A Beautiful World Ruled by Kelly...

Although I originally posted this back in 2007 when The Lemon Stand was still on it's first set of legs, so to speak... it is as true today as it was then.  I also had to re-post it because Kelly and my family's wish for her to rule the world was the subject at dinner tonight.  (The first dinner, may I add that I have been able to eat in more than a week.  I came down with a bad case of the flu with complications.  I didn't have to wait long for the 'I told you so' about getting the flu shot.  Yeah, I know I should have, but I didn't.  'Nuff said.)

Now besides being the best of friends, Kelly and I share many other things in common. We both were active duty at the same time and although we lived at the same base, we were not stationed at the same base. This happens when you have small military facilities that do not have housing that are in fairly close vicinity to facilities that DO have housing. In this case, the barracks.

So since at the time we served there was only one barrack for women (and for most of the 5 years I was there this was only, at most, just the first floor!) We were not room mates but we did live on the same floor.

Another thing we have in common was our career field. We both worked in Communications. And we both lost much of our hearing to the high-speed printers we had to work with. My hearing loss is not as bad as Kelly's but it is a source of wry amusement for our families.

Picture, if you will, 2 women who are very hard of hearing talking to each other on the phone. We both have phones equipped to turn the volume way up. You are standing across the room and a bull horn would probably be quieter (at least that is what I have been told). Our respective spouses can usually enjoy our conversations right along with us.....from the next room over.

Have I mentioned how much we LOVE Baseball and Football Games? Our husbands and kids HATE to sit in the same room with us to watch a game. Come to think of it, they probably can hear us anywhere in either of our respective houses.  Shees...can't understand why they think we're TOO loud... we just like to support our teams!?

It is a fact of life that if you are hearing impaired, you tend to talk loudly because you can't tell how loud you are talking. I think Kelly is not as loud as me because she is much better at reading lips than I am. I guess I must, at this point, admit that neither of us likes to wear our hearing aids. A source of much angst around us sometimes but hey, we communicate just fine. Our families have gotten used to hearing "Huh?", "What did you say?", "I can't hear you.", "Speak up!"

I just have to give you another mental picture of our gatherings, which are far too few now that we live about 2 1/2 hours apart, so that you will truly feel like you are with us. I think I have mentioned that Kelly is Italian.  I am of French-Canadian ancestry. BOTH of these heritages include decedents that talk with their HANDS! They talk loudly. (So we can also blame genetics...) They are affectionate and in our case we always correct each others children. :o)

Kelly's husband, John, is perfect for her. He is very calm and knows when to tune her out. (Come on Kel, you know this is true!) Anyway, you often forget that he is also half Italian.... until he loses his temper! He also gets along great with my husband. I often think the bond comes from having to stick together against us wives.

THE REST OF THE STORY

So I am talking on the phone yesterday and Kelly was telling me of her appointment at the Veteran's Hospital. She is sitting in the waiting room....waiting. (Sorry, couldn't resist that one) and in most hospitals or doctor's offices you usually have a specific clientele. Children in the pediatric area's, very sick people in the emergency room, etc. Well it is a bit different in VA Hospitals. You rarely see children for one thing. Teenagers are only slightly less rare. Unfortunately I must be painfully truthful and say that in the past five years it has become much more common to see men in the 20-40 year old range. But the biggest percentage still seems to be the 60-90 year old crowd. And WOMEN are STILL very much the minority.

So here she sits in this waiting room of MATURE men. A gentleman with a Vietnam Vet hat is sitting near her. I think he made her a little uncomfortable with the strange look he was giving her but he finally asks her why she was there. (He probably assumed she was waiting for someone to get OUT of their appointment so she could drive them home) When she said she had an appointment, the gentleman was flabbergasted.

"WHEN did you serve?"

"20 years ago." (I actually cringed inside when she said this because I went IN to the AF 3 years BEFORE her. Time has certainly flown!)

I can imagine, in my mind, his jaw dropping. Kelly does NOT look her age. She looks a lot younger than she is. When I told her this she wanted to know how much her husband was paying me to say that. ::roll of eyes::

Danielle said "She looks to be in her middle twenties but that if Aunt Kelly were God, there would be no wars."

Huh?

"Nobody would want to get her mad! The bad guys would all be sitting in corners.....And everything would taste good." Danielle explained.

DH added that everything would be CLEAN and freshly painted. :o)

Yup, a beautiful world ruled by Kelly.  OK John, you know where my bank account is :o)

QOTD: "A true friend is one who thinks you are a good egg even if you are half-cracked." Unknown