The Adventure Begins...

4 AM tomorrow morning the adventure begins. Camping…sort of….in the Boundary Waters. For years I had wanted to go camping. Yes, strange if you know me, trust me. Part of my sick Survivor fantasy I guess. I think I can handle the wilderness. I just don’t want to eat bugs. Is that so wrong? So we will see if I am as tough as I think or simply delusional on a very grand scale. Anyways, this year is it actually happening, hard to believe. Tyler, Bob and I…in a cabin on some lake at least 5 hours from here. It will be nice to be away from everything. A much needed break.

I have spent the majority of the week “training” for the trip by screaming loudly and running as fast as I can to prepare for any encounters I may have with a bear. I have also mastered the “dead possum” move by lying on the ground and pretending to be dead incase a bear catches me. And, most importantly, I have made peace with my maker and repented for all my sins (only took a few moments…I don’t sin often) incase I am caught by a VERY smart bear who does not fall for the “dead possum” trick. I hope to God the bears are dumb up there. I really do.

In a strange moment this evening as I was packing, I was thinking back to the only time I have ever been to Ely before. It was this weekend, I believe, with my mom and the rest of the family. My mom had been there before for the blueberry festival and wanted to go back. She loved Ely. She said it reminded her of the TV show Northern Exposure. After the trip a year ago now, I would agree. It is like the TV show.

I never thought I would go back to Ely. Especially after my mom died. But I am going back; it will be nice to be in a place that she loved.

Ely or bust. Here we come.

I "heart" Kathy Griffin

Can I just take a moment and say how much I truly love Kathy Griffin. She is freakin hilarious. I have been a faithful fan of her show on Bravo “My Life on the D-List”. It is brilliant. I watched her stand up shows “The D-List” and “Kathy Griffin is not…Nicole Kidman” a million times. I got her DVD “Allegedly” last Christmas from my mom and love it. Kathy cracks me up like no other comedian.

She truly says what everyone is thinking but no one has the balls to say. I have never seen anyone cut through all the Hollywood crap like she does. She is hilarious, she is brave, she is a riot. Kudos to you Kathy.

The show ended last night. I am truly sad. For the past six weeks on Wednesday night I was glued to the TV watching her. Now my Wednesday evenings will be dull and boring. I am praying for a season two. Come on Kathy…do a season two! It is one of the celebrity reality shows that actually seems real. Not like the train wreck of bizarreness that is the Whitney Houston nightmare “Being Bobby Brown”. (which as a side note…someday I will spill the beans on Whitney’s bizarre demands from when I worked on the Rosie O’Donnell Show. The woman is truly nuts. Not as nuts as Barbara Streisand…but close.)

Kathy needs to come to Minnesota and do a show. If she did, I would be in the front row smiling ear to ear and laughing my ass off.

I want to be Kathy’s friend. I seriously do.

you've been missed

Hard to believe…yet another funeral. Two this week...back to back. Bizarre yet true. Like so much of life…too bizarre to be true. But it is. Sadly. His name was Sean and I was good friends with his brother. He was young, only 21. Phyllis was 24. Clearly God is calling home the good ones this year.

The “Heathers” inseparable. A bond that could not be broke. A trio of true friends. Inseparable. Much to the annoyance of those on the outside. Sometimes it clicks. Sometimes it doesn’t. And sometimes it CLICKS.

When my mom died, my friend disappeared…dropped off the face of the Earth. No phone call, no email, no card. Nothing. No sympathy, no condolences, no comfort. Nothing.

It goes away if you don’t acknowledge it, right?

The three “Heathers” became two.

“Heather” called me about the news. She saw it on TV. His brother missing and then found. Tragic ending to a nightmarish ordeal. She has just heard and asked if I knew anything about it. I did not. Not a clue. I was shocked. I was stunned. I was floored. Déjà vu. I was also hurt. I could not believe that he did not call me to let me know about his brother. I could not believe that he did not call me. I could not believe…

So close, yet so far away.

I get it.

I called him. Immediately. Forgiveness.

I get it.

Lesson learned. Forgiveness.

I get it.

Death drives people apart. Death brings people together. Constant ebb and flow of life.

Three. Two. Three. Back to the beginning. My friend, you've been missed.

We are a long way from home.
We are a long way from the stars.