Richard McGuire, 1945-2007

The loss of Richard on Tuesday was huge, not only personally, but to all who knew him. He had only been diagnosed with cancer in June, and he fought valiantly against the disease. However, lung cancer is a horrible disease and is so hard to beat, but Richard kept his sense of humor to the very end. Today, at work, we held a celebration of his life, and this is what I said:

"Richard is one of the few people I can actually remember meeting for the first time. In ’87 I was still working the switchboard. Back in those days, the front desk was this tall cubicle thing. Even when I sat up straight, all anyone could see of me was from my nose up. Usually, though, I would be working on data reports, so I would be bent over reading them, and anyone walking through the front door would see no one sitting there. This particular day, I was engrossed in a data report, and I looked up to see this big guy peering over the counter at me. Most people would have introduced themselves at that point, but Richard wasn’t most people. Instead, he told a joke, I laughed and thought, “who the heck is this guy?!”.

We got into a routine where I would see him, say “who let you out of your cage”, he’d reply “What’s it to you? You writin’ a book”, I would say, “Why, yes I am”, and then he’d have a quip, like, “Then go hide and you can make it a mystery” or “Kiss me and make it a love story”.

I will always remember Richard for his quick wit and his ability to make everyone laugh. I have no doubts that at this moment, Richard is leaning across St. Peter’s desk, in front of the Pearly Gates, his pipe in one hand, telling him the one about the Priest and the Rabbi who meet a grizzly bear in the woods, which is just his way of introducing himself."

So, to my old pal Richard, this traditional Irish prayer....

May the road rise to meet you. May the wind be always at your back.May the sun shine warm upon your face.May the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet again, May the Lord hold you in the palm of His hand.

August Round-up

In some ways, August went by with a snap of the fingers, but with all the extreme heat, the month also seemed to go on and on and on….but hopefully that is behind us. We could use a string of gorgeous days. Shout-outs go to Sue, Patrick, Charlotte, Lois, Diana and Joyce this month. Thank you all so much!

I do have a tidbit of news to share..... Wednesday, we had our annual Employee Appreciation Day picnic. As I was headed up to the buffet, Mr. T. called me aside and told me that when I get back in November, he's going to have the publication department get with me to do an article on the walk and my fundraising. I'm ready for my close-up, Mr. DeVille.....

$$$
As I wrote a couple of days ago, I have achieved my minimum fundraising goal of $2,200. Yesterday I took another load of can to the recycling plant and got $16.90 (16 pounds) for my Pop Cans for the Cure Fund. That brings the fund up to $39.65 now (61 pounds of cans). I want to give special shout-outs to Johnny for collecting two bags of cans, and to his beautiful wife, Nikki, for delivering them to me. Also, to Joyce Metal & Iron for always being so nice to me when I take my monthly load of cans in.

Weight: 210
I just can’t seem to get below that number. I’ve only lost 5 pounds since the end of May. That’s better than nothing, but I’d like to be down to below 200 by the time I leave for SD in November.

Walking
I’ve been doing really great at getting my walks in. I’m to the point where walking 7 miles at one time is quite comfortable. That’s a good thing, because there's only 10 weeks to go until event! I've got a lot of walking this weekend, and thank goodness the weather is going to be great.

Q: Why Are These Frogs Dancing the Dance of Joy?

A: Because today my friends, Joyce, Diana and Lois, gave me donations that took me over the $2,200 minimum amount I need to participate in the Breast Cancer 3 Day Walk! And I still have 10 weeks of fund raising to go. What a relief! Think I can get another $800 to make my final tally $3,000? Let’s give it a try!

BTW, Nikki’s sister, Danielle, has asked me to join the team she is on and I’ve accepted. It’ll be nice to have others to walk with that I have met. Yea! The team I’m on is called The Breast Defense League……we sound like superheroes! But I need a superhero name, ala Halle Berry in Fantastic Four…..instead of Storm, I could be Deluge, or Jet Stream…..I’ll have to think on this……

If I had to choose three words to discribe myself....

A Wild Weekend!

The weekend festivities began with a trip downtown at 11:45 pm to pick my sister, Debbie, up at the bus station. This was her first real "vacation" without kids or grandkids. We could talk to our hearts' content without having to watch for prying little ears.

After we slept in late, we met my cousin, Millie and her husband, Bruce, for lunch at Mimi's Cafe. They, nor my sister, had ever been to Mimi's, and we had a grand time eating and talking. Later that day, we headed for Dublin, amid all the traffic for the Irish Fest, to deliver the dress I made for Renee (for the coronation). Once we left there, we made a reconnaissance trip to check the location of the church for Saturday's wedding (my great-nephew, Josh, and his bride Amy) and the reception hall. On the way home, we stopped for a Crave Case of White Castle hamburgers. Yummo!

Saturday morning dawned much cooler and less humid, after rains during the night. Debbie and I slept in late, then spent the morning drinking tea, watching the Food Network, and talking, before getting ready for the coronation to be held at the Hilton.

There wasn't much down time between the coronation and getting ready for the wedding. Amy and Josh's wedding was held in a beautiful church in Beechwald, with stained glass windows. The church has an actual pipe organ, and the organist played the classical music beautifully. The reception was held at a new facility in Delaware County. The food was great, and everyone had a wonderful time. My 15-year-old great-niece, Kayla, insisted we get out on the dance floor and kick up our heels. We danced with her, and our nieces, and our other sister, Phyllis, grandmother of the groom, and laughed and had so much fun.

Sunday we picked up my eldest son, Jay so we could have a little family get-together. On the way home, we stopped at the bookstore to meet one of my co-workers. My second son, Casey, was adopting her boyfriend's Cornish Rex cat (hence, the "alien" cat) and I was the kitty go-between. A Cornish Rex is nearly hairless, with huge ears and eyes, a whippet-like tail and a body similar to a greyhound. I thought the cat, once let out of the carrier, would head for under the bed, but she came right out of the cage into Casey's lap (they are settling in together nicely, with the kitty--Casey has not yet renamed her--following his every move). We ordered pizza, and had cupcakes and pop and had a nice visit.

Sadly, my sister had to go home to PA this morning. We left for the bus station at 3:30 am, with me barely awake. I got home at 5 am and went back to bed, sleeping until noon. The house is empty without her, and I think my cats, Katie and Dory, actually miss her.

I really need to get out and walk this evening. I'm afraid to get on the scales after all the eating we did. Oh well, back to reality.

It's Good to Be the Queen......

I am now officially Queen Donna, of The Chicks In Hats, an official chapter of The Red Hat Society. The crown and scepter were passed on to me by our beautiful out-going queen, Nikki, at a ceremony held at the Easton Hilton. The coronation was followed by a proper "tea", befitting royalty.

July Round-Up

I know I'm late on this, the last few days have been crazy! My sister came to town, there was a coronation, a wedding, an alien cat from Mars, and 'way too much food! So, let me get down to business. My goals for July were:

Collect 25 pounds in aluminum cans for recycling ($16.25)

I came close....21 pounds, for $13.65. That brings my two month total for Pop Cans for the Cure to $22.75.

Walk 100 miles

Well, I started the official training schedule, and following their guidelines, I only needed to walk 70, and I came close, 62 miles.

Lose 5 pounds

I lost 1. I get so frustrated. But one of the other 3 Day walkers told me it's not how much you weigh, it's how you train and prepare yourself, including getting enough sleep, the right food, and your overall mental attitude. She told me to quit being so hard on myself.

Make it to the $2,200 fund raising mark

As of July 31st, I have cash donations of $2,105, making me only $95 shy of my required goal. I have Pop Cans for the Cure money in the total amount of $22.75, bringing me to only $72.25 from my $2,200 goal!

I know that I will make my fund raising goal in August. But I don't want to stop there, I'd like to raise $3,000. I know I can, I know I can!