It's Been A Tough Week

This has definitely been one of the harder weeks for me. I've been really busy trying to bring in a lot of stuff for my new space. Of course the day I chose this week was probably one of the hottest days recorded in history here.  And we all know that Old Towne Orange isn't known for it's sea breezes! The photo above is an old photo of two  of my favorite people! With Bob on the right and Joe on the left, not pictured are Joy and Carole. That picture was taken by Alicia, Joy & Bob's granddaugther at one of our "Unloading the Wagon" sales in the back of Country Roads. These guys were some of my first dealers at Country Roads way back when we opened in January 1993. The good times I've had with these friends would take forever to write about. Joe sadly got cancer awhile back and has fought it for a long time . For those of you that knew Joe, he could be so damn funny without even trying. My favorite Joe story is the time he came down on a crazy Street Faire week-end. He says, "hey Sue, you want a beer?" I told him sure, thinking he would just go to Rod's or to one the beer stands in front of the store. Joe knew I liked Corona and walked through the whole crowd to get to Mexico Street aka E. Chapman (on the other side of the circle). He got me two Corona's and then made his way all the way back to Country Roads with my two beers. Both beers looked as if "someone" had been drinking them ;0) Although I couldn't imagine who that could be! Joe was a one of a kind guy. After a long hard fight with his cancer, he passed away Sunday night. We really lost a good one, that's for sure. I think I hear a sound of someone popping open a cold one up in heaven! Wonder who that could be?

After I had been working on my space on Wednesday, I headed back home. As I sat down to eat lunch, I turned on the news. It had just happened. A man, angry with his ex-wife, walked in to a salon, in the middle of the day. It was busy, every station had someone there and not only did he kill his ex-wife, but he shot and killed six others inside. No reason, just point blank shot them. Then he walked outside, back to his truck and on the way shot another man that just happened to be sitting in his car in the parking lot. Point blank, no reason, just shot him. For those of you that know and love Seal Beach you know this kind of stuff never happens in this small beach community. That last homicide they had was four years ago. Although, I don't live in Seal Beach, I'm only ten minutes away. I've spent a lot of time there my entire life. From the time I was a kid and my Mom would take us to the beach until now. My oldest, Brande, lives there and Riley went to pre-school down in SB. Her and Bodhi take swim lessons here. And my friend Kristi lives here and we often meet for drinks at Walt's on Main Street. There is no explanation for these things in life. The guy had some issues, but people in his state of mind shouldn't be allowed to carry firearms! I won't go "there"! And now a little boy is left with his mom dead and his dad in jail, sad, really sad! Brande went to the candle light vigil last night. She over heard a woman tell a group of kids that were there, " "no matter what, love people, even if they piss you off, love 'em"! And as Brande said, it was the best thing she ever heard. 

And lastly, the kids are moving! Not all three of the above, but just Morgan and her Daddy & Mommy (Bryce & Justine). They've been living with me about the past four years or so. It's their time for their family to have a place of their own and I'm happy for them. I will miss the moments I got to have with Morgan each day. In the mornings if she is up playing in her room, I would hear her yell "Sue" at the top of her lungs. Sometimes she will say Gramma, but she prefers Sue! I think this will be a great thing for Bryce and Justine. Before you shed too many tears, they are only moving ten minutes away. I like to keep my family close by! So, out of this tough week, the one thing I will always remember is what the lady said at the Seal Beach memorial, "no mater what, love people, even if they piss you off, love em"!