A Priceless Character

Yeee-ha...I'm home! I just returned from an adventure filled vacation that took us to Vegas to see my Mother, to L.A. to see my sisters family and then to San Diego to visit one of my closest friends.

John is prone to motion sickness so Dramamine was the main staple in our emergency medical kit. In fact, it was the only one.

He wasn't looking forward to the movement filled trip I had planned. He dreaded it. He dreamt of turbulent planes, sinking ships being tossed about on a rough sea, theme park rides laced with regurgitations and worst of all, my driving in California traffic in an SUV with 4-wheel-drive with him in the passengers seat clutching the dash and hammering his foot to the floor in a pathetic attempt to avert disaster. Only one thing could've been worse, he said, that would be HIM driving in California traffic, the likes of which previously he could only imagine.

So far the only citified excitement in his life has been watching shows like Cops on late night television. It didn't prepare him for what I had in store. I think he expected car chases and shoot-outs, instead he got The Wonderful World of Disney, Lucy style. We even visited the I Love Lucy Museum in Universal Studios. As we moved through the exhibit I noticed the light come on in his eyes. All the things I had told him about my sister all these years finally jelled. Brightly colored images jiggled in his brain. All the stories of the zany things she does floated suspended like fruit cocktail, but even fruitier. I was so proud, he'd actually made the connection; not an easy thing to do for a farm boy of the old school that believes thinking outside the box will only land you behind bars of some sort, take your pick. He cultivated a lot of things in his life, but never his imagination.

Alice stood there smiling her bigger-than-life smile, oblivious to his revelation. So sweet, so innocent, so redheaded and so... damn... perky. I whispered to him "L-u-c-y...I'm h-o-me!". On a monitor behind her Lucy was dowsing a burning rubber nose into a coffee cup. Alice smiled and asked "What?", behind her permanently curled lips while Tinker Bell danced across her visor. All I could do was reach for my sport bottle while thinking how dry my mouth would be if I was that bubbly. I had to let a renegade giggle break free and told her what was lurking in the unsaid. We all shared a laugh.

I swive as well as others do:
I'm young, not yet deforme'd
My tender heart, sincere, and true,
Deserves not to be scorned.
(The Mock Song, by John Wilmot, Second Earl of Rochester, ca. 1676-77)

My sister is one-of-a-kind. I know I likened her to Lucy, she is like Lucy, only different. You see, Lucy was a real glamour doll with a giant sense of humor. My big sis is Lucy at 10, only she's fifty. She is so G-rated that her idea of sin, is sneaking a Hershey bar AND a Moo-latte.
Lucy was a Vogue cover girl, Alice makes it onto the school board bulletin board for inventive teaching.

Lucy wore the most stylish clothing; 3/4 sleeves were in.
Alice likes 3/4 sleeves because she's up to her elbows in finger paints daily. They are so not in right now but what does she care?

Lucy's hair was so beautifully done up in waves and curls and all things Barbie.
Alice grudgingly tends her unruly waves simply because other people mind when her wild flaming locks begin making a break for it. Style doesn't matter. She just wants everybody to shut up about it.

I've never been in any of Lucy's homes but I'd wager none of them were bursting with Disney figurines, snow globes and picture frames. Even the cats name is Disney. A site better than her husbands inventive use of species as actual names. A bird named Bird, cat named Cat. He's grown an imagination since then. Late bloomer.

Well, I have so much to tell you. I couldn't possibly get it all written down in one little entry so I'm sure you'll be hearing about our odyssey for quite some time. I tend to have sporadic recollections. Comes with age.
5/28/2005 0:27 AM
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