels. She starts stomping & clicking away, throwing her head back over her shoulders repeatedly & swishing her skirt everywhere but over her head! Vicki & I screamed and howled, and howled some more. She was hillarious!....and, she was quite pleased with her self and her performance.......and so was the crowd! The End.

Dude........Where's your car?

Oh, about 3/4 of a mile down the road, partly in the ditch. Just how much of a dumbass can I be? The weathermen have been reporting for days that a big ice storm was headed our way. They even told us exactly when it would arrive........(early yesterday morning). So, around ten I head out to wallyworld to lay in a few needed supplies to get ready for my hunkering down period. No problem, the streets were salted & my trip was un-eventfull. Had a pot of chicken & noodles made. Had a marathon of 'The Actors Studio' recorded, and was set for a couple days of cabin fever.

Around 4:00, I made a fresh pot of coffee & headed for the computer to troll the internet. Lauren & a couple of her friends came over to sled down my steep driveway. They had a blast, came in to thaw out & snacked on my pot of goodies. After they had gone, I'm back to the computer, my coffee, &, oh wait, where are my cigarettes? I still had a couple, but I know I bought a pack at wallyworld this morning! I hunt for fifteen minutes or so, to no avail. God ! Maybe I left them on the counter, hope whoever picked them up is having a guilty conscious! Well. it is 5:45, the five o'clock traffic is still out there, so the streets will still be salty. I grab my wallet & head for the Conoco station. I get about a 1/2 mile down the road & everything turns to shit....I mean solid ice....& there is a hill right in front of me, & a deep drop-off into a creek to my left. I lose all control of my car even tho I am going at a snails pace. The gears and brakes are of no use, and I can't remember what I'm supposed to do in this situation! I had a 'Jesus take the wheel' moment. It's getting dark out, I can't even find the moon! So, I just pray. I am finally able to maneuver away from the big dropoff & creek, find a level 'ditch', and slide the rear end of my car onto the grass. THANK YOU GOD! The only problem now is, the front end of my car is sitting smack dab halfway into the lane of traffic. I'll just have to pray there are no more idiots out there traveling this particular road tonite. I lock the car & start my trek to the house.. In my ZORIES... No scarf, no cap, no cell phone, no closed toe'd shoes.......just zories. The walk home was a breeze....I was amazed........no moon, but I could see just fine, it must have been hiding behind the stormy weather. I didn't even get worn out from the walk. This is a miracle in itself, because the most exercise I get in a day is walking from my bedroom to the kitchen.....

So, now I'm safe & thawed out in my home. Still not satisfied regarding my cigarette purchase, I'm on a serious HUNT. Let me dig thru my walmart sacks for my receipt, to be absolutely positive I did purchase cigarettes! YEAH, I found the sack with the receipt........and, ready for this? my pack of marlboro lights.

I get out the Newcastle phone book, find the Police Station #, tell the Officer my tale of woe. 'Well, ma'am, we can't leave the vehicle there, someone will hit it. I will have to send a wrecker'. Thoughts of the balance in my checking account melting away hit me. 'Oh, will a wrecker come out tonite'? I ask........'yes, ma'am'....'okay then, I will call AAA'. 'Okay ma'am, have a nice nite'....Thank you. 'Hello, AAA, I need a wrecker'...........'what is your account # please' '123456789'.. 'Sorry ma'am, that account expired January 2008' 'You are kidding me, it says 2009 on my card'. 'Yes, we send a new card out with each renewal statement, but you never renewed your policy'...........Well, shit, now what? So, I make that DREADED call to Vicki, dreaded, because now I have to let her know of my stoooooooooopid blunder, and because I know she is going to say 'why in the world did you even leave the house'?

Uh,'hello'........blah, blah, blah, blah..........'Ya, Mother, I saw you pull out of the driveway right behind John....why in the world did you even leave the house'? When do parent/children rolls reverse? It's been going on here for quite a while! We discussed my options: call the police back & have it towed,..expensive, but not as expensive as $500.00 deductable on my insurance, when someone plows into my car!.......okay, I'll have it towed.

'Newcastle Police Department'.....'hi, I just called awhile ago'......'yes, ma'am, I've sent an Officer to assess your situation'.... 'My AAA membership has expired, so, can you send a wrecker'? 'Yes, ma'am, Bo's Wrecker is the next rotation, however, it will be sent to an impound lot'. (more $$$$ going thru my mind) ' Did you leave the keys in the vehicle'? 'If not, you will need to meet the wrecker guy & pay him before he will tow it'. 'OMG!, I'll have to walk back down there', says me. So, the dipatcher says he will see if an Officer can pick me up & take me there & call me back. 'Hello'.......'hello, Mrs. King'? ''yes'...........'well, Bo's can't come out tonite, it's too icy, so I suggest we just pray no one else drives that road tonite & your car does'nt get hit.......amen'

My phone rings @7:05 this morning & it's the police dispatcher telling me someone will be over in a few minutes to pick me up & take me to my car. We arrive at the scene, & there it sits, not a scratch on it. He gets out, starts it up & drives it onto a layer of new snow. I thank him profusely.........but waited until I was alone to cry....and thank God once again, for getting me out of another one of my messes.

Friends......people we know, like, & trust

This is how 'Websters Dictionary' describes friends.

I just spoke of my friend anthony on the previous post.......I know, like & trust anthony. What about katy, carolina, cleve, kim, glenda, bill, pandora, linda, isaac, lula, and so on......they are all friends. Some closer than others, but, I stay in touch with them all. They are all from the '70's, '80's & a couple from the '90's on Guam. They say, (somebody says) something about 'if you can count all your friends on your hands, you are blessed', or, something like that.........well, I can, and I am blessed. Have you ever had a person in your life that you 'thought' was a friend, and turns out it was all a disguise? I have. I thought for about 25 years that this person was a friend, only to figure out last year it is not so... (well, she has always been a WHINER). But, I thought 'just accept her for what she is'...she is fun & entertaing, so what? It was the '80's, after all. After I retired & returned to Oklahoma, we talked on the phone more frequently. I started noticing most conversations coming from her end would just drag me down. They were usually steming from some negative news she had to share. Recently we had a big disagreement on the phone, (regarding her whining about something) she hung up on me. I emailed an apology............no answer. Next morning I received three forwarded emails from her. I guess all were intended for three other persons. I emailed her back saying she was probably forwarding my email & hit my address by mistake, betraying me. No response. Betrayal. I never saw it coming. But, on a lighter note, she has her dues to pay....just say 1000 Hail Mary's & 1000 Our Fathers......it just may redeem you, lost friend.

It was what is was, Anthony

Anthony has been a great friend to me since the early '70's. We connect on so many levels....especially thru humor. We contact each other a couple or three times a month just to stay 'connected'. We know almost everything about each other & our families. We gossip, we laugh at ourselves, and just about everything else. The other morning I called him just to 'check in', and we got to reminiscing..........'Remember Howard's (his dad) 60th birthday party @ Railhead'?, he said....we laughed hystercally about how the party played out, about his Dad and his personality. We reminisced about his brother Mark, who was like a son to me, and, died of AIDS while I was living on Guam. At one point during the conversation, he said 'do you really have any regrets'? I said 'well, I don't know, it was what it was'...........'ya', he said, 'it was what it was', and we hung up. I have thought about that conversation many times in th past few days. YES, I DO HAVE MANY REGRETS..............almost the whole decade! I wish I could do the '80's over again! ' Father, 'I have sinned'.........okay, say 1000 Hail Mary's, and 1000 'Our Father's' and go & sin no more'...............Okay, 'thank you Father'.

My memory.........or, not

What is wong with me and my memory? I'm not talking alzheimers here, I'm just sayin... I don't know if it is 'blocked out', 'blacked out', or 'traumatized'......but, I have a serious problem with remembering certain events, or, remembering even things 'minute'. I just posted a memory (short) about a fella named Rastus. My sister Barbara commented with her memory of him.......(in length)...I do not remember anything of which she speaks. And, so it goes. My daughter, Vicki, can recite verbatim 'all that has happened in her life'.....from 'the first grade'. This may be a slight exaggeration....., but, not far off. I feel like a failure when I don't remember all she remembers. She can 'connect' with events when she was 12, or when she was in the second grade......I can not do it with her, or myself..........so, I'm just wierd!

Are you crazy? They can't come in here........

I watched History being made all day yesterday thru the inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama. I've seen a lot of history made during my long life, but for me, yesterday was an outstanding day.

I was raised in South Dakota during the 40's & 50's and had only seen one black person in our area while I was growing up. He was a man in his thirties. I don't remember him having a wife or children. Everyone called him 'Rastus', everyone liked him, and that is about all I remember.

After graduating from highschool in 1957, I moved to Seagoville,Texas, a suburb of Dallas. I was living with Jack & Agnes Mc Coy. He was the foreman on the TV tower that had just been constructed on Medicine Butte, outside my home town. The plan was to stay in Seagoville for the summer & then on to Brownsville, Texas to build another tower & I would attend a college there. During that summer I went to work at a Diner close by. On my second day @work, I was in the kitchen & three black men were knocking on the kitchen's screen door. I went to the door to see what they wanted. They were placing an order for some hamburgers........as I am trying to explain where the entrance to the diner is, the cook screams at me 'are you crazy? they can't come in here! I had never experienced segregation. I didn't understand it, didn't think it was fair, and didn't like it..........and, still don't.

I'm A Big Crybaby

Bill, I know you hear and see me from your place In Heaven. I just know it.

Yesterday morning, (Sunday), I got on my computer and spent almost fourteen hours crusing the www. At one point, I went on 'The Stallman Geneology' site, created by my dear sister, barbara. She is a geneologist. She has spent YEARS digging thru whatever she digs thru......to come up with all this wonderful information. I was going thru her family & clicked on 'Bill", her departed son, & my 'favorite nephew'..........and mama's 'favorite grandson'. Barbara had written a wonderful tribute. As I read her words, I sobbed. I sobbed uncontrollably. I sobbed OUTLOUD, for several minutes. When I finished, I decided sobbing is good for my SOUL. And, it is.

TV AD: $27,999 2008 Charger for $11,999......

Now, I know that I am a few months short of being seventy years old, ( I spell it out because it looks better than 70) but will I ever get past being so easily duped?

Yesterday was a fun filled day. Lauren had three basketball games & Sindi & I made plans to see the Frost/Nixon movie. During one of the games, I asked Vicki if she had seen the David Stanley Dodge ads on TV? 'No, I haven't'....well, 'they are having a big sale, 60% OFF all trucks & SUV's......and, they have 2008 Chargers @$11.999...can you believe it?' No, she could'nt. 'God, Mother, you should go check that out'........so, the excitement of having a new car starts churning thru my brain. When Sindi arrives, I asked if she wanted to go with me to look & postpone the movie to the 6:30 showing. She was okay with that plan, so, off we go. OMG! what an experience. Of course the dealership parking lot was full, a radio station was there doing their schtick, a table of goodies from the local wal-mart deli, and every finance booth crammed with customers, with a long line waiting their turn to the next available booth.

As we creep thru the lot, a man that I thought was a parking attendant, tells us we can just leave my car in the aisle. Turns out he was our salesman. 'How can I help you ladies today?' 'Well, I came to look at your Chargers for $11,999.' 'Okay, we have three over here' The first one was bright red with tons of hail damage. I don't mean a few pings on the hood.......I mean pings on the sides, top, trunk, everywhere.......the other two didn't have hail damage, but other problems equally as bad, and they were not $11,999...they were $10,000 off. So, they were selling for $22,000 to $28,000. The big deal ad was for a program car that had already been sold. As we were thanking him for his time & making our exit, his supervisor just happened to tell him that they did in fact have 'a couple more program cars in the used car lot that we could get for the advertised price'. Out of curiousity, I wanted to see them. On the long walk to the used car lot, I thought 'what the hell are you doing looking at a big ass muscle car with a HEMI engine, have you completely lost your mind? So, we left and now I've got that out of my system. I'll just keep my old grandma Grand Marqius. We've both got about the same miles on us and are both running just fine. Both need a little fine tuning & adjustments now & then, but, don't we all.

Between car shopping & the 6:30 movie (which was almost as bad as the David Stanley experience), we did have time to go to Chili's and have a Margarita & chips & salsa....so, it was an interesting day. Something totally outside my box.

If you feel like doing some work............

Sit down and wait.......the feeling does go away. Found this 'thought for the day' in my inbox this morning from my dear sister barbara. I needed a good laugh to get my day started. I have been in a 'funk' since before Christmas, and it has been the shits. I could feel myself climbing out all last week, each day getting better. I haven't hit my peak, but can see the light peeking thru. I've had to do a lot of soul searching & praying, and it is paying off. Having a broken arm is waaay easier than a negative mind. So, since the economy is in a slump, I decided to do my little part and ordered a few new pieces of clothing online...., something WALMART does not sell. I shopped for three hours I got some great bargins. I am one of those that throws 'caution to the wind' when spending my money on someone else, and such a 'tightwad' when it comes to spending on myself. It's not a resolution, but I'm making some changes in that department.....and several other departments. So, okay, I've sat here long enough, I'm looking around this room I'm in, going to the garage for a box & start with cleaning off my bookshelves. Been going to do that for the past three months :) 'What A Difference A Day Makes', sang Dinah Washington, and shouted out by my brother Kelly on his wedding day........but that's another story.