A Song for Hank

Let me just say that writer’s block just stinks! I have been writing a song for the past couple of days and it’s just about to drive me insaine . I wrote the music in a few hours and am still tweeking it here and there…but the lyrics…. Oh my word! The chorus is done and first verse…well let’s just say… it’s there. But that’s all I’ve got. It is almost like childbirth…(well, not really)but if you have ever created something or any sort of project, you know the feeling. It makes this all the more frustrating because IT IS FOR HANK! In 25 years, I have never written a song just ‘for him’. I have written poems- letters- but no song. I have written about everything BUT my Hank. Why - you may ask? Well, who knows??? One thing ,I think ,is that other lives and love stories(my younger daughter’s for one) have been one for the books!! SERIOUS movie material! Other ‘moments’ in my life that have captured my attention and imagination have been written about…but not Hank…with us it’s the everyday, normal…dependable…predictable…(well, my household is anything but predictable but you get the point) The exciting, breathtaking things that stop my heart can crank out lyrics from me quicker than anything but what Hank and I have shared is the real deal and honestly, sometimes that’s the hardest to write about! IT IS SO HARD TO WRITE about something happy to me .(in a song that is) I can be sooo inspired in a snot-slinging, ice cream eating, heart wrenching meltdown that myself or someone else may be going through. ( you KNOW what I’m talking about)But how do I write a song about everything we’ve been through?How do you sum it all up? I can be on a roll of inspiration and then he’ll make me soooo mad! For example, the other day our 3 year old granddaughter threw up in our den . While I was with her in the back of the house and getting her taken care of…I hear a spraying noise coming from the den. I knew I was out of carpet cleaner and yelled the question down the hall. “What are you spraying in there?” His reply was a sheepish… “nothing”. Hours later when all was calm and back to normal I asked the question again. His answer was “ SCRUBBING BUBBLES!!” (for my BATHTUB) Bless his heart…he sure is special. So, in between busy days and life happening, it’s hard to focus on just what I’d like to really express in a song…just for him…so, I sit at my piano and play. I hear the title as I sing the chorus…I clearly hear this inside my heart as I hear the chords---“I’d Choose You Again”. The music always comes first and as I play it over and over…the words began to surface. The words are in the music…but WHERE ARE THEY?? As most of you may know, Hank and I don’t have a normal story. (By the way.. “normal” is a setting on the dryer) But ours has not been one you would dream of as a little girl. I was pregnant and married in the middle of my senior year.(Is that a country song or what…but I don’t do country -- oh well.) Our life has been hard and I am pretty sure the first 10 years didn’t even count. Oh but did things ever change just before our ten year anniversary!!! We renewed our wedding vows in a special ceremony and really just started over. We learned the hardest way possible that The Lord had to be in the dead center of us to ever make our marriage work. So…here it is , 25 years later and although it’s still been uphill at times…. there is no resemblance of the way we were before! So, I sit at the piano..listening…remembering. Oh the early days…I could get mad, and did , over silly things. ANYTHING. Sometimes he deserved it, sometimes he did not. I remember the first time I made biscuits. They were like little bricks. He looked at me and then the window and said he thought if he threw it at the window, it’d break. (he was so right and I laugh now—not that day though)Mad isn’t the word I can even use to describe how I reacted at the time!!! (Remember…very horomonal and pregnant…I threw bowl of stewed potatoes at him.) Poor thing, I could not cook or do anything when we first married. My Mama even gave me a recipe for BAKED POTATOES! He wore pink underwear for 3 years , and I broke every piece of our everyday dishes we received as wedding gifts-- except a few dinner plates. I threw them all in anger…at him! Once I got after him with pasta claws and even drew blood. (lol still have them and at times still shake them at him…playing though..NOW) Yes, I had a BAD temper to say the least. We just had a really rough time getting started and had no clue how to communicate ! Mostly, we had no clue what REAL love was. As life hit us harder and harder we made many, many mistakes. We each made bad choice after bad choice and tried to fix, hide, or ignore every problem we had. Well, that ended in a train wreck and we were sooooo shattered only God could see the fragments of our lives. He sent people into our lives that helped us study, live, and love according to God’s word. Someday I may go into the issues we faced because someone reading I am sure has been in the same place we were or maybe you are now. Just know WE ARE A MIRACLE!!!!!! If God can heal us, He can heal ANYONE!!! One of my very favorite names of God is Jehova-Rapha which means the God who heals! (AMEN) Now, our life is still hard at times but not in the same way. BIG DIFFERENCE!! The Hank and Lori before don’t even exist!!! [ He might be dead if God hadn’t dealt with my temper. I had a lot of hurt and scars that I had just bandaged up until God touched the depth of me and helped out of the pit] So…maybe this IS the song! Everything we have been through ,grown through, and forgiven through has shaped our lives and made us who we are. I know that I know he loves me with all he is! I also realize more and more ,even as I have been writing this blog, I really , really love this man. We have truly grown up together, and he’s also my very best friend. Even though EVERYTHING we have done has been hard it seems….we sure have had fun! We have 3 amazing kids and wonderful friends! We seem to always have a house full of people.(this is why I must get away sometimes—but I love it!!) We have had more laughter in our little house than I could hope for and the love certainly overflows! I would not trade one day for what we now share. See, this is much more than a song….it’s “our life”. I DO NOT do needle work but know when you look at the back of someone’s finished work it looks like a bunch of tangled thread…however when you turn it around and view the front--- it’s a beautiful picture. I know that’s how I look at our life together. WHAT A MESS until God made into a beautiful work of His art!!I am truly thankful for that! Now, I must get on this song….and hey…this is what little girls dream of AFTER ALL!! To be loved ! Simply just be loved! Well, it seems the words to this song are already written it seems….I just have to properly chose the ones that most fit this music. I better get off the computer and onto the piano now and finish this song ! And I think I may get up early in the morning and cook biscuits for breakfast…..NOT ON YOUR LIFE!!!!!
That’s all I can tell you for now,
LO

My Tree, My Swing...My Heart

A friend of mine asked me recently how I found the TIME or the TOPICS to write about on this blog. I answered something like this…. “Do you remember those ‘magic’ 8 balls we all had as children? Well, we’d ask a question and shake the fire out of them and see the answer that was sure to be the final say to all our questions.(NOT) Anyway, some days I wake up and feel like I have been shaken and the topic is just there before my eyes! I will confess at times I have sat down to write about something and a total different subject flows out onto the screen! And how do I find the time? How do I NOT find the time? A man asked me last night if I had “written on my blog today” and I laughed and told him I had not because I had gone to Memphis/Tupelo however had had the urge to pull off in a nook somewhere and write. I can not-not write. I have tried to get all the tasks marked off my “to do” list before I started writing today, but gave up!!! It’s hopeless….I just had to grab my laptop and write away! So… I settle down and see what’s there, but you see…I already know what’s there. It’s been there for several days but I am not sure how to share this ---so I’ll just simply begin.
Several days ago I was sitting outside at my parents’ house in the swing in my most special place of all time!! The place between their house and the next door neighbors’.(My other home growing up..The Uhirens )Oh me….the MANY stories I have from that family and that I know they have about me - but that’s NOT the point. I will say,however, that my very favorite thing- that was MISSING from MY SPOT was the huge Pin Oak Tree I spent many
days sitting under!! They cut it down a few years ago ,but before Steve Uhiren passed away, he planted a lovely tree that is now just the right size and casts the perfect shade so….It’s ok and what a great memorial for Steve! A few years ago, my precious daddy planted a seedling from my oak tree in our front side yard so it still lives on today but will forever live in my heart as well. As I sat there, not only did memories overtake me, but I could feel them as well. It was enough breeze and chill in the air to take me back…so far back. I could almost see my friends and me catching the leaves on a fall afternoon from that great oak tree as the wind began to blow them from the branches. I remembered playing cars in the dirt under the tree with Tony (Uhiren)when we were younger. (He also talked me into playing chicken with a pocket knife…I stood there and he threw the knife at my feet while I didn’t move-what a stupid game and was I an idiot or what?) He also taught me to play football in the shade of that old tree, and I learned to flip him over my back and onto the ground.(I blame him today for my back problems) As I recall, he even asked me to sing in his wedding sitting under that very tree in my parents driveway on the same day I told him I was pregnant with my second child.(That I went into labor with at his reception) I also remember one October afternoon sitting in that very swing back in, 1979 when we were in the 7th and 8th grade, convincing him he needed to ask my best friend to be his girlfriend! For some reason [I never really understood fully] all the girls were head over hills crazy about him…Tony? Really? Well, maybe I knew him when he had one front tooth missing and the other was silver and we fought more that we did anything,…BUT one thing was for sure… he was the closest thing to a brother I had ever known!! So…he chose my best friend—Deanna Arrington (now Uhiren)—so I guess I did good!!! They always were a perfect fit! They have been married 23 years this June 20th and still are going strong and actually are getting ready for their daughters wedding next June. TIME FLIES!!! As I sat there, I also remembered the many tears I cried under that tree!! See, Tony and I made a deal on that October afternoon sitting in that swing so long ago-- He chose Deanna but the catch was…I had to choose his friend….GROSS! But for Deanna, I’d endure it for a ‘little’ while. Well, that’s where it all began. We all had so much fun together and …if your memory can stretch that far … remember in Jr. High you really have no life …so- we determined to create our on and… we did just that! We stayed plenty busy with our ‘social life’. What stared out as a ‘little’ while lasted over a year. (at age 13…that was an eternity lol) I broke up with him and he went to high school and I was history. Of course I wanted to get back together but after many silly break-ups and spats…he WAS DONE with me! I WAS SHOCKED! After making myself …and everyone around me miserable… I finally came to grips with the fact we were really over and by the time my freshman year came, I was ok with it all. Even though I had a boyfriend -- sort of-- deep inside -- I ALWAYS thought we’d get back together. Then finally, I started dating a guy and guess who was dating my new fellow’s sister? (little ironic ya think?) However, it was the greatest gift because we truly , truly became BEST FRIENDS!! We laughed and sometimes I cried over whatever drama was going on in my life at the time(imagine that) but we always had a great time together! I remember going with him to get a Christmas tree one year for their family. I was walking along and the next thing I knew it I was in the middle of many cows! Scared me to DEATH!! I was SURROUNDED by them and I was screaming to the top of my lungs and he had to come pick me up and literally carry me out from the midst of them over his shoulder. Like Tony, I had a real special place in my heart for my friend--ALMOST like a brother or best friend but I was just SO confused….he never actually said it, but I think he had to be too. In between every break-up with his girl(her brother and I were history by now)…..I always really thought in the back of my mind---ok, now it’s going to be our time. We’d hang out all the time. We may just go swing at the park… bowling… or whatever…just do nothing but always knew the other one could be there in a second if one needed the other. Well, as the summer was winding down, so were my patients. I was totally convinced he felt the same way and I could not take this any more. We spent every day together and the looks, the flirting, and even a kiss just cinched it for me. I know this all sounds so immature and silly now, but just know at that time in my life…that WAS my life! I had played this moment in my mind hundreds of times and each time I saw it ending beautifully. I’d waited almost 4 years for this moment so--being true to my nature---I HAD to tell him. I was so scared! He never knew I had had those feelings and certainly did not know that I had really never gotten over him. Did he not feel this all too? I had four years worth of pictures, poems, letters, borrowed for some reason- and most importantly…every single memory we’d ever made was deep inside my heart! Now…the time had come because I HAD TO KNOW once and for all!! Finally one summer night in late August, I came clean and poured my heart out to him… everything….I held nothing back…and much to my surprise…he didn’t return the feelings.[ I could not believe how wrong I had been... he really did not love me. Never had] All these years I had just been dreaming? I remember feeling paralyzed, ashamed, and some emotions I couldn’t even put a name to. Yes, he had been my best friend, but so much more…he was the heart of me. I was devastated! School started shortly after that and in humiliation I had to face him at school. What HAD I been thinking and how could I have been SO wrong?[I had always been so good at calling people on their true feelings..but not that time] Now all the hopes and dreams I had always held with a secret anticipation that we’d someday be together were gone. I was hurt and what do people that are hurting do best???? HURT OTHER PEOPLE! While sitting in class, we got into a heated argument and I just hauled off and slapped him harder than I thought I could ever slap anyone.(never had slapped anyone before but I sure did that day) And that was just the beginning….he was planning a back to school bon fire and he wrote and handed out slips of paper that invited everyone and in parenthesis were the words(except Lori Thomas) I really just wanted to die. One thing I really tried to remember when I became a parent is not to ever discount young love…it’s real to them and it DOES HURT! As I sat in the swing at Mama’s that afternoon, I still could vividly remember the pain my young heart felt so many years back.I also remembered crying until I could no longer cry! All my friends were sick and tired of hearing me moan and groan and back then, you just didn’t talk to your parents like you can now. So, for the most part, I tried to just hide it….just pretend the hurt had gone away…put a mask on which-- began a pattern in my life that lasted many, many years. Life, as I had known it, was over. All our friends were mutual… ‘our friends’. Where could I hide? What was I supposed to do now—or go? I was shattered and everywhere I looked were fragments of my young heart and life! As ridiculous as this may sound ,please understand this was my heart and all I’d ever wanted or known… in an instant… was gone! Wouldn’t you know it…it was fall…again and as I sat in the swing one afternoon—I just decided to walk right out of my life. (and basically that is just what I did)Anyone that was my friend back then may not have even noticed but I begin slipping away a little piece at a time and….I left my life. I walked away from every close friendship I had ever known. God was watching me even then(prevenient grace) and actually sent Hank Harrington into my life. For the remainder of that year, I was always with Hank. Seldom was I ever was with anyone else, besides my sister that loved me NO MATTER WHAT!! (She will have a blog dedicated just for her own one day but not this day…just know I would not have survived all that without her loving heart and shoulders to lean on which I am surprised I didn’t break I leaned so hard…I love you so much, Kathy..thanks for helping me grow up) Now, it has all worked out over time and I am blesses with a true and real love with my Hank and God has given us the most special love! I have told him many times that he was ,besides my family, the only person that has really ever loved me! (as it should be) What a gift his love has been and I love him with all I am!! But the first several years were a mess!!! I had so much unresolved junk and learned the hard way that you NEVER walk away from your life or a bad circumstances.(EVEN IF YOU ARE A TEENAGER…IT ALL MATTERS) Each choice determines where you end up so pay close attention where you are heading. Walking away from difficulty became a way of coping for me. When my daughters begin to date , I listened with ALL MY HEART to every detail and boy there were many details, but I never wanted them to not walk through situations and never encouraged them to walk away from them.(With all things in their lives) Even though my life is in a TOTALLY different place now, I sat on that swing at Mama’s the other day and went straight back in time to a place I hadn’t been in so long…. To a place where my first love had basically ended just where it had began. A place that I had long since forgotten- where a young heart had completely lost its way and really had given up… to a place where the shadows gathered in the corners of my heart. No one really ever knew how broken I was and how deep that hurt really went and certainly just how long it took my heart to recover. Now that I am a parent-- that really scares me. At age 16 we don’t realize we have so many more spaces to fill and God has so much more growing up for us to do!! I am better for all the valleys I have endured and have faced in my life but am thankful He gave me the desire to look back so He could show me EVEN THEN He loved me and was just waiting on me to love Him!(and BELIEVE ME THE VALLEYS GOT MUCH DEEPER AND HARDER THAN ENDURING THE LOSS OF YOUR FIRST LOVE) As I write this , may we all remember the valleys and mountains we must endure and overcome in this life are a given, but remember it’s the little things that may have led us to happen upon them in the first place. Whatever hurt, disappointment, or circumstances you may find yourself in today --just know that God uses and cares for every bit of it!!(He wastes NOTHING and He has shown this to Hank and myself OVER AND OVER) I seldom see my old ‘friend’ anymore although from time to time we meet in passing. I have often wondered if he ever really knew how much I cared for him back then and just how deeply I was hurt…then wonder if he even cared. Well, some things will always remain a mystery I guess. Although I would NEVER go back even ONE DAY of my life because I KNOW I am exactly were God created me to be and with the one He created me to be with(thank you Lord for that)… I would change one thing and that would be that I would have not ruined a perfectly good friendship. It’s sad we could not have remained friends and I wish hadn’t read so much more into something that obviously was just my ‘hopeless romantic’ self getting in the way.(Probably too much Days of our Lives..lol) Well…I have learned quite a lot over the years and hope that what I have learned has made me a better wife, parent , friend and just a better person in general. One thing is for certain, I listen to what others say and especially the things they don’t say…for those unspoken words are often the loudest. And you never know what someone, YOUNG and old are going through so ---go sit in your ‘swing’ and remember what it was like to be young , hurt, or whatever you have chosen to just walk away from without letting go of… It’s still there you know. You may find, like I did, you learned some really lousy ways of dealing with life way back in your younger days. It’s ok to look back and remember just don’t forget to LET GO before you walk away….and maybe, just maybe, you’ll catch a glimpse of yourself and you will smile at how much you have grown and learned from life so far… .. One thing I know…I am going shopping for a swing for my oak tree in my front yard…actually, the place between our house and my neighbors house…it’s the perfect spot after all.

That’s all for now,
LO

The Song Inside

My ipod is one of my new favorite things!! As I have mentioned in prior blogs, it plays the soundtrack of my life! Many genres are represented and are equipped to accompany any mood that I may find myself in at any time of day.(or usually night) Even though my personality may scream sanguine…I really have more of a melancholy personality. I love to put my earphones in my ears and just transport to where I can completely unplug from my world for a little while.(I have been doing that a lot lately it seems)The thing I have enjoyed the MOST about downloading music on i-tunes is I have , at my fingertips, any song my heart desires!! OH MY!!! This is a music lovers dream come true! Growing up we bought a 45 record or an album. My favorite pastime was to here a song somewhere and try to guess who I thought the musician was then----“hunt” for a match! Example: Did any of you happen to know that I am a Days of Our Lives fan? (ha ha—calm down..it’s just a joke) Anyway, I remember many days during my teen years hearing a song on an episode and thinking..hey, I know that voice! Sure enough…matched Peabo Bryson, Eric Carmen , and several others! One that I fell in love with from that show is on my I pod today. Eric Carmen has been one of my favorites for decades. His hits were ‘Never Gonna Fall in Love Again’ –‘Hungry Eyes’—‘All By Myself’(His version is much better than Celien’s in my opinion-and do I sound a bit like Casey Kasem or is that just me?) My favorite, however, was never popular but debuted on Days in summer of 1983 and was entitled ‘The Way We Used to Be’. I will never forget matching his voice and FINALLY locating the album in the mall in Oxford! I was equally thrilled finding it on i tunes! Hey, some people collect dishes, shoes, jewelry, etc…I collect music! I can’t remember not being absolutely in love with it!!! My very first favorite song was ‘Puff the Magic Dragon’. My family would beg me to turn off my little blue record player and try to convince me it was tired! Lol ( that never worked) My second obsession was David Cassidy at age 4. OH MY!!! Still have 3 Partridge Family albums but didn’t feel urge to download on I tunes.( sorry David, please forgive me-Shaun, you too.. I once loved you as well) My love is for such an array of music. I am listening to the ‘Phantom of the Opera’ at this moment , but my I pod is on shuffle so KISS may bust out next! I have some Garth, Mariah,James Ingrim, Barry Manilow, Elton John, Josh Groban,Lori Harrington, classical , Billy Joel, Jessica Simpson , GLADYS KNIGHT, and TONS more! I never know what’s next! (kind of like life – ya think—and that was a little exciting putting my name among those greats!) One thing I have gotten a kick out over the years is hearing lyrics in a song that I HAD WRITTEN LONG before that song was even a thought. Guess it should upset me that I never got that credit but I’m just grateful I had a great idea for a song! I wrote my very first song at age 15 years old after my favorite teacher in high school,MRS HILL, challenged us during our poetry section to write our own. Well, that started it all…..took me fifteen minutes to write “It Was You” . A dear friend of mine had been killed in a car wreck the year prior and much was inside me ---so, the music therapy begin! What healing! Oh my that was the greatest thrill or so I thought…few weeks later my AMAZING voice teacher , Jane Smith, played my melody.DID SHE EVER!!!!!!! It was a REAL song! We took it to a local guy that had a make-shift studio in his house. Drums, base and acoustic guitar were added…..OH MY!!! I recorded it and my musical dreams were born , and my life long love affair with creating music or birthing whatever is inside me that needs to be expressed! I even was sent to the Mid-South Fair in Memphis with that song! Later, I went on to write many more and still crank out a few now and then. I play my own keyboard now though. (ear only—don’t be impressed) Enough to send for a copyright though. One song on my I pod is ‘All My Life’ by K-Ci & Jojo! (ooo “Aubrey” by Bread just came on!!---love it) Anyway, I will never forget hearing that song for the first time and hearing “You picked me up when I was down” ---my lyrics from 1983 ‘It Was You’ --“You picked me up so high I thought I never would come down”-----that was pretty cool!! And once in an Elton John song in the 90’s he had used an identical chord progression as me !(Tabb Dendy witnessed that!) Often little reminders of my past lyrics or music pop up and always make me smile! People often ask me if my songs are inspired or made up! I’ll say ...both. Now, one of my personal favorites that I wrote in 1989 was “Winds of Change”. (Actually won Gum Tree Songwriter’s Contest with it) Sounds like a true love song , and while it may have had 'hint' of past remembrance in it ,but the main source of inspiration was we were FLAT BROKE! I find I write the best music when I am in a TRUE TRUE mellow funk!(weird or unique—use which word you prefer) It’s like I can’t rest until I have truly given birth to a song…everything I have ends up being poured into a song I’m writing. My feeble attempt at the piano always becomes a full symphony in my head and heart. The words are always in there, they just have to surface to my heart and onto paper! I’m always exhausted but ecstatic after I’ve completed a song! It’s been a few years since I have written a song. Oh, we have had PLENTY of drama but haven’t had the desire that I have to get before I can write a song. Where has it gone? I wonder if my song is gone or just hiding? My biggest fear is not to feel the words or music or to lose my passion. How dull life must be for someone who lives without passion.(James Ingrum…”How Do You Keep the Music Playing is on now—BEAUTIFUL) I think the most miserable soul in this world is the one who had passion and misplaced it---or IGNORED it so long they forgot it… Or just flat lost it!! That would be death to a part of them…. A part I truly believe God created for a purpose. You know someone , I am sure , who just gave up on dreams , people, or maybe even life because they didn’t see it working the way they thought it would. Well, my question is does anything really turn out the way anyone thinks??? Heavens NO!! I don’t really think one part of my life was what I expected it to be….but what happy a surprise most of it’s been! When my girls would be having a life crisis growing up, we’d get out the spoons and Blue Bell and TALK TALK TALK…and with Marykelli, we’d always CRY CRY CRY too!! But to both of them I’d remind them that it was ALWAYS something next! Expect it and be excited because change was inevitable…life always happens!! I still tell myself and my girls this.(Walt doesn’t really care right now—boys are different) Just like my I pod shuffle…..it’s always surprise what’s next!(Bryan’s Song is on now…one I wrote for Marykelli…good one and good timing) I thought at one time, because I lived in Houston, that my dreams couldn’t come true…well, I’m still alive and have a lot of living to do!! My dreams come true every day in one way or the other! I wrote a children's book back in 1990 and am about to send it to a publisher.(Marykelli illistrated it when she grew up) Will they say no..yes..will I hear anything at all... WHO CARES?? I will have done it…and hey, do you know how many publishers are in this world? I also have recorded several songs in my life in a studios from Nashville and all over Mississippi. Not that I could have “made it”, but realized early on that I’d rather have my family than that lifestyle !! I still record in studios but now just because I love it! So , I have peace knowing I accomplished part of that dream. Enough of it to know that God had a different dream weaving inside my heart . His are always BEST! Imagine that! That God sure is good! Well, I am sleepy and am headed for bed. Maybe I will write a song soon but even though it may not manifest…I realize that I always have a song inside. ALWAYS. Sometimes I forget to stop and hear the music but that doesn't mean it's not there now does it? And I always need to remember...that is where I find the words also! It’s part of me…it’s who I am. And who knows what’s next….but you can bet ….SOMETHING IS!!Get excited…life is happening... (Aww Man…. “Sometimes When We Touch” by Dan Hill is on now----LOVE IT)
Well, that’s all for now…my music and I are going to sleep. OH WAIT…”When Doves Cry” just came on! Going to bed AFTER I try once more to remember our cheerleader dance we did to this song senior year.(No wonder I can never sleep) My what's next happens so fast sometimes.

All for now....
LO

Just A Walk Around the Block

Perfect , perfect weather outside!! Just a bit of chill in the night air! Today was a lovely pre-fall day!!! I even noticed the sky was what I call “fall blue” today. This is by far my favorite time of the year, and I am so ready to get the fall decor out and decorate my house! Looks like I would have done that today or… at least get outside and do SOMETHING! No, instead --I colored and watched “Phantom of the Opera”! Love that movie!! (Even before I realized Gerard Butler played the Phantom) I couldn’t help thinking that the phantom MUST be a Dimeira!! He has so many family traits!! Of course, I cried at the end ,and I always want Christine to end up with the phantom and… it NEVER HAPPENS!!! (Wonder if anyone I want together will ever end up together?) Like, “Gone With the Wind”! I get so mad at that Rhett Butler…What was Margaret Mitchell thinking??? Well, I guess so idiots like me that actually yell at their televisions thinking it will miraculously change the outcome, are left hanging every time! Well, it works! If that show comes on a 100 more times, then I will watch 100 more times! I really should buy it…but it’s not the same. I own several movies that I seldom actually put into the DVD player. (Crazy—one being “The Notebook”) Now, let it come on TV….Oh my word…will watch EVEN if it’s a marathon-- we’ll watch until it is gone off! I am the same way about “Sweet Home Alabama”, “Steel Magnolias”, and “Pride and Prejudice”. These are amazing movies! Now I loved the Titanic too but only for the musical score! James Horner is brilliant and so deserved that Oscar! (and thanks to the ideas from watching Jack and Rose run aimlessly all over the ship—Hank better put his exploring shoes on because when we go on our cruise in November…watch out!!) Oh, yeah, I am snooping ALL OVER that ship! I can almost see my trying to fly on the deck at sunset now!( Kidding Mama) But I will explore every inch I’ll bet! Well , I finally got motivated to walk tonight even though it’s Sunday and Days didn’t come on to get my blood boiling!(JUST KNOW I’M STILL MAD ENOUGH FROM FRIDAY’S EPISODE –but that’s not the point!) I was tired of movie time at the house so…walking I went!! Now- I have been walking around our new track we have in town. The lighting is excellent and it’s a really great place to walk. However, after a few laps, I’m bored out of my mind. I just get so tired of walking in a circle and looking at the same things over and over! Although --I do have my ipod that plays the soundtrack of my life and that’s extremely entertaining!! I get carried away and play the air drums, sing, and direct every piece of music that is played ….but I still get SO tired of the circle!! So tonight, I ventured off the trail. Me???Get off course?? Yep! Oh my word …You have to understand the subdivision that is right off the track is one I spent many, many days of my junior high and high school life! “The Subdivision”! First off, the sidewalk on Starkville Rd that was paved during a week long forbidden crush…and yes, I just couldn’t help myself and the initials are still there! LT loves Mark Lee! OH MY!!! Thought my parents would surely see that. (I was not the sharpest tool in the shed at not getting caught….fake report cards blog… coming soon) Then as I turned onto Carol Drive, I saw Karen Smith’s house. So many fun memories! What a creative friend she was!! We were best friends in elementary and remained close during Jr. high. I remember well staying in her camper some weekend nights in 8th grade and our friend, Fred Clark, teaching us to drive in the wee hours of the morning the old blue Nova! (No wonder I can’t drive) Then as I am about to turn onto Meadow Lane, out of the corner of my eye, I spy the Maschger’s old house. Those 3 brothers caused quite a stir in our Jr. high world!!!Especially that Mark….and he sure could dance! I can almost see him dancing to “Makin’ It” right now. Cute little dude! We girls all cried and cried and thought our lives were over on that day they moved in July of our 6th grade summer.(July 20th to be exact) Oh me … and as I turn the corner and made it down the hill…. I saw Deanna’s house! My heart opened a flood gate of memories!! Oh there were so many years worth… Cheer practice, playing cards, playing jailbreak, spending many, many nights with those scrappy Arrington girls!(They sure could fight) And the time Deanna’s parents went to Hawaii and she learned to drive the stick shift while they were gone so we’d have wheels! We “fell in love” with our guys in Jr. high and were convinced we’d marry them.(SHE DID!!!!!!!!!!) She married my next door neighbor, and he was always like my brother! I sang at their wedding and went into labor with my daughter, Marykelli, at their reception! Then, how ironic as I turned onto Woodland Circle , Lionel Richie’s “Truly” came on my ipod—then “ENDLESS LOVE”… as if I planned those songs to come on right as I came upon The Craig’s house! Now, there it was…just before me…their house that I spent SO MANY fun days in! Now I could almost see Hal trying to impress me as Dutches, the golden retriever, played fetch with the tennis ball.(great dog…with an orange collar) I remembered on Halloween-during my 7th grade year- having so much shaving cream and goo on me that Ms. Joann made me go inside and wash my hair before calling my mama to pick me up! I remember thinking Hal Craig would be the one I’d for sure marry…then, we broke up and then , eventually, we truly became BEST FRIENDS!(well after my heart healed a bit…which took about a year-- he was the one in trunk of my car when I went into the ditch in my previous blog) We shared all our deepest secrets and yes, one summer I even got him hooked on Days of Our Lives! (as I recall on cigarettes too) But, as they say, guys and girls –and old flames -can’t REALLY be friends. We had been each other’s first loves but we had both grown so out of that. Well, truth be known, we always were a little confused and didn’t know how to handle all that. So, one BIG FIGHT just before my jr year, his senior year, I slapped him and sadly, we were DONE FOREVER!!( Honestly it was like a death in my heart and took me years to get over that one!)He never spoke to me again until, ironically, at Deanna and Tony’s wedding reception when I went into labor! (Oh well..that was the last thing on my mind that night …)FINALLY, I turned on the next street, Evans Drive. There it was….my HOME AWAY FROM HOME!! MY OTHER FAMILY…My Julie’s house. OH ME!!!!! Every other night we stayed at one another house until I got married. What did we not do???? (don’t worry Julie, Not busting us out) I went on vacation with them, although I HATED THE BEACH PART, we HAD A BLAST!!! (and while Julie was on the beach ‘soaking up the sun’…yes, I was inside our room watching Days—I have had a lifelong addiction!) We had the MOST FUN the year the Mantee crew were there in FL also! And oh.. the many nights we pushed the car in neutral down the street and then cranked it…got chased by man with gun…hit a mailbox (she was with me when we glued side back on car and when Hal was in my trunk) …ALL those trips to Foodway because we ‘needed’ milk—[sure , whatever]…making up stupid songs …and just how many times DID you make me watch “Urban Cowboy” and “An Officer and a Gentleman”?... and I think I woke you up a night or two with a “brilliant” idea… and I am certain Edward “Fred/Trigger” Clark let us drive his blue Nova MANY , MANY times!! I have a TON of memories that are special treasures in my heart of my Julie and her precious family!!! They will remain in a place all their own that time will never ,ever fade! I love that family!!! Then, as I was turning to go back for one more lap around the track, I glanced at Karen’s house once more. I then remembered a VERY SPECIAL memory ….my jr year in high school on her front porch, I got my very first kiss from a very special guy I had just developed a major crush on….his name…Hank Harrington! Guess my little world sort of came full circle….I married Hank 2 years later and that was 25 years ago! ( of course he’s asleep but I just want to wake him up and kiss him right now…I just smile with thanksgiving in my heart that God saved the very best for last!!!!!!!!!!) So, I decided that I have no need for watching movies….I AM a walking movie!! Think it would be best suited for Lifetime! (although I think it’d have to be a mini- series and I would do all the music myself, of course)And that was around just one block….lol. Well, thank God He was watching over me and also thankful for my dear friends from my youth that will always hold a tender place in my heart! They all definitely colored on the walls of my heart and still can bring a huge smile to my face! I pray their lives are blessed and they smile when they think of me as well.

That’s not all I know, but all I feel I should tell!
Lol—
LO

Well, Stuff Just Happens

I’m sitting in my den having some computer lessons via texts from Lindsey Ellen! The girl knows everything!!! This ‘cut and paste’ thing is just crazy! I have been trying to figure it out for years now….still no luck. Well, there’s always a first! I don’t have wi-fi at home so I go to Hardee’s each time I need to do anything.( Let me give a shout out to them—they are GREAT!!!) However, I really want to be able to write at home some…so I am having a lesson. I have cleaned the house, done the laundry, and now I have some time before I get Walt from school. (Still can’t believe my baby is in high school!!) Now, it’s all I can do NOT to turn my DVR recording of “Days of Our Lives”!! I have to wait though until the sun goes down and it’s not so hot out. I get so mad , I want to smoke …so I walk! (good idea huh?) My girl, Sami , is not only NOT going to marry Ej, SHE IS GOING TO SHOOT HIM… IN THE HEAD!!!! Oh my word! Now I’m a huge EJAMI fan( Ej and Sami fan for those who don’t speak “Days”) so this is rather upsetting!!! So, I am going to wait until the entire bunch can watch it with me. Fun yelling with others at the TV and then I don’t feel so ridiculous. In “Days of our Lives”world, a shot in the head will be cleared up in no time as if you had had a common cold, IF you are a vital character(Once, Philip lost his leg in the war..but he must have grown a new one because they never mention it and he no longer walks with a limp..so a head wound is a piece of cake) But who knows if they’ll end up together! He won’t remember, of course the amnesia card will be used, but if Papa Stephano finds out Samantha Brady shot Elvis Jr….oh me! And so on and so on….I know, I know…my name is Lori Harrington, and I have an addiction!! Well, my entire week has just been off it seems. I love, love , love to bathe. Nothing is much better than a good bath to me. I always have to adjust the water after I actually get in. Well, the other day, I was letting the water get good and hot and --BAM--the ENTIRE SPOUT shot off and a straight stream of water was just coming at me! Scared me TO DEATH!!!!!!!!!! Well, when my heart calmed down, I did enjoy my bath.Then the other night, went to Hardee’s(woo hoo) and sat in parking lot and got on my computer. Guess who didn’t turn key off all the way.Yep, me. So, you can see where this is going, just having an off week.(My Hank has many jewels in his crown for living with me…do you know how many times I have called him in the late hour because of car difficulties?) Once I got stranded at Tupelo Wal -Mart Super Center … LATE! I was not tired so about 9 pm , I decided I needed to go get some things for Walt’s party he was having the next day. Well, Hank said sure and went to bed. (Bless him, he needs to rest when he can)Got north of town and realized I had no gas.(Remember, I said GAS) So, I stopped at a quick stop on the outskirts of town. I may have come to my senses had it not been for the AWFUL filth coming from the young man’s truck beside me!!! Nasty rap music blaring ….DISGUSTING!!! Well, he went to pay and LEFT HIS TRUCK AND MUSIC ON….LOUDLY!!! Well, I stopped, went in to pay , and he and I came face to face at register. I thought this was my chance to speak for everyone everywhere for noise and filth pollution!! So…I asked him” Are you a Christian?” He said yes he was. I said that I bet God wasn’t too happy about that music because the Holy Spirit inside me was about to have a fit! He just smiled and walked out. I think the clerk may have been afraid I was going to get her next. I smiled the entire time but still think these young people saw me as “the church lady” from SNL back in the day.(Dana Carvey) Oh well, I turned my music up very loud and off I went! ( NO-NOT RAP) Got to Wal- Mart, stayed for hours- Had a blast- No interruptions- Felt so grown up!! Got to my truck,MY DIESEL TRUCK, at 12;30 am. Guess what????? Yep, would not crank! Having no clue why, I called my Hank!(Did I mention the jewels in his crown-No wonder he has to go to bed early…I may make him tired)I had jumper cables so I went inside and found an employee to help jump me off. No luck. So, at 1:30 am, my Hank pulls up in parking lot. I had no idea that massive truck had 2 batteries.(the employee didn’t either.) Miraculously, we cranked the truck and made it home safely.( about 3 am--I would like to add how much I love my husband! He smiled…. Never fussed once… That man must really love me) Anyway, it wasn’t until the next day, when the truck wouldn’t crank- AGAIN- just what the problem was. As I told Hank step by step about the night and was sharing my moment of Christian witnessing ---his mouth DROPPED!!! I was thinking he was pretty impressed with my witnessing skills until he responded with “You put GAS in a DIESEL????” I said” oops.” He found out a few days later to put transmission fluid into the gas tank and it cleared it right up . Never had another moments trouble!! (that was a close one) Even when it isn’t so close-- he always has had the patience of Job with me! Like the time I almost ran over myself going into the post office and forgot to put Explorer in park.Luckily, I jumped out of the way but hit the post office.(with my 3 kids in car) Thankfully no one was hurt!!! Then there was the time I knocked the post from under the carport and it rolled down the hill on side of the house that Christmas Eve. Oh , the list is endless….but looking back, I was paving the way for our daughter Kati! Next to her, my driving skills are looking good!! Marykelli says we should just wrap her in caution tape! Well, I taught her ALMOST everything she knows. Some , she came up with all by herself!! Well, I have just rambled alot and now I’m going to get my baby. (Don’t worry, I’ll drive safely) At least I tell Hank about my mishaps with the car unlike in high school when I ran off with the gas pump, glued the strip back on the Grand Prix after I hit mailbox, and went into the ditch with someone in the trunk. I have come a long way!! (I KNOW my parents were exhausted!!) Sorry Mama and My Daddy! Love You! And hey- --you were right as usual-- ONLY Hank could live with me….and I’m SO THANKFUL FOR THAT because that’s the only one I ever want!

That’s all I know for now,
LO