This song has become particularly true for me in 2008. From the group of friends from Capt. Jack's who came to help us clean-up and re-build after T.S. Fay, to the my friends who I survived MONTHS of drama with. The ones who when the filter was shaken, it was us that were standing together! Enjoy!
Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare
This is where the rubber meets the road
This is where the cream is gonna rise
This is what you really didn't know
This is where the truth don't lie
You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are
Everybody wants to slap your back
Wants to shake your hand
When you're up on top of that mountain
But let one of those rocks give way then you slide back down look up
And see who's around then
This ain't where the road comes to an end
This ain't where the bandwagon stops
This is just one of those times when
A lot of folks jump off
You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are
When the water's high
When the weather's not so fair
When the well runs dry
Who's gonna be there?
You find out who your friends are
Somebody's gonna drop everything
Run out and crank up their car
Hit the gas, get there fast
Never stop to think 'what's in it for me?' or 'it's way too far'
They just show on up with their big old heart
You find out who your friends are
You find out who your friends are(yeah, yeah)
You find out who your friends are
Run your car off the side of the road
Get stuck in a ditch way out in the middle of nowhere
(Well man, I've been there)
Or get yourself in a bind lose the shirt off your back
Need a floor, need a couch, need a bus fare
(Man, I've been there)
Man, I've been there
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Friday, January 2, 2009
A look back...
I've been wanting to do a post about my 2008. Been thinking hard about it. But can't come up with how to do it without being cliche. So, I guess I'll just roll with it...
2008 was full of a lot of CRAP. I felt a lot of pain both physically and emotionally. The physical, a reoccuring pain in my gut that after a dozen or so tests still has not been diagnosed other than it could be adheasions. Untreatable. That on top of the fibromyalgia makes for some painful days. The emotional, one aspect I decline to talk about, but one biggie is being taken for a ride by some supposedly close friends then dropped and used as a weapon by those same people. My good nature and loyalty used as a weapon against other people who have proven to be REAL friends. Nothing hurts me as much as using my friendship. Especially against me and other friends.
More crap, I was laid off. I had the good fortune of being given 2 months heads up. But didn't even get ONE interview/prospect in those 2 months. So, August was my last month of work. Then....
Mid-August...T.S. Fay. The storm that wouldn't leave. My house...FLOODED. The water came 16 inches up the wall. We lost EVERYTHING. Cabinets, furniture, clothes, shoes, yarn, TV, computers you name it. THANK GOODNESS for flood insurance!
Even more crap, Nov. 7th Shannon was in a motorcycle accident. An OLD FART made an illegal left hand turn into oncoming traffic..that oncoming traffic being Shannon on our V-Star Classic. Totaled the bike. Shannon though rolled over the old fart's hood and stood up. Apparently untouched. Until he coughed hard a week later, and CABLOOIE! Back went out. Herniated disk between L4&L5. Old Fart's Geico didn't want to pay for the medical bills so we retained a lawyer. Not to make any $$ mind you, just to get the bills paid. As for the injury, he's on muscle relaxers and Percs and seeing a neurologist and chiropractor.
So...Thats the major crap, now onto the GOOD STUFF!
I have reconnected with some WONDERFUL FRIENDS!!! The kind of friends that I would take a bullet for. A few of them would do the same for me. In fact, some of us have taken some verbal bullets for each other many many times over the past year. I take my friendships very seriously. I genuinely love these people. Enough sap.
I have made some new friends as well in the later part of this year. Friends that are in the LGBT community and I will be joining in helping to get more of a presense here in Brevard County.
As for the flood damage, good things came from it. Like the old song says "You find out who your friends are". 30-ish people came out over a few weeks to help with the clean-up and re-build of Capt. Jack's and the MIL's house. Also a good thing...ALL NEW STUFF!! I got to pull up the carpets and tile the whole house (which I had been wanting to do for months)! We got all new furniture and new electronics. A new 46" Samsung 1080 120 mhz LCD TV (HA HA J).
As for the motorcycle accident, Shannon is back to work and the day after Christmas, he found a 1998 95th anniversary ed. Harley Davidson Sportster on Ebay for an outrageous price and in great condition! And since we had put the $$ from the other totaled bike in savings acct, he bought it. We are now Harley owners. Too bad it came at a cost.
Soooo thats the major points of my 2008 in a nutshell. Most of the people reading this will already know these things about me. But I made you look!! LOLOL
2008 was full of a lot of CRAP. I felt a lot of pain both physically and emotionally. The physical, a reoccuring pain in my gut that after a dozen or so tests still has not been diagnosed other than it could be adheasions. Untreatable. That on top of the fibromyalgia makes for some painful days. The emotional, one aspect I decline to talk about, but one biggie is being taken for a ride by some supposedly close friends then dropped and used as a weapon by those same people. My good nature and loyalty used as a weapon against other people who have proven to be REAL friends. Nothing hurts me as much as using my friendship. Especially against me and other friends.
More crap, I was laid off. I had the good fortune of being given 2 months heads up. But didn't even get ONE interview/prospect in those 2 months. So, August was my last month of work. Then....
Mid-August...T.S. Fay. The storm that wouldn't leave. My house...FLOODED. The water came 16 inches up the wall. We lost EVERYTHING. Cabinets, furniture, clothes, shoes, yarn, TV, computers you name it. THANK GOODNESS for flood insurance!
Even more crap, Nov. 7th Shannon was in a motorcycle accident. An OLD FART made an illegal left hand turn into oncoming traffic..that oncoming traffic being Shannon on our V-Star Classic. Totaled the bike. Shannon though rolled over the old fart's hood and stood up. Apparently untouched. Until he coughed hard a week later, and CABLOOIE! Back went out. Herniated disk between L4&L5. Old Fart's Geico didn't want to pay for the medical bills so we retained a lawyer. Not to make any $$ mind you, just to get the bills paid. As for the injury, he's on muscle relaxers and Percs and seeing a neurologist and chiropractor.
So...Thats the major crap, now onto the GOOD STUFF!
I have reconnected with some WONDERFUL FRIENDS!!! The kind of friends that I would take a bullet for. A few of them would do the same for me. In fact, some of us have taken some verbal bullets for each other many many times over the past year. I take my friendships very seriously. I genuinely love these people. Enough sap.
I have made some new friends as well in the later part of this year. Friends that are in the LGBT community and I will be joining in helping to get more of a presense here in Brevard County.
As for the flood damage, good things came from it. Like the old song says "You find out who your friends are". 30-ish people came out over a few weeks to help with the clean-up and re-build of Capt. Jack's and the MIL's house. Also a good thing...ALL NEW STUFF!! I got to pull up the carpets and tile the whole house (which I had been wanting to do for months)! We got all new furniture and new electronics. A new 46" Samsung 1080 120 mhz LCD TV (HA HA J).
As for the motorcycle accident, Shannon is back to work and the day after Christmas, he found a 1998 95th anniversary ed. Harley Davidson Sportster on Ebay for an outrageous price and in great condition! And since we had put the $$ from the other totaled bike in savings acct, he bought it. We are now Harley owners. Too bad it came at a cost.
Soooo thats the major points of my 2008 in a nutshell. Most of the people reading this will already know these things about me. But I made you look!! LOLOL
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
By request...The meaning of FrogQueen
J. Sewell Perkins (@TheSCICoach on Twitter) asked me what is the meaning behind my user name, which I use EVERYWHERE, and suggested I blog about it. So here it is!
It began YEARS ago with my father. NO he's not a FrogQueen, but a Frog. We're French.
There are a number of competing theories on how the "frog" nickname came to be for us French people: Here are six such theories from the web page "Archived French Frog Stories"(granted that there are MANY MANY more): (1) Many French people enjoy eating frog legs. (2) Clovis, an early Frankish king, adopted frogs as part of his emblem.(3) France's national emblem, the Fleur de Lys, resembles a frog. (4) England's Queen Elizabeth I had a French suitor whom she affectionately called her "little frog."(5) The lands around Paris were swampy, so the peasants who dwelled there were called "frogs" by the upper classes. (6) At one time, French soldiers wore camouflaged uniforms and resembled frogs.Allaboutfrogs.org: http://allaboutfrogs.org/weird/general/frenchfrogs.html
Anyway, my father was a career US. Army heliocopter pilot and in someone's funny, testosterone filled sense of humor, they started giving him frogs of all types. Stuffed, ceramic, wall hangings etc. As I grew up, I started to admire the frogs as well. After all, they are terribly cute!Well in 1991, my son, the only boy in the family, was born. My father was soooo proud to have a grandSON. He sent him a beautiful leatherbound edition of "The Frog Prince" and inscribed "From a frog to a Prince." I CRIED like a baby myself. It was sweet, but it could have been post partum hormones as well! LOL
So I figured, since he was a Frog Prince, and I was the mother of the Frog Prince, that made me the Frog Queen. That and the fact that I own soooooo many stuffed frogs, little statues, plaques etc.That my friends is the story on how I got my screen/nick name!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Light Up the Night...
A little background for those who aren't "with it" LOL
Light Up the Night is/was a night where people all over the country gathered to hold nonviolent, peaceful candlelight vigil to help bring attention to the issue of the lack of equality for the Gay and Lesbian community. It is way past time that every human being have the same basic right of marriage. Its that simple.
I went to the one held in Winter Park for the Orlando area. Its always amazing to see people with a common purpose gather together for said purpose. We filled in the lawn at a church. Brought together in unity of purpose, charity, holiday spirit and love.
Lynn and Pat Mulder were with us. Their son Ryan was murdered in March only because he was gay. The trial for the murder will commence early next year. It was an amazing thing to have them there. They are a lovely couple who in spite of dealing with this increadible loss, come out in support of the community. Having them there made me think of my HS friend Billy Hembry who was murdered in Clarksville, TN by a brainless redneck who went to Billy's house to kill anyone of the 4 gay men who lived there and answered the door. Billy answered the door. His killer was brought to justice. I thought about Billy last night for the first time in a while and it was a good thing!
I met an amazing young man and his amazing family. Josh. He's 16. He's gay. Turns out, he's a good friend of my son and my son's girlfriend. I sat and had a long conversation about a lot of things. He has such a wonderful outlook on things. He is what I call an old soul. He made me think. Gay teenagers have to grow up so fast. Especially if they are open about it. He has had to put up with so much crap in school. He has had a few really good friends that have supported him at school but it may not have been enough. He is now home schooled except for two classes a day. But he is AMAZINGLY happy. His parents COMPLETELY support him. They come to rallys with him as does his sister. His mother has been an integral voice speaking to the school board about Teen LGBT issues and has helped in the wording of new policies dealing with those issues. The school board members KNOW who she is!
As for the vigil itself, we lit our candles as we listened to speakers from PFLAG, different local LGBT organizations and pastors from at least 5 different churches. We heard about never being quiet until EVERYONE has equal rights. We heard about love. We sang some Christmas songs. We were a group gathered in a common voice and the voice was melodious!!!
Light Up the Night is/was a night where people all over the country gathered to hold nonviolent, peaceful candlelight vigil to help bring attention to the issue of the lack of equality for the Gay and Lesbian community. It is way past time that every human being have the same basic right of marriage. Its that simple.
I went to the one held in Winter Park for the Orlando area. Its always amazing to see people with a common purpose gather together for said purpose. We filled in the lawn at a church. Brought together in unity of purpose, charity, holiday spirit and love.
Lynn and Pat Mulder were with us. Their son Ryan was murdered in March only because he was gay. The trial for the murder will commence early next year. It was an amazing thing to have them there. They are a lovely couple who in spite of dealing with this increadible loss, come out in support of the community. Having them there made me think of my HS friend Billy Hembry who was murdered in Clarksville, TN by a brainless redneck who went to Billy's house to kill anyone of the 4 gay men who lived there and answered the door. Billy answered the door. His killer was brought to justice. I thought about Billy last night for the first time in a while and it was a good thing!
I met an amazing young man and his amazing family. Josh. He's 16. He's gay. Turns out, he's a good friend of my son and my son's girlfriend. I sat and had a long conversation about a lot of things. He has such a wonderful outlook on things. He is what I call an old soul. He made me think. Gay teenagers have to grow up so fast. Especially if they are open about it. He has had to put up with so much crap in school. He has had a few really good friends that have supported him at school but it may not have been enough. He is now home schooled except for two classes a day. But he is AMAZINGLY happy. His parents COMPLETELY support him. They come to rallys with him as does his sister. His mother has been an integral voice speaking to the school board about Teen LGBT issues and has helped in the wording of new policies dealing with those issues. The school board members KNOW who she is!
As for the vigil itself, we lit our candles as we listened to speakers from PFLAG, different local LGBT organizations and pastors from at least 5 different churches. We heard about never being quiet until EVERYONE has equal rights. We heard about love. We sang some Christmas songs. We were a group gathered in a common voice and the voice was melodious!!!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Goodbye Sweet Girl..
Its so sad. We here in Central Florida have been living with the case of missing little girl Caylee Anthony. We have had our opinons and thoughts on the matter of her mother and grandparents. We have started seeing this darling child like she was someone we knew.
Well, 20 mins ago Dr. G announced that the body that was found last week less than 1/2 a mile from the Anthony home was definately that of Caylee. The cause of death is being officially listed as Homocide by Undetermined Means and in Dr. G's opinon that will not change. We may never know how she was killed.
I wanted to go on a rant about her mother...about her murderer, but for today, today of all days...I will stop myself. I will shed the tears that mother's shed. Because she deserves mothers who are GENUINELY grieving the loss of this little girl. We may not have known her, but mothers are mothers. We feel connected to all children.
So rest well little Caylee. Now we know where you are and you can be in peace!
Well, 20 mins ago Dr. G announced that the body that was found last week less than 1/2 a mile from the Anthony home was definately that of Caylee. The cause of death is being officially listed as Homocide by Undetermined Means and in Dr. G's opinon that will not change. We may never know how she was killed.
I wanted to go on a rant about her mother...about her murderer, but for today, today of all days...I will stop myself. I will shed the tears that mother's shed. Because she deserves mothers who are GENUINELY grieving the loss of this little girl. We may not have known her, but mothers are mothers. We feel connected to all children.
So rest well little Caylee. Now we know where you are and you can be in peace!
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Blabber Blabber Blabber Blah Blah Blah
Life is getting back to normal. Yes the flood waters receeded months ago...but the wheels of construction, insurance payments and furniture shopping are slow. We're down to needing living room furniture and its all done. We just can't find a suit we like that will fit in the space that we have.
We had some of my BESTEST friends over this past weekend and the love what we've done with the place. We have built it to be a "party house" and I think we've succeeded. Sometime perhaps I will post some pics.
So, I'm one of the statistics. Looking for a job. Looking where there is nothing. I am an IT Geek...I like Administration too...I CANNOT physically handle the rigors of food service or retail anymore. I am just hoping beyond hope the new year will bring all sorts of good things for a whole lot of people, myself included!
Ok...my Blogging urge has been satisfied for now...Later
We had some of my BESTEST friends over this past weekend and the love what we've done with the place. We have built it to be a "party house" and I think we've succeeded. Sometime perhaps I will post some pics.
So, I'm one of the statistics. Looking for a job. Looking where there is nothing. I am an IT Geek...I like Administration too...I CANNOT physically handle the rigors of food service or retail anymore. I am just hoping beyond hope the new year will bring all sorts of good things for a whole lot of people, myself included!
Ok...my Blogging urge has been satisfied for now...Later
Monday, December 1, 2008
Time to start...again!
I want to start blogging again. I had blogged semi-regularly on MySpace, but I want to grow up a bit and get away from that. I'm leaving behind a bunch of games and even more drama. SOOOOO on that note, I will write when the mood strikes me and it may be something original or as lame as a song that is resonating with me at the moment.
Twitter is my method of choice when it comes to quick and short keeping in touch messages. This I guess will be for longer stories, rants and the like.
I'll be back soon!
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