Month: February 2002

Best of Swirly
Print Shop Stories

Here are all of the links to all of the Print Shop Stories:

Nekkid Noodles
The first in the series spurred by a memory of an occurrence from my print shop days in Greensboro.  A naked cooking experimented stirred the gossip up and stirred up a few comments from Xangans as well.

Miss Halloween part 1
A saleslady who slept her way to the top and discolored phones throughout the city.

Miss Halloween part 2
Part two of the woman who would generate nightmares for printers everywhere.

Owen
The short man who became the father of tall-tales.

Meeting Mitch
My first encounter with the man who taught me how to laugh at myself as well as his crazy ass.

Mitch in Costume
Not exactly one for tact, Mitch makes a name for himself on Halloween at the print shop.

Mitch: He’s Not All Bad
More about Mitch, the lovable but crazy reason I stayed at the company so long in the first place.

Mitch and the Banana Bombs
Gas fuels this story and the series with a tale from the REALLY dark side.  A man-made weapon – the Banana Bomb.

Meeting Rick
An unusual first conversation unveils the true nature of a new co-worker.

Rick’s Pizza
A Papa John’s pizza becomes a test of will for one man and a testament for another.

Bobbie (or What A Colorful World)
The circus seems to come to life as a new character takes the stage.

Please Meet My Cusband and My Kids
Bobbie’s adventures continue and tolls are charged to those who try to cross her daughter’s bridge.

Baby Dreams

I have always had somewhat bizarre dreams, but in the last three weeks I have had at least four dreams that I was pregnant.  In  these dreams I transition from big tummy, to just after giving birth.  I have my daughter laying on my chest and we are sleeping.  Then at some point Gray I were cradling our new baby girl.  Three times I have dreamed that I was awaken in the middle of the night to nurse her.

Ummm … interesting to say the least, huh?  I wonder if this means that my uterus knows something that I don’t.

Shelly’s Tears

My friend Shelly, whom I’ve known for 14 years, has broken up with her boyfriend of three years.  It was a messy arrangement from the beginning and I never quite liked or understood the union.  My feelings aside, my freind thinks that she has lost three years of her life and is devastated.

Three years ago this whole thing happened again, she lost another three year relationship with my friend, Jim.  They drug it out for months, but in the end she needed to grow and get her education and he disagreed.

Two years ago her father suddenly died of a heartattack.  He was only in his late forties and no one would have guessed that this would happen.  Shelly was sexually molested by this monster as a child and emotionally and physically abused by him until she fled from home.  She never got to confront him about anything and felt that things would never be resolved.

What do I say to her other than that I love her?  How do I help put this newest thing in perspective?

I’ve told her that even though she sees this as a loss that she came about it by standing up for herself – a monumental gain.  I told her that she wasn’t that strong fiuve years ago and this is a good thing.  But how dod I make her understand this?

I’m getting married and she’s mending a broken heart.  She lost not only a boyfriend, but his son whom she has loved and mothered for three years.  While I know about the loss of a lover, I can’t imagine the loss of a child.

I don’t know how to help her and I so want to.

Dum Dum Da Dum …

I am waist deep in wedding plans.  That’s right – I’m getting hitched.  Gray and I are tying the knot on March 2nd.  I am so excited!  Most of the details have been ironed out, but there are a few last minute things left and the RSVPs are coming in.

I swear the whole thing is worth going through if only for the cake: a chocolate cake, soaked in Grand-Marnier (a French cognac based orange liqueur) with fudge sauce with mandarin oranges folded into it.

… drool …

I have had it with my mother.  She may have given birth to me but that does not mean that I have to endure abusive treatment and the horrible things that she directs my way.  I have been fighting with her since Christmas and I refuse to let this ruin another holiday or any day for that matter.

Now if only it didn’t hurt so much …