Niagara Falls

My mother and I worked for the same company for a time. We taught people how to paint on cloth and almost any surface. Then we hoped to sell them the paints and other materials needed to do the painting.

The company was having a convention in Niagara Falls, Canada. We decided to go. My husband would care for our children. My father decided to go too so my youngest brother and sister also went because they were quite young.

Niagara Falls was not far from where we lived so we drove. Of course. And Daddy drove the whole way because Daddy always drove. And when Daddy drove what we did was get in the car and he would start it up. Then he would aim it and off we would go at top speed.

My father was a good driver. He just did not want to mess around. No bathroom stops unless absolutely necessary and who needs food anyhow? We were there in practically no time at all.

My family did a lot of road time as I was growing up so we had road games to keep us occupied. One of the favorites was watching licmuseum. ense plates. Each new state was added to our list. It could be played while we tried to be the first to spot a haystack, a billboard with yellow on it, or a scarecrow. We watched for unusual names for towns and funny signs. It was fun.

We made the decision to go at the last minute so our hotel was not the same one where the convention was being held. That was about a block and a half away. But it was a nice place.

We were right next to the Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum. They had oddities on display. My favorite is the giant faucet that is suspended from wires but not connected to a water supply. Yet water flows constantly from the faucet. Even though I know the secret of how it works it fascinates me.

Roughly two blocks away was Niagara Falls itself. All we had to do was walk across the park in front of the hotel, cross a little street, and there we were.

There is a viewing platform with guard railing to protect you from getting too close or falling in. You can walk right up to stand beside the spot where the water falls over into the water below. Standing in that spot you watch the water rush over you can be hypnotized by the amount of water. It is almost like a crowd trying to get out of a crowded theater that is on fire.

It falls into the pool below and splashes halfway back up just from the force. Down there it bubbles and churns constantly.

There is an observation area behind the falls down there. We were not able to see it because they were working on it while we were there.

We did take a ride on The Maid Of The Mist boat. They provide each passenger with yellow rain slickers and hats to protect clothing. Then they take you right up next to where all that water lands after it falls from above. You are in the midst of the thickest mist ever.

After the ride you have to climb a steep set of steps to get back up where you belong.

In the near distance you can see the Horseshoe Falls. They are part of the Niagara Falls complex. We never did get down to see them because we were busy with meetings and workshops.

So during that trip we saw few of the sights. For myself I was happy to just stare at all that water roiling over the edge and down into the pool below.

All the way home my youngest brother and I drove Daddy crazy by making weird noises. Until he yelled at us anyway. It was kind of fun being a kid again.

My mother and I stopped in Niagara Falls again many years later when we were on vacation together. It has changed so much.

There is a little strip mall type of place on the street we crossed to get to Niagara Falls. Most of the shops were closed while we were there. We did not go on Maid Of The Mist because Mom was not crazy about the water. But I did stand and watch that immense amount of water charge over the edge to the pool below.

Be More Childish

The word childish has a negative connotation and it should not. What it means to me is as a child. Some may say that child-like is the more proper term. Child-like means to be like a child. I suppose the difference is minimal but think about it.

To be child-like you must work to be like a child. To be childish you simply are more like a child. So you may insert child-like but I mean childish.

Think of a baby tasting a new food or eating a favorite food. Do they act "cool"? No. Their eyes light up and their bodies wiggle. They roll it around in their mouths and smack their lips. They might put their hands in it and slap it to see what sort of sound it makes. Why they might even share it with other portions of their bodies like their hair. They are not shy about wanting more. Coould life be better?

As a quick side note I made sure that all of my children came with a guarantee that they were washable. That way I could clean them easily after a fun meal. Make sure to order your children that way too.

Mud is a great thing for a little one. It squishes in hands. It oozes ever so lovingly between toes. They might get a tiny bit in the mouth before you can stop them. Do not worry. There is the washable guarantee. Besides they do not grow properly without eating just a touch of dirt. I still love to step into the mud and feel it between my toes. (Try it. You will like it.)

A two year old child is the perfect age. That sense of wonder is at its fullest. They are full mobile and they can talk. Best of all they have learned that they are people. What they say and do matters.

These little people have often been referred to as being in "the terrible twos". They have learned to say, "NO!" They have opinions and expect people to listen.

A two year old has a completely uncensored imagination. They will tell you some great stories with very little encouragement. Ask them to tell you why the squirrel ran up the tree. With a few well placed comments from you there might be a monster chasing them or a baby squirrel wanting its Mommy. All that limits them is attantion span. They soon need to move on to another activity.

I love to walk with children. It is an adventure. They like to explore because everything is new and they want to see what it is. That is why they want to look under the neighbor's porch or peak into the sewer. Make sure they are safe but allow as much searching as possible. It would not hurt you to peek into that sewer either. There may be a treasure there. You will not know until you look.

Do you ever look at a leaf? I mean really look. Up close. Pay attention. Is it smooth or bumpy? Is it dark green or light green or has the color begun to change in the fall? What color is it exactly? Are the edges straight or striated? Has something been chewing on them? What was it? Is it on the tree or has it fallen off? Why? What do the veins of the leaf look like? Is it a pretty pattern?

See what I mean? We take so many things as normal that we forget the wonder of them. A child can find that wonder in its finger and examine it for a long time. That is childish and beautiful.

I want to experience my life with the glee that a child has. The glorious wonder and sense of awe that cannot be contained is a joy to watch in others. But to have that sense of wonder and awe is indescribable. And the best part is that all we have to do is open ourselves up and feel it.

I Am Afraid

Not much scares me. Oh I have some things that keep me alert. Those things are not really fears but I am watchful.

For instance electricity baffles me. I understand how it works and how it comes into being but when it comes right down to it I have a good healthy respect for all things electrical. I do not take it for granted and I am careful when using electrical appliances.

There are other things that I do not understand at all. People who hold so much hatred that they have to release it in the form of violence or cruelty I will never understand. I am much less naive than I used to be so I can even recognize some of them right away. Never the less I stay away from these kinds of people. That may be fear to an extent but it is more common sense.

I fear something bad happening to one of my children or grandchildren. It is a normal fear to worry for those you care about. (Knock on wood) I am so fortunate that the bad things that have happened to my family are relatively minor. They are all healthy and functioning the way they should.

Intrinsic fears are those that are inborn. I read that babies are born with only one fear... the fear of falling. Perhaps other fears may be instilled at a very young age so the person may not remember being unafraid.

For instance my oldest son has always been afraid of water over his face. Even a washcloth covering his eyes would cause him to gasp for breath. My mother was afraid of water in her face too. Was it genetic? Who knows.

I have an unnatural fear of falling. I always thought it was a fear of heights until I realized that as long as I felt a secure base beneath me there was no fear.

If I climb a tree I feel perfectly safe. The branches are sturdy and will protect me from falling. I can look down with no feeling of vertigo... none. I can stand right up at the edge of Niagara Falls and watch the water fall over the edge (for hours if you let me). I have something solid to stand on.

But that fear of falling keeps me from riding any of the up and over rides at a carnival. I can ride the around and around rides all day. But no up and overs.

When you are riding the Ferris Wheel you go up at the back of the wheel. Suddenly you reach the top and you are looking out at scenery. You feel like there is nothing beneath you and it looks that way too. FEAR.

I do not ride roller coasters at all. I did ride a small one once. Never again. Have you ever seen how flimsy they are built? They go so fast and there is no way I can stop them. I need that control.

An amusement park I took my children to (yes they all love those rides) has a ride called The Demon Drop. You wait in line forever to get a turn at this ride. It holds maybe 6 people on a seat with a lock-bar holding them all in the seat. Slowly it cranks itself straight up into the air. Up and up it goes then up some more. Not for me. Then it stops at the very top and sits still for a while. Then suddenly it drops straight down all the way to the ground. ARE YOU KIDDING ME? There is not one fun thing about that.

So I have a fear of falling. Sue me.

It has been well-documented that I am afraid of vampires. Vampires are the one thing I believe there is not. I have to believe that or I would go mad. But I am afraid of them.

That is an irrational fear. I know it is crazy. I know a vampire cannot get me so it can bite my neck. I know I will not become a vampire. Still I am afraid of vampires.

Some people lose some of their faculties as they age. Reflexes are slower, we cannot get around as well, and our bodies do not perform the way we wish. Most people have to wear eyeglasses when they get older. We are in more danger of breaking a bone when we fall and in more danger of falling because we do not move as well as we used to.

Some people cannot remember things. Dementia and Alzheimer's disease come to mind but there are lesser memory problems too. Heart attacks and strokes are a couple of health issues that we associate with age. The ability to speak can be an effect. Can you imagine being inside a body that refuses to allow you to communicate? It has to be extremely frustrating.

My biggest fear is blindness. I even dream about it. I will be driving along and suddenly everything is black. The person with me has to try to save my life as well as the others in my vehicle. I will then wake up.

If I were unable to see I would not be able to read. It is my greatest pleasure. I would not be able to see the faces of my family. I would not be able to get on the internet to write this blog. I would not be able to drive. I would not be totally independent.

I would be trapped in a world of darkness. I know you can be retrained to do things another way but there is no way it can be the same.

I do fear being blind. I want to see. It is my biggest fear.

Virginia Beach

I had been working hard. At the time I only had one full time job and two part time jobs. I sometimes had a heavier work load but I was tired. Two of my children were grown and two were almost grown. I needed some time to relax.

Two of my dearest friends are sisters. At that time one was trying very hard to find a reason not to marry a man who was a few years younger than she was. She was worried about the age difference. The other was contemplating divorce. He was a very nice person but they spent practically no time together because he always had something more important to tend to.

We were discussing our woes and one of us said we needed to go on vacation from our problems. We shortened that to vacation and began to plan.

We decided to go where there was an ocean. The Atlantic Ocean was closest. One of the guys in the band loved Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and recommended that. Another friend of ours said to go to Norfolk, Virginia. He had lived there for a time and could tell us a lot of places to visit.

We compromised and went to Virginia Beach, Virginia. It was right on the ocean and a drive through the tunnel would take us to Norfolk. We made reservations. We had a hotel for the first few nights. Then we were in a motel right on the beach for the rest of the time.

One sister had just bought a new car and wanted to take that so that is how we drove there. We would take turns driving with one person to navigate and keep the driver alert while the other would nap in the back seat. That way we would not have to stop overnight on our way.

We were doing very well until we hit Washington, DC. We found ourselves going around and around not knowing where or how to get to the highway that would take us south. We tried asking at a few service stations but none (and I mean not one) of the people working there spoke English well enough to help us.

Finally we saw a way to get close to Arlington National Cemetery. I was astounded at the sight of all those headstones in the distance.

We turned into what must be a service entrance drive. There was a guard shack there and we hoped for the best. Immediately a guard came out and ordered us to turn around. We explained that we were lost and trying to get to a certain highway. Could he give us directions?

He certainly did have directions. Turn the car around and drive out of the lane we were on!

With much maneuvering we finally found our way out of Washington, DC. And all by ourselves thank you.

Our hotel was very nice but it was quite a ways from the ocean. We arrived later than we had hoped so we decided to just get something to eat and get some rest.

The first thing next morning we were on our way to the beach bright and early. I covered myself with a strong sunscreen because I burn easily. I never tan but the burn can be uncomfortable. The other two used baby oil and I was aghast.

As we sat on our blankets I could actually see the one sister turning brown. She just got darker and darker, Amazing. The other sister burned but not too bad. In the morning she was brown too.

We did go swimming. I had to be able to say that I had been swimming in the ocean at least once.

The salt water is an experience. As I waded out to get deep enough to swim all I could taste was salt. Osmosis really works.

We spent every day at the beach but were told that sharks were active at night. We intended to try different activities at night anyway. Besides looking at the sights we ate at different places each night.

One night we went to a restaurant in Norfolk. It was managed by a friend of our friend. He was so nice to us. The food was great. We had been told to order the mud pie which we did. The manager gave that to us free. It was scrumptious besides so it was a good deal.

We had been looking at a lighthouse when we were on the beach. After several days we decided it would be fun to explore. We asked about it and it turned out to be a restaurant. We made a reservation because it was quite busy and we did not want to stand in line.

The Lighthouse (as it was called) had wonderful food. The view was what really made it a wonderful place to eat. As you looked out the window all you could see was the ocean. It was simply beautiful.

For desert at the Lighthouse we shared a slice of cheesecake. It was a huge piece of New York style cheesecake with fresh strawberries stuck to the sides of it. Delicious.

There was an all you can eat buffet place near the motel. What a disappointment. There was little in a choice of meats. The salad ingredients were wilted. It seemed like everything was greasy. Not a recommended place to eat.

We went to a place that had dinner theater one night. The theater consisted of a man playing piano and telling jokes. The food was good but he was mediocre. Some of his jokes were funny but most fell flat.

We walked a lot on the beach. One day we came across some sailors who were trying to take pictures to send home to their families. They asked us if we would take them. I am not good with a camera but the other girls were more than happy to help.

The sailors posed in front of the ocean. They posed on the sand. They posed together and separately. They did those silly muscleman type poses. It was great fun. They still ahd film left so they wanted to take pictures of us.

We obliged and did a few muscleman poses ourselves as well as a shot of us in front of the ocean. We gave them an address to mail copies of some of the pictures and continued on our way. We never received any pictures but it was still a good time.

I am a big fan of cheap souvenirs. I buy them for everybody when I go on vacation. Virginia Beach had a lot of cheap souvenirs many made of sea shells. I was in heaven.

So we had a great time on vacation and all three of us were happy to go home. I was well relaxed and ready to go back to work.

My friend decided to marry the younger man. He is a wonderful husband and now father. It was a good decision as I knew it would be.

Her sister decided to divorce her husband. They are much happier apart. In fact both have remarried and are very content.

Out With The Girls

Friends are so important in life. I have been fortunate to have both male and female friends. But I must say that my female friends have been more in tune with my feelings and moods. My girl friends and I have had some interesting adventures together.

My daughter was in a dance class. The mothers stayed there while they rehearsed and learned their dances. A couple of my best friends also had daughters in the class. They met once a week.

We decided to go out after dance class just to relax and have some fun. We would meet after dropping our girls off at home and pick a place to go. It became a popular weekly activity and several mothers joined us.

We went to a bar one week. It was probably a poor choice of place to go because it was a rather seedy bar but there is safety in numbers after all. There was a live band so we could dance and have a couple of drinks before going home.

My husband and I had only been separated for a few months so I was not interested in making any attachments with any men. Us women usually just danced together.

So we were in this bar. A huge bear of a man who had been "happy" for quite a while announced that he was celebrating the birth of his daughter that day. He bought pitchers of some concoction and had trays full of shot glasses. He just took the pitcher and poured in a circular motion until the shot glasses were filled and passed them out to people in the bar until they were gone and he would start all over.

It was great fun and the shots were good. I did wonder why he was at the bar and not at the hospital with his wife.

Soon he came over to ask my very beautiful friend to dance. She informed him that she would not dance with him but her friend would and pointed to me!

I was unprepared and could not find a graceful way to tell him I did not want to dance with him. So as I rose to dance the whole table of women (who used to be my friends!) tittered.

This gigantic man's idea of dancing was crude. It did not help that he was very drunk. Now I am not a small person but he tossed me around the dance floor like a rag doll. And the whole table of my friends were laughing the whole time.

I escaped uninjured and learned to decline the invitations I wished to decline. I needed to because my friend did it to everyone and then laughed. She can be an evil woman.

We were at a bar that served breakfast after they could no longer serve drinks. It was a great idea and they always had a good crowd. Plus we could keep dancing if we wished to do so.

Now my beautiful friend was a bald man magnet for some reason. She was actually a man magnet but bald men really loved her. A short little bald man dressed all in leather from head to toe and thinking he looked very "hip" sauntered over to our table with his best moves.

He sat down uninvited next to my friend. She decided to have some fun with him. She had a mean streak in her that beautiful women sometimes have. She teased him along as the rest of us tried not to laugh. He was in heaven thinking he was going to "score".

Eventually she grew tired of playing so she told him to go away. He stayed. Finally she suggested that the two of us go play Frogger thinking he would leave while we were gone. Not so. He was waiting with a goofy smile on his face when we got back.

She was still trying to figure out how to get rid of him when the photographer came to the table. Would we mind if she took our picture for a local entertainment magazine? We were happy to oblige.

The photographer began to pose us by moving our chairs closer together. I noticed the little bald man standing in the shadows off to the side. I grinned and invited him into the picture. He demurred. I insisted.

Suddenly he said, "Uhh, I have to go now." He practically ran from the place. I realized when he was standing in the shadows that the reason was that he was married. He certainly would not want his picture in the magazine with a couple of women.

Getting carded is when the waitress or doorman asks to see you identification to make sure you are old enough to be in the establishment. I took my sister to the bar where my band was playing. I had the night off so I could just enjoy myself.

When we seated ourselves the waitress asked to see my sister's ID. I pretended to be indignant. "I have been coming here for months and you never carded me!"

The waitress who I knew quite well said, "Okay. Let me see your ID." I handed it to her. She said "Oh my God! You're almost as old as my mother!" I never did that again.

Across the border in Canada they had male strippers. A group of us decided to go over there one night. We made arrangements ahead of time. We even rented a limousine with each of us paying her fair share.

We met for dinner at the house of one woman. She made a fabulous kielbasa soup with lots of fresh garden vegetables. When the limo came we were ready to go. There was champagne provided by the limo company.

After going through customs at the border we went straight to the strip club. I had never seen anything like that. Men were marching around without a stitch of clothing.

The limo driver was not allowed in the club. It was for women only. But he did tell us that his company had a deal with the club to get choice seats for us. So he got our tickets.

We were right up beside the stage. Our tickets had numbers on them. If the number was called during the breaks between shows we would win a free table dance.A table dance cost $10.00 if you paid for it.

My friend had brought a"peter meter" with her as a joke. We had a good laugh over it. Then she won a table dance.

We were in the middle of a deep discussion about something when her dancer came over. He began to gyrate but my friend was busy with our conversation. Finally the stripper tapped her on the shoulder and informed her that he was dancing for her.

She immediately stood, grabbed her "peter meter" and said, "Do you see this? (She chose a very long measurement) When you can match this come back and see me. Right now I 'm in the middle of something important." He finished his little dance and left.

I had men working for me at the junk yard. They were all friends of mine and often we would stop for a drink after payday. Their wives knew I was no threat so there were no problems about that. By the same token the wives and I would often go out for an evening. The men knew I was not man hunting so they did not worry about me corrupting their wives... usually.

I took the wife of one of the guys with me to hear my band. She refused to learn to dance so she was not in huge demand as a person to spend time with. She was, to be extremely kind, a boring person. Even so she was a friend and deserved a night out so she could have fun without her husband.

We went in my car. I had been having a little trouble with it stalling but it always started again if I let it set for a few minutes. (The catalytic converter was overheating but I did not know it at the time.)

We started for home at the end of the night. The car was really acting up that night. We would drive a few blocks and the car would stall. It took a little longer to restart each time and it would stall again in less time. We did not get home until almost 4:00 AM. Her husband was beside himself.

I tried to explain the next day what had happened but he was having none of it. Being a bit of a player himself he was only too happy to think the worst of his wife. We never went out together again unless it was a group setting and her husband was there. Pity.

One of the women heard of a night club in a different state (but close to us) that had three different bands for dancing on any given night. That was our kind of place. We made arrangements to go on a Thursday night.

After a quick meal we set off. We walked into a totally dead night club. They only had the bands on Fridays and Saturdays. What a disappointment.

But we did not need a band to have fun. We played the jukebox and danced. The bartenders were fun-loving fellows.When we decided to climb up on the bar to dance they cheered us on.

It was still a fun evening. The few patrons of the nightclub seemed to be amused at us beiing silly.

Another time we walked into a bar that was supposed to have a good band. It was packed but no one was dancing. How boring.

Of course we were ready to dance and headed for the dance floor. It has been my experience that most people do not want to be the first ones to dance. Once someone else does they will jump up and go for it. That is exactly what happened.

We had a good time even though the place was a little over crowded for my taste. Before the night was over every member of the band had come over to say hi to us. The drummer even begged us to come back the next night.

We were all sitting quietly and recovering from dancing one night. The band was on a break. Over sauntered a truck driver with an enormous belt buckle. Guess who he was wanting to get know? That's right. My beautiful friend.

He introduced himself as somebody-or-other with the last name of Twitty. He claimed to be Conway Twitty's brother. Well of course Conway Twitty's real name was not Twitty.

He tried to impress us by buying a round or three of drinks. He did dance well so he was good for something. He was another disappointed man who was left behind by my friend.

One night we had no plans. We decided to just cruise and see if we could find something to do.

You know how a car full of men can harass a lone woman in another car? Well that night we ran across a man alone in his car. We rolled down our windows and started with cat calls and whistles.

That poor man white knuckled his steering wheel. He kept looking over at us nervously and tried to drive a little faster. When we tired of it we turned off and I saw a wave of relief wash over him.

At the time I thought it was funny. Looking back I feel sorry for that poor man. We might have been lunatics.

We of course were listening to music. We stopped at a red light and a great song for dancing came on. We all jumped out of the car and began to dance. There we were in the middle of a busy intersection having the times of our lives. Luckily no police came.

There were however a couple of very nice men who followed us to the diner where we were going to have breakfast.

They asked if they could sit with us and buy us breakfast. When they saw us hesitate they explained that they wanted nothing from us. All they wanted to do was enjoy our company while we all ate.

We agreed to sit with them and had a nice time. They got up after eating and paid the bill leaving a generous tip for the waitress. Then they went on their way. What nice men.

One night I was to meet my best friend at the bar where the band played. She said she would decide where we were going. The problem with my friend is that she has absolutely no sense of time. I used to tell her an event was an hour earlier than it actually was so we might not be too late getting there.

On this particular night she was more than 2 hours late. The owner of the bar came to me and asked if I would mind helping the waitresses. They were busier than usual and had fallen way behind. I had no other plans so I put on an apron and went to work.

About 45 minutes later my friend came in. I was still very busy waiting tables. She looked at me with a question mark. I looked back and shrugged. I was busy.

We are the friends who roll with the punches so she just sat down to wait for me. Of course the men were all anxious to buy her drinks. I introduced her to a friend of mine so she would not have to sit alone. He is a nice guy.

They decided to drink shots of tequila. My friend had not drunk tequila before and did not know enough to pace herself. She got soooooo drunk.

My friend lives way out in the country. I cannot find her house in the daytime. Now I had to drive her home in the middle of the night.

In the beginning she gave me good directions. Then she was falling asleep. I woke her up once and told her I did not know where to turn. She gave vague directions but we were on our way.

When I drove up to an intersection of roads in the country with cornfields all around me I had no idea where I was. I tried to wake her up.

Finally I said, "You have to wake up. I don't know where we are."

She managed to rouse herself and I repeated that I was lost. She said for me to drive forward a bit.I did.

Then she suddenly sat up straight with a panicked look on her face leaving me to think, "Oh my God. I have been taking directions from a drunk!"

She told me to turn left. I did. There was her house. Relief.

I took her in and made sure she could get to bed safely. Since we had her car she told me to stay and sleep in her daughter's room. (Her daughter was at her aunt's house.)

Now I have mentioned throughout this piece how beautiful this woman is. She even has beautiful feet. Not fair but there it is. Well when she got up the next morning she was so ugly.

There is nothing like a hangover from tequila. She was sick and had a terrible headache. And she had to go to work.

I teased her all the way to town about how ugly she was. She was ugly all day and I kept reminding her. That is what friends are for after all.

These are but a few examples of good times with my friends. I did not mention the quiet times we would just sit and talk and commiserate. We saw each other through so many bad times and good times. Those were the times we really needed each other.

When we went out it was never for the purpose of hooking up with a man. We wanted to enjoy being friends. And some of the group were married.

I have moved far away but we all stay in touch. Their lives have changed over the years too. But we still love and support each other. That's what friends are for.

Keep your friends of the same sex. They are the ones who will understand (or at least sympathize) with what you are experiencing. You need them and they need you.

Gallows Humor

My son has some more stories to share. I put in a couple of notes to update and I changed or eliminated names. I certainly do not need a lawsuit! This may be the last from him for a while because he is busy with appeals. They are rapidly coming and they take a lot of his time. Things are looking good.

This story is about when the bank put $111,000 in my bank account by mistake. It was at the time that the cops put all 20 of my trucks in the impound and were saying they were all illegal. They knew they were all legal and bought from legitimate dealers but that's the excuse they used to keep them in the impound and not let me get them out. 

They said I had to wait until their inspector inspected them, I tried to get my own but they wouldn't let me. They were holding them for months so I couldn't make my payments. I had over $20,000 a month in payments. They held my trucks for 4 months until the banks came and got them! 

Anyway, I called the bank to check my account because I just put a check in for $1,110. They made a mistake and put 2 extra 0's behind it. I was a very bad book keeper so I thought the money was mine, so I took it out and spent it. 

I had a friend a few years before this that another bank put over $1,000,000 in his account. He had one semi and it was old and he didn't have any money. I told him to take that money out and use it, he would never see that kind of money. 

He was scared of going to jail and after a couple of weeks, told them about it. They sent him a thank you letter, they didn't even give him a coffee pot! 

Anyway when my deal finally got around to being found out by the bank (6 months later) they took me to civil court, it's not criminal! When we get there, there are a lot of big companies there for bankruptcy. The bank had 6 lawyers and everyone else there had a bunch of lawyers except me, I had one. 

We got called up first, the judge listened to both sides and asked the bank's lawyer to turn and face the court room and tell them where you're from. The lawyer asked why? 

The judge said everyone in here is here because they need money. I want them all to know where to go and get $111,000 for free, case dismissed. My lawyer grabbed me and said lets get out of here, we were gone, and done with them! 

I mentioned before about helping a guy with his sentencing. I learned from that and others I helped what to do in different court hearings. That's how I got years off my sentence at my sentencing. It wasn't luck, I studied and I was prepared. 

I had help along the way, in our county a couple of the corporals and the law clerk let me go into the law library every day and study case law. No one gets to do that. The most you get is 1 hour a week and you get rushed out at that. I would put the books back in order after the day was over and they let me stay all day and study. 

I learned from a lot of different sources how to fight; Dr. Phil book, Sovereignty, winning cases, and even losing cases, and a lot of others. 

The law clerk and I got to be good friends, I showed him some stuff that got him started with the sovereignty and he, after a couple years ended up becoming sovereign and quitting his job there. He worked as the law clerk there for over 12 years. 

The corporals let me go to the law library because when my name was put in the newspapers, they said I got indicted with 4 cops. The cops looked out for me because they knew who came to see me and I never told on anyone or talked to a prosecutor. So they looked at it as I was taking care of the other cops buy not telling on them. 

Even though I didn't even know those cops, but they didn't need to know that,haha. I learned that to win, you NEED to look outside the box, you can't do what everyone else does. 

This one is a little crazy. I'm already in the county jail, waiting for court on a couple different cases and they take me to another city to start court proceedings on a couple stolen vehicles. I get there and they try to give me a lawyer that I already heard about that is the worst lawyer ever! I tell them I don't want him and I'm not taking him as my lawyer. 

 They try to force me to and I tell them no! They tell me there is nothing I can do about it, I tell the lawyer if he gets near me I'll punch him in the face, he will not be my lawyer. I already heard and saw his work and I won't be screwed like he does all his clients! Finally they give me another lawyer and also put me in restraints also. I don't care, I just wanted a new lawyer and I would've done anything to get one. 

The next time I go to court, I'm in a mood that I just didn't care about anything and I didn't care what the judge was talking about. I stuck my tongue out at the court clerk and told the judge this whole thing was a waste of time. 

I said I was on multiple charges in other courts that held life sentences and large term sentences and this was nothing to me! He said you think this is a joke! I said yes! 

He said I'm going to give you a $100,000 bond! I said I can't get out if you give me a $1,000,000 bond, give me that! So he did. It didn't bother me, I couldn't get out if he paid my bond himself. I was on parole with a hold and I had bonds in other courts I couldn't get out on. There was nothing they could do to me in that court that would bother me, or so I thought!?! 

Then the next time I went to court, I was in the back talking to my new lawyer. He asked me if I was going to hit him if he came in the cell to talk, I said no, I was only threatening the other lawyer because he was a piece of *edited* that didn't work for anyone. 

The new lawyer said that my co-defendant would be in court in this hearing? I said co-defendant, I don't have one? He said they arrested your mom. 

Boy did that shock me! I couldn't believe it. I found out later, the feds arrest peoples' family a lot, they do that to make you plead guilty. They don't care if your family has nothing to do with anything. Sure enough she was there and I didn't act a fool again! 

When the cop was taking me back to County jail after court, he said they treated my mom with respect when they arrested her and he didn't want to do it, the F.B.I. made him. I said don't give me that bull*edit*, how can you treat someone with respect while you're arresting them? 

They can get real dirty, I would've never thought they would do that but after I read a couple stories about peoples cases, I saw that the fed's do some real dirty, illegal stuff to get you! My lawyer was amazed because I got a deal for only a year in the county for this, he didn't think they would do it. I told them I would go to trial if I couldn't get it, and I meant it. That case was a real mess. 

Note from Emma: I was arrested for auto theft, believe it of not. I appeared in court and the judge dismissed the charges because they were unfounded. I have no police record. They were simply trying to get my son to plead guilty in order to protect me.

This is about my state drug charge. As you know, I've been fighting it since Feb. 2005. Back in I think it was April 05 me and my lawyer were in court at a hearing to see if we could get my case dismissed for illegal search. We did. 

The court date before that we were supposed to do this but the prosecutor said they had a case that showed it wasn't illegal, so the judge gave them time to get it and bring it to court. I had the regular prosecutor from the county and a special one from the state capitol. When we got back to court, the judge asked the prosecutor if they had that case. They said they were in a rush and must have left it in the office at the capitol. 

My lawyer said "I know for a fact they don't have one that fits this, I'll stake my law degree on it". He studied my case for a month straight and knew they were lying. 

Anyway, the judge ended up throwing the case out and the prosecutor from the state called me a monster and a menace to society and got so mad she threw a book at me and just missed my head. My lawyer grabbed me and rushed me out of the court room. 

Now here is where this story gets interesting!! I was in prison on my parole violation because of this and saw on the news a story about a prosecutor from the County that got caught with a dead body in the trunk of his car! It was the same prosecutor that called me a monster for selling drugs. 

The prosecutor was getting high all night with his friend and his friend O.D.ed and died. The prosecutor was high and didn't know what to do so he put his friend's body in the trunk of his car and was driving around the city. 

This is the same person with the other prosecutor that thought so bad of me. What an example! 

I've been fighting this case for years and they did everything they could to stop me from appealing this case. I started in Feb. 2005 and they lost my paperwork in 2007 and found it again in 2009 to get me convicted, then they lost it again in 09 so I couldn't appeal the case and didn't find it again until 2013 when I put a motion in that said they either had to (find) my paperwork or let me out of prison, they all of a sudden found it, amazing! 

Note from Emma: My son was finally able to file his appeal on this case after years of trying to get any kind of cooperation from anyone about his case files. He recently won his appeal.
 
This is the story of when the feds tried to frame me for beating one of the Smith (the name has been changed) brothers. I think it was Bob (again changed)? 

Anyway, he got beat in the face with a wooden pole while he was at a bar in the city. All the bones in his face were broken and he was in the hospital for a long time. 

This happened in Feb. 2006. He told the feds and the prosecutor I did this to him and also a (confidential informant) told them I did this too. They both gave the same exact statement and said they were sure it was me! 

I told my lawyer I'm not worried about that charge, we are going to beat that. He said, I know your confident and all but this is a very bad charge and they got a very good case against you. I said no they don't, I got the second best alibi I could have.The best would be if I had been dead at the time.

I was in a state correctional facility from mid 2005 until late 2006. There's no way I could've done this unless I broke out of prison and did it and then broke back in before they missed me! He was shocked! 

He went and told the prosecutor they had the wrong guy and why. The prosecutor, instead of being glad they didn't lock up the wrong guy for this crime was so mad that they couldn't charge me threw her water bottle across the room. 

That's when my federal lawyer started to see "The Springfield curse". That's the curse of the Springfields that makes the cops hate us and want to do anything they can to get us!

Here's another story about my dad. He was on the run from the cops so he moved to Tennessee. His house was on a highway inside of the mountains, right outside of a small town. 

I was down there one time visiting him when all of a sudden a bunch of cops pulled up in the driveway. There were a few people in the house and we were all surprised. 

Dad ran to the back of the house and we all stayed in the front. The cops came and beat on the door. I said what do you want? They said they were looking for a person named John Springfield and they wanted in. 

I said you can't come in if you don't have a warrant! They said they were going to bust the door down, they didn't need a warrant! Dad's wife let them in. 

They came rushing in the house and looking through everything. They had us all in the same room and checked all of our I.D.'s. They asked us if we knew John Springfield? We all said no. They came to me and said it's funny you don't know him when you have the same last name as he does? I said it's a common name I suppose. 

They knew better but it's not me they were looking for and they can't do anything to me for not knowing someone. They were mad, real mad because they didn't find him. They stayed a while and finally left when they saw it wasn't doing them any good bothering us any more. 

He had a trap door in the floor of the back room and went out from there. There was no back door to the house. Right behind the house was a stream of water and he crawled from under the house to it and swam down a ways to a friend of his house and stayed there for a while. 

The reason they were looking for him was, some people told them his name because the cops were looking at him as a suspect in a murder? From what I hear, there was a guy that was going around there and robbing the older people in their homes. The guy would target people that were too old to even get around! 

The reason they were looking at Dad was the guy robbed Dad's friend and someone ran him over with a Semi on one of the very small back roads. Dad was one of the few people that drove around there with a Semi so he was a suspect. 

Later when he got caught here in this state, they checked about him being involved in that and decided he had nothing to do with it. I just thought it was a funny story how he swam to freedom when the cops came. Ok I better end this, talk to you later. 

Weekend Getaway

I was a young mother with four young children. They were all in school but I worked while they learned. Then I had all the things people do when school and work hours end. Cooking supper, supervising the children, and straightening the house.I needed a vacation!

I began to squirrel money away. An extra couple of dollars here and an extra bit of change there. It really does not take long. I did not want to deduct money from any family funds because this was a strictly selfish thing.

I then told my husband what I intended to do. I told him that I was taking a weekend for myself. If he wanted to come along he was welcome. Of course he wanted to come... he said.

I told him to pick a weekend that would fit in with his schedule. He did. It was about a month in the future.

I asked my parents if they would keep the kids for the weekend. Of course they would. My vacation was becoming a reality.

It was not going to be anything expensive. I just needed to get away and enjoy some peace and quiet. I made a reservation at a hotel that was not too far away but not too close to home. I would be doing no cooking or cleaning or taking care of anybody else.

The weekend drew near. I reminded my husband to make sure he had his business in order so he would be free that weekend.

He tried to stall and said maybe we could do it another time.  I told him that of course we could but I was going that weekend whether he went or not. It was my weekend. He finally realized that I was going so he got ready too.

So I packed a bag, dropped the kids off at my parents' house, and picked up my husband. Off we went to the hotel.

The room was nice and clean with two big double beds. This was a weekend for relaxation, not a second honeymoon. We each took a bed and relaxed while we watched TV.

After a nice shower with no children screaming that they needed something from me I crawled into bed to watch television. I promptly fell asleep.

I slept late the next day. How nice. My husband was still sleeping soundly as I ordered room service. It is so nice to have someone bring breakfast. I sipped on my tea for a good while after my food was gone.

We simply lounged on our beds watching television with no interruptions. The problem is that there is only so much to do in a hotel room. We were both getting a little antsy. We needed to get out for a while.

We went to the mall. This was to be an inexpensive weekend so I had not planned for shopping. We window shopped and made wish lists.

My husband spent a lot of time looking at riding lawn equipment. I guess it took him back to days on the farm.

I looked at pretty things. Most of them were impractical and I knew I would never own any of them.

We stopped at a little restaurant in the mall for our evening meal. We enjoyed the food and talked about nothing at all. Very nice.

We considered seeing a movie. There was nothing showing that we wanted to see. We went back to the hotel.

The television was waiting for us. We watched an old movie or three and fell asleep.

The next morning we again ordered breakfast from room service and lounged in the room. It was Sunday and my weekend was coming to a close.

We went and picked up the children. We visited with my family for a while then went home. Real life started all over.

But I was content again. I loved my family and enjoyed my children. I just needed to relax and recharge which I did.

Now this may sound like an extremely boring little vacation to many. And it was. It was exactly what I needed. Just a little time to myself without knowing that with the next breath I had other obligations. I was satisfied.