Snow Turtles and Birthday Weekends...

"LOOK Trish, fresh SNOW" are probably my best "famous last words". Words I don't think my friend Trish will ever get out of her head. I can see her laughing every time she thinks about "Snow Turtles". What is a snow turtle, you ask? Read on and you will get a better understanding.

On March 12, 1993, the entire east coast was hit with a blizzard. The Chattanooga area got a good dumping. Two feet of snow to be exact. It was a Friday and Trish and I were working in a new establishment in Chattanooga, where we worked together for a VERY long time.

Of course, no one was out because in Chattanooga if you just SAY snow they call off schools, the milk and bread is sold out and people settle in for a long winters night. That didn't stop the owner of said establishment. We will call him Cigar. 

Cigar was on his way back from Nashville with some friends and told us not to close. Trish and I were the only servers on duty and I do not remember who was in the kitchen or behind the bar. Mr. Big Pants was the manager on duty. The snow started about 11:30 or 12:00 pm and about 1am the electricity went out. Cigar showed up shortly after (we were still open) with his friends who insisted on coffee and proceded to play pool via emergency lighting and headlights shining in the windows. I kid you not.

Cigar did offer to put us in a hotel but my boyfriends appartment was less than a mile away with fully stocked fridge. I wasnt going to a hotel. Trish and Mr. Big Pants decided to go with me to the appartment where we stayed warm, fed, watched movies and just hung out until Sunday....when the business had to be checked on. THAT is when chaos insued.

There are two streets leading into the establishment, one running before and one running behind. We could not access either street so Mr. Big Pants jumped out of the car and ran on up to work while Trish and I parked the car and walked on over...the back way...where there was an empty lot directly behind the building where we worked. So I yelled "LOOK TRISH, FRESH SNOW"!!!!! Not thinking that the empty lot was a good 12 inches lower than where we were actually walking. Nor was I thinking about the guys on the roof of our building shoveling the snow off. And I took off running............

About three steps in, I sunk to my knees and fell forward. I couldn't get any traction to get up and the only thing Trish could see was my behind and my head. The ONLY thing she could DO was laugh hysterically. The ONLY thing the guys on the roof could do was laugh hysterically. I had become a snow turtle.

I do not own this image but Trish posted on my facebook page with the caption "snow turtle in disguise"

I recovered, we went on to make sure things were clean, tidy and shoveled at work and Cigar took us all out for bar food and drinks. Where we learned that it was, in fact, my dear friends birthday. I was happy to give her the biggest laugh on her big day.

I love ya Frisha....Happy Birthday......

Till next time,

Take care of each other and hug and kiss the ones you love.

Snow Turtle.

Dad

Today would have been my dads 67th birthday. Sadly, on April 25 2002, he lost his short battle with cancer and left us.

My dad and I had a strange relationship. We were so much alike that sometimes we clashed like the Titanic and that dang iceberg, but we loved each other.

Dad didnt just love me...he loved lots of things. My grandmothers german chocolate cake, cooking (he made really awesome chicken breasts), photography and fishing, just to name a few things off the top of my head.

He also loved his family. He was nuts about my step-mother, Nola..or NANA as she is more commonly known and he was absolutely crazy about his grandsons.

Thomas and Jeremy spent many summers with my dad and Nana. They would fish, Nana would bake them cookies. The first question at the end of every school year would be "When are we going to Poppa and Nanas"?! My boys sure got a taste of what grandparents are like!

Dad also loved my little sis...Mary Dawn....I am so glad she had him in her life. When she was little, their thing was going to the pond to feed the ducks. Dad came home really flusterd one day. It seems that a male and female duck were getting a bit frisky in the pond and Mary Dawn asked "Why is that duck pushing the other one under the water"???? Dad didnt really know what to say to such a small little girl so he said "Well, that duck is sick and the other one is pushing it to the ducky hospital"!!! What a character.

The last time I spent any time with my dad I needed to go buy some shoes so he went shopping with me. My dad...suprised me, yet again with something I didnt know. He was crazy about little square feet!! Dont get me wrong...my feet are by far little and square...but both my mom and step-mother have little square feet! He helped me pick out a really cute pair of shoes. Shoes that were gone before he passed away, but how I wish that I still had them.

He left us way too soon but he would be so proud of the things we have done in the last almost 10 years that he has been gone. It doesnt matter if it is serving our country, learning a new language, overcoming problems or giving him great grandchilderen.

Happy Birthday Daddy. I know that you and my Tommy are up there with poles in the water, have a big ole talk!

Till the next time....

"Laugh when you can, apologize when you should and let go of what you can't change. Kiss slowly, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything and have no regrets. Life is too short to be anything but good....so Be Happy"!! (unknown)

‎"Laugh when you can, apologize when you should, and let go of what you can't change. Kiss slowly, forgive quickly, take chances, give everything and have no regrets. Life's too short to be anything but good... so Be Happy"