American Cancer Society

&

Make a Wish Foundation

My sister Kimmy (or Kim as she preferred) died Saturday, April 19, 2008. Full obit here

She was the youngest of my 4 sisters and consequently she was the one I was closest to. She moved 650 miles away (Louisiana) many years ago so we hadn’t been as close in a long time. But we did exchange emails now and then. We also seen each other last Thanksgiving. But sadly I NEVER did make it down there for that visit she always wanted and had repeatedly asked me to take. It’s a really sad admission I have to make that I NEVER made the grueling 10 hour drive until she was terminal in the hospital…then a week later I made the trek again only this time to the visitation at the funeral home.

My first trip down I got to see the house she was proud of and meet her two dogs. On my second trip I got to meet some of her in-laws. They were very sweet and really took great care of my grieving Mom. I also got to see first hand just how many friends she had. There was quite literally a LINE forming to get into the visitation area. It was a graphic testament to just how well liked she was as dozens and dozens of friends streamed in offering hugs and tears to the family and extended family strewn about the room.

I didn’t cry a whole lot and I’m not one to talk a lot about grief but I think I CAN write a bit about what she meant to me.

I credit Kimmy with fostering in me several things:

• a somewhat warped sense of humor
• a love of TV and Pop Culture (specifically SNL, among other things)
• a love of junk food (Doritos among other things)

Kimmy was 5 years older than me and so when I was about 11 she was 16 and working some crappy fast-food part-time job. My most vivid memories of my childhood with Kimmy is her coming home from work and bringing loads of JUNK FOOD.

Often on Saturday nights IF she didn’t have a date she would spend some of her pay check on snacks for us to consume while watching TV. I credit her with introducing me to Saturday Night Live at a VERY early age.

I remember her Gilda Radner impression (she did the Lisa Loopner snort really well). I also recall her telling me that she didn’t often get the political stuff on WeekEnd Update but most of it was still funny.

She had quite a sense of humor. A lot of the stuff she did when I was little I probably thought of as mean at the time I later realized was hilarious. For example she once tricked me into eating a piece of dog food. When I was a little kid I had a weird habit of reading the dictionary. I’d plop down on the floor and CLUNK a huge ragged dictionary down in front of the TV and just browse through reading words. She’d say:

“Here comes Larry with his big DIC-tionary!” and then she’d laugh. I didn’t get that for the LONGEST time!

I will never forget my sister Kimmy & I still watch SNL each week. It’s not as consistently funny as it was way back then even though I always understand the WeekEnd Update stuff now.

Sad news. Fantastic actor and great NRA president Charlton Heston died yesterday. He was 83 years old. Full story here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/06/movies/06heston.htm….

He made over 100 movies in a career that spanned 60 years. He won an Oscar in 1960 for Ben-Hur. Heston was a Civil Rights activist in the 60′s. He even marched with Martin Luther King Jr.. He was a great American and a passionate supporter of gun rights. He will be missed.

….Mr. Clinton, sir, America didn’t trust you with our health care system. America didn’t trust you with gays in the military. America doesn’t trust you with our 21-year-old daughters, and we sure, Lord, don’t trust you with our guns. – 1998