Over The Rainbow: March 2005 Archives

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March 27, 2005

Long lost friends.....Found again

Today my cell phone rang and I did not reconize the number displayed. Normally I would not answer it, but for some reason today I did. Can you guess who it was? Yes, a long lost friend. Someone I have known since the sixth grade. That's like the mid 70's!

We played town sports together but went to different grammar schools. Then we went thru high school together and again played sports together.

We are worlds apart in how we act and react to things. She is a "thinker" where I am a "rusher". Our families are totally different. She was raised by The Clevers where I was raised by The Bunkers. Still we were very very good friends.

Funny I can remember.....

We played town sports together but went to different grammar schools. Then we went thru high school together and again played sports together.

Funny I can remember.....

How "cool" she thought I was when my house had MTV and HBO and her's didnt and wouldnt anytime soon. We had tons of fun throughout high school. TONS! We had our first "drinks" together. Our first "joint" together. We had alot of "first" things together.

After high school we stayed in touch, but as with most people the longer you are out of high school the fewer times you see your "good friends" even though you have the best intentions.

We both went to college, different ones of course. I went for business. She went for criminal justice. I took a job in a large hotel chain. She became a state trooper. I changed jobs and worked in a large supermarket chain. She took a job in the FBI. I lived in the attic of my parents house. She bought a house, found a wonderful woman to share her life with and adopted a baby from the Orient.

But no matter what happened, no matter who lived where, no matter who was doing what for a living, there were always "things" that reminded one of us of the other. Everytime she heard a Bruce song she thought of me. Everytime I heard Carly Simon I thought of her. This would always prompt a phone call. Sometimes at some very un-Godly hours. Either way, NO phone call was ever ignored or unanswered.

She, her partner and child just moved back to NJ from DC. I havent seen her in about 2 yrs. The last time I saw her my personal life was a total wreck. I had just been dumped by my girlfriend after more than 8 yrs and was totally shocked by it (although some weren't).

Well we all just spent the whole day reliving the past. Laughing at old photos and breaking out the yearbooks. Talking about the present. Looking towards the future. We laughed. We cried. Then we did it all over again.

I drove home deep in thought, which is a rare thing for ME. I still have my entire immediate family. I have a lot of great friends. Many of my friends I've had for decades, yes decades. I hold onto people in my life. I dont easily let people get close to me. I'm a hardass, I'm bitchy, I'm sarcastic, and yes I'm not proud of it, its just how I am.

Anyways, I drove home thinking how lucky I am. More times than not in the past few years I think about how shitty my life is. Professionally, personally, mentally......and while my life may not be as I had planned and there are cetainly many things missing that I still cry over, I guess I am pretty damn lucky. Lucky to have people in my life that I can talk to everyday and not get bored and have them not bored with me. Lucky to have people in my life that I can meet up with once a year or so and pick up as if we just talked to each other the day before.

That's it. Sorry this was so long. Maybe its PMS, maybe I have my holidays mixed up, but tonight I feel very thankful and blessed.

Posted by Teresa at 12:36 AM | Category:
| Comments (9)

March 23, 2005

Supersized!

Peanuts, Cracker Jacks and Steroids. Yup, they all go hand in hand. It's sad, but it's true.

I'm a huge baseball fan, I have been since my teens. Living in NJ, my Dad would take us to Yankee Stadium numerous times a year for games. I have never lost my love for the Yankees. Thru crappy seasons and thru World Series Championships. Now in my 40's I LIVE for my season tickets and trips to the Bronx with my friends.

I have cheered when they came out on top of big games or when big names were signed to the team. I have cried when players (past & current) have been hurt or even died. I can remember 8/2/79 like it was yesterday when my Dad told me that my favorite player, Thurman Munson had been killed in a plane crash. He was only 32. I cried for days.

What has become of baseball? Now its all about money and drugs.

Peanuts, Cracker Jacks and Steroids. Yup, they all go hand in hand. It's sad, but it's true.

What has become of baseball? Now its all about money and drugs.

Enough! I say if you take drugs and get caught....bye bye! No more of this one...two...three...fifty two strikes and you're out! Enough!

If you take steroids or performance enhancing drugs, YOU'RE OUT TOO! PERIOD, END OF DISCUSSION. I mean WTF? Grab your little bat and your little balls (heehee) and get the hell out! Why is this even being discussed and debated? Why for Godsake is it being done by the government? What a friggin joke this country has become.

Now we have Mark & Barry & Jason, amoungst others, tip toeing around questions. Do these men actually think they are fooling ANYONE but not directly answering the "Did you or didn't you" questions? Pleeeeese, spare us! Get the "F" out!

Jason...yup a Yankee, and I still hate him, have hated him for years!

Mark....boohoo at the table. Answer the question, wipe your nose on your $400 shirt sleeve and run along now. Bye Bye.

Barry...holding his crutches like a security blanket and saying he is "done" not coming back to play anymore. What are you Barry? Four years old? Get real, no one is falling for it.

These guys get paid millions and millions of dollars, more than you and I will probably EVER see in our bank accounts even if we lived to be 312 yrs old. The money they make aggrivates the crap out of me. Yes, I know I am in a "small" way part of the problem. Ticket prices rise every year, but I still shell it out. Beer is $7 a bottle at the game, but I still have one or two per game.

I'm sure more than half of the MLB players are not angels. Fine, you have the same in other sports and other professions. Baseball players, accountants, taco makers, whatever....people are NOT angels.

But I ask you...if Johnson & Johnson did random drug testing on their cotton ball making employees and found them to be doing illegal drugs would they get a slap on the wrist? Would they be on Congressional Hill talking about it? Would they have fifty two other chances to turn their life around for the better? Would they be protected by their fellow J&J cotton swab employees? HELL NO THEY WOULD NOT!

Posted by Teresa at 12:27 PM | Category:
| Comments (6)

March 04, 2005

Answer to Question #1

So I have been asked how I came to meet both Laura and Debby, well here is the answer:

I met Laura first. Sometime in the early to mid 80's. We use to both work for the same company. A pretty big supermarket chain here in NJ. Anyway, she worked in one department and I worked in another. I'm not really sure how long we were in the same building before we actually spoke to each other. At some point we did and just kinda connected. We have the same sense of humor alot of times. Sometimes we come out with the same answer or comment to things said.

We have been friends ever since. We have been through alot together. Laura was actually the 2nd person I "came out" to. I was deathly afraid of doing it too. Not cause I was afraid of her, but because of the reaction I had gotten from the first person I came out to. But I was quickly at ease. Hell, she almost said it for me.

Thru Laura I meet Debby. Of course you know that she was Laura's teacher while training for her profession. I had heard alot about Debby before I meet her. ALOT about her. I must say, I in a small way, pushed Laura to "rope her & keep her" (I'm not saying they actually possess rope OR that they use it)

I can still vividly remember the first time I met Debby. It went something like this:

Laura: T this is Debby
Laura: Debby this is T

Debby: Hi T, I've heard alot about you, its nice to meet you finally.
Me: Hi Debby, Damn they didnt have teachers as good looking as you where I went to school!

Since that night, I have gained a truly wonderful, compassionate, funny, loyal and forever friend. I can not even begin to tell you all how much I owe this woman. If they listed "new ears" on Ebay, I would have had to win her many a pair. She has been my voice of sanity. She has never been afraid to tell me when I am out of line. She has never failed to give me reassurance, seeked or not. She is a rock and I love her very much.

After a horrible break with my EX after 8 years together I can honestly say it was Debby that gave the most of herself to get me thru the terrible time I was having. Don't get me wrong, Laura was pouring her heart and soul out for me too, but Debby gave countless hours of her time to me. They both heard much, too much, crying and screaming. I can honestly say "They saved my life"

Over the years we have been thru concerts, parties, vacations, dance clubs, dating problems, breakups, crushes, suicide thoughts, births, deaths, sickness, surgeries, arguements, lots of crying, tons laughing and even the occassional huge blowup or two.

The three of us have been down many roads, thru highs and lows, thru thick and thin, we all know that each of us is only a phone call away if needed, for anything! We aren't afraid to laugh at each other. We aren't afraid to tell each other to F-off. But most importantly we aren't afraid to let each other know how much we love each other.

To all of you fellow bloggers: What you see here from these two ladies in their entries is just a glimpse of how loving, funny and special that they REALLY are! I have truly been blessed to have them in my life.

So I have been asked how I came to meet both Laura and Debby, well here is the answer:

I can still vividly remember the first time I met Debby. It went something like this:

Laura: T this is Debby
Laura: Debby this is T

Debby: Hi T, I've heard alot about you, its nice to meet you finally.
Me: Hi Debby, Damn they didnt have teachers as good looking as you where I went to school!

Posted by Teresa at 12:26 AM | Category:
| Comments (7)