Big Man

Scott Hardie | November 2, 2005
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Scott Hardie | November 2, 2005
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Amy Austin | November 2, 2005
An hour after dinner, the snakes in his clothes and a visit from the little people convinced Paquito that perhaps he should invest in some kind of an almanac before ever attempting to prepare another rustic "wild green" salad.

(I have a handful of others in mind, but I thought I'd give others a chance to beat me to them... ;-D)

Aaron Shurtleff | November 2, 2005
"Don't worry, son. It's OK. I know it's tough living with your "special condition", but your mother and I love you very much. What? No! This isn't a gun! It's a...camera! Yeah, that's the ticket! Say cheese..."

Michael Paul Cote | November 2, 2005
Bobby, honey, where's the dog?

Steve West | November 3, 2005
The Amazing Colossal Man weighs the annoyance factor against his dwindling supply of hypodermic syringes.

Amy Austin | November 3, 2005
Now son, you can't just go running and hiding in a corner every time some little bully wants to go parasailing with your overalls -- you gotta' learn to stand up for yourself! Just go ahead and step on the little bastard next time... you have my permission!

Kris Weberg | November 3, 2005
"No, I'm not speaking to you until return my pants."

Amy Austin | November 3, 2005
"It's just appalling how they would leave their baby next to the landfill like that!"

Michael Paul Cote | November 3, 2005
Hello, Doc...

They're back. And they just keep staring at me...

Lori Lancaster | November 3, 2005
[hidden by request]

Aaron Shurtleff | November 4, 2005
"See what I mean, honey! No matter where I go in the room, that thing is always staring right at me! It's uncanny!!"

Jackie Mason | November 5, 2005
[hidden by request]

Amy Austin | November 5, 2005
Hahaa, good one, Jackie!

Michael Paul Cote | November 7, 2005
Using only my mind, I will cause riots across the width and breadth of France! Muuuwhahahah!

Jackie Mason | November 7, 2005
[hidden by request]

Scott Hardie | November 19, 2005
Nobody puts Baby in a corner.

Scott Hardie | November 19, 2005
"No, I'm not the guy who runs CelebrityGooGame.com, why?"

Scott Hardie | November 19, 2005
Next week, on a very special Trading Spouses...

Amy Austin | November 21, 2005
HAHAHAHAHAHA...

Thanks for making me laugh, Scott... just got back (again) from my folks' neck of the woods. Last weekend (Veteran's Day) was the last I got to see of my grandfather -- it was only about 6 weeks ago that he was diagnosed with cancer of the pancreas (which is 96% fatal because of the consistently late discovery and asymptomatic nature), that rapidly spread to his liver, abdominal lining, and lungs. I returned home on Tuesday, and he died on Wednesday. The funeral was Saturday, for which I tried to be there but was an hour late and missed the entire church service. The last 10 days have just been the absolute worst for me... stressful, grievous, painful (physically, too), and expensive. I will spare you all the gory details, but suffice it to say that it didn't have to be as hard as it was, and now -- much as I would like to say that it's finally over -- I also still have two separate court appearances in the same town for two separate speeding tickets that I got on Veteran's Day (yay, me -- thank a veteran!) on the way up and again yesterday on the way back. One on 12/19 and the first on 1/6 (which is also two days before my birthday -- yay, me -- happy birthday!)... it strikes me as completely weird that the first ticket set me to appear after the second, but... whatever.

Scott Hardie | November 22, 2005
Sorry to read about your grandfather, Amy. I know it had been weighing on you. The least we can do is cheer you up now that it's (almost) over.

Amy Austin | November 22, 2005
Thanks, Scott. Wish me "luck" or "pray for me" -- whatever -- that I don't get slammed on these court appearances... I could use all the help I can get right now!

(BTW... it's hard to pick just one of your 3, Scott -- all frickin' hilarious -- as my new favorite, but I think I'm gonna' have to go with "Nobody puts Baby in a corner." Perfect. Inspired. ;-DDDDD)

Michael Paul Cote | November 22, 2005
Condolences on your loss Amy. Best of luck in court. I just had to appear for a speeding ticket. My first moving violation in over 25 years. Do you think that counted for anything? Nah.

Amy Austin | November 22, 2005
Heheh... thanks, Mike -- I guess it counted more for them not catching you in 25 years??? ;-) (Not encouraging me here... ;-D)

John E Gunter | November 23, 2005
I'd like to give my condolences also Amy. I started to writing this yesterday at work, but we have had so many problems over the last few days that I keep getting pulled from my normal internet reading. :-D

Anyway, I can tell you that the pain gets easier as time goes by. I know some people would say that it's terrible that you're forgetting about that person, but to me, I try to remember the good stuff about them, and forget the feeling of loss that comes because they're gone now.

Sure, I still feel sad sometimes when I think about them, and I do miss them, but it doesn't hurt anywhere near as bad as it used to. Now I end up with more warm feelings than pain.

So I wonder how Mike managed to not get a speeding ticket in that many years also. Is it that he doesn't speed, or just that he doesn't get caught!

Course with me, I make a conscious effort to not go extremely fast, except on the highway. That's where they get me when they do, but for me it's been more than a decade since I got one also. But mostly that's because I usually travel now when every one else is, and I don't speed by myself, I get in with a pack and do it. :-P

John

Amy Austin | November 24, 2005
Damn work -- always getting in the way of online activities... I know just what you mean!

Thank you, John... and of course, I already know these things -- but mostly, it's the circumstances surrounding it all that were so painful. I am happy that he no longer has to wither away with cancer -- that part makes me feel relief. But there were family issues that made everything much harder on me than it had to be, and I'm having a hard time letting go of that. It's really irrelevant now that everything is all said and done, but I will be spending Thanksgiving and Christmas alone because of it -- I need the time to decompress emotionally... and the source of these issues will continue to be a problem until E gets back anyway. So this will be a holiday period that I'm not really looking forward to, and I really hope that the spring will freshen things anew. E coming home will make the biggest difference in it all. I love my family and don't wish to be permanently disconnected from them... but right now, I just don't really want anything to do with them, and I need to wait that out -- it's a very sore time for me overall right now. So far, this has been the worst autumn/Holiday season I can think of, and I can't wait for it to come to an end. (BTW... of our 5 1/2 years together, we have only had one Christmas for which we weren't physically separated -- that's hard enough, in and of itself, without all the other crap.)

But thank you, and I hope that everyone here has a better holiday than I will! (At least I will be minimizing my driving time!!!)

Jackie Mason | November 24, 2005
[hidden by request]

Amy Austin | November 24, 2005
Thanks, Jackie...

Don't worry -- I'm having a "Happy Hanksgiving" with the WE channel (Tom Hanks movie marathon), and my ultra-nice neighbors were kind enough to send over a couple of plates of food for me (guess they saw I was home and figured no plans)... so, it's not as bad as it could possibly be. Tomorrow, my best friend is flying up to visit me for the weekend -- bad part is that I have to drive to Raleigh to get her (!!!)... and I will have to drive like an old lady to make sure that I don't have a THIRD meeting with the pigs! ;-DDD