Party in small town Saskatchewan - c.1979:

Who's the hottest girl in town? Yeah, she's a fucking fox, but she's tough to get. You gotta have money. Hey, any beer left? No? Anybody got any money? No? Anybody got any pot?

Party in small town Saskatchewan - c.2009

How'd your liver biopsy go? Yeah my stent seems to be working OK - got a bit more colour in my face, they tell me. Hey, at least we're here to talk about it. What do you think of this wine?

Working for a living: sucks

Not working for a living: sucks donkeys

Procrastination: earnest, but staid.

BOTF: Bedlam - in the sense of an actual insane asylum. Paging Dr. Urq...what, he's one of the patients now?

Thanks to everybody for their good wishes (hi, Zeus Boy). We gave her a good sendoff - the church was filled to capacity plus some folding chairs - wine was drunk, songs were sung and hangovers were nursed - just the way she would have wanted it. Aside to tempo: I believe your sentiments were sincere, and I truly appreciate them (next time we meet, it's daggers drawn).

Very strange experience - first time all siblings were in a room together since my grandmother's funeral, in 1971 (thanks to Corrections Canada for their discretion - that could have been ugly).

Observation: little old ladies have no tact (Are you the one was on TV, or are you the criminal?).

...getting a head start on being a little old lady.

When it is my time (plan=never) I hope to be sent off the same way.

Been playing catchup (at home with a cold for a few days). Had to suss out what this was about. My condolences. Take care of yourself.

That's a lot. The global dispersion speaks well of her. It takes courage to set out for foreign shores.

Sorry.

I figure tactlessness is a feature of being a Little Old Lady, not a bug. Kind of like life's consolation prize. Should I be lucky enough to become an Irascible Old Fart at the appropriate time, then ditto.

I think it's an interesting exercise to observe the common threads that stretch across a generation in a situation like that. In my family, we count the cousins at funerals and marriages. The oldest (surviving) ones are well into the bad-back, trying-to-quit-smoking stage at this point; the youngest are busy planting their 20-year depth charges for the same issues.

Best wishes, etc.

K

Well, are you going to answer that last question? (I'm a little-old-lady-in-training)

Good stuff ... glad you're here.

Keep the stent clear.

So Catholic after all?

And TV star or convict.....reminds me, still the best blockbuster teevee miniseries I ever saw, even better than Roots, was Rich Man, Poor Man. Nick Nolte was great.

I just assumed that you were both.

Protestant - and fiercely proud of it

Ok good, I was right the first time. Too many American Protestant sects protest too much....about alcohol.

My sentiments were totally sincere and I'm glad you picked up on it. We lost our mother six years ago and it still stings on certain memory-laden occasions, such as the obvious (birthdays, big holidays, etc.) and the smaller ones like Tennis Sundays. Everyone in our family is/are major tennis fans & some good players -- all taught & encouraged by my mother, before we hit H.S. with coaches, then some pro. coaching for the competitor nephews -- and we always call each other for Wimbledon, French Open, U.S. Open (which she would attend, loyally, every year). It's very hard now on Sundays to not be able to pick up a phone and talk to her about the players. (Or about anything, obviously) Pete Sampras was her favorite. Thanks for sharing what you & your family are going through; I think it resonates with a lot of us.

a dagger is a good thing to have. earnest and staid is good enough at this point. still feeling our way along.

and I have a real soft spot for earnest.

I had the same confusion. You mean you were the one on TV? Geez, I should more than skim these post thingies. I guess that flip-flop in the toilet bowl post threw me off a bit.

On the brighter side, you can stop eating your veggies now. Not a great deal of brightness, all things considered. Still, the memories sound like fun warm, and that can be a bit of a lottery I'm told.

Sorry.

why is it when I type those words I hear polka music??