May 21, 2024 – MOMMY & ME - BLOG #0018 – COMING OFF THE STAGE

When I left her that warm summer evening, I sensed that there may be an issue with the heat. I always visited Mommy before I left the house, on my way to a gig. On this particular night, it was a Big Band gig at Baker’s Keyboard with “Ben’s Friends” about five miles away. I asked a good friend of mine, Sandy (whom Mommy often referred to as family), to call Mommy and check on her as the evening grew. It was about 10:00 pm or so while we were on the bandstand, when my phone began to ring. I finally looked at my phone between songs and it was Sandy.

As a sinking feeling hit me, I answered to hear her tell me to “Get home now…Mommy isn’t sounding right.” I whispered to Stan, sitting next to me on the bandstand, that I had to go as I reached for my gear behind my chair, packing up in seconds. I called Mommy while running down Eight Mile Road and yes, she was slurring her words and just not making sense. She was suffering from heat exhaustion.  Sandy met me as I arrived at Mommy’s. Mommy sat alone in the dining room, looking confused as she tried to smile and welcome Sandy and I as visitors. We immediately cooled her down with water and a fan. In a few minutes, Mommy began to recover, and Sandy got her going, joking with her, and starting with their “hey girl” routine. You really should have seen those two go at it.

When I moved Mommy into the house next door to me, it was without central air. I had planned to purchase and install window air conditioners later in the summer. However, I went out the next day, purchased them and installed them. That surely wouldn’t happen again to Mommy.

She had a custom installed air conditioner in both halves of her house…which she just UNPLUGGED when she wanted to turn them off and on.

Mommy immediately became very fond of Sandy upon meeting her months before. She was the perfect “gal pal” for Mommy. She uplifted Mommy and what a good time they would have. They laughed and cut up all the time. Most of the time, they laughed and talked about me. I remember seeing her car in front of Mommy’s house often, but they would talk about me so badly when I came over, I’d just leave. It was all in fun, to keep Mommy smiling. RIP Cassandra “Sandy” Munn

MAY 12, 2024 - MOMMY AND ME BLOG # 17 - I PEEPED THE LITTLE GIRL IN HER

I sat at home last week, watching a documentary about situations and events that tend to bring to life, the excitement in the elderly, sending their minds to an exciting place, a youthful place. During the last 7-8 years of her life, I watched Mommy develop a daily routine that seemed to satisfy her just fine. I always tried to interrupt that routine though, just to keep her thinking, imagining and looking forward to something.

It was around the end of June, 2004 or 05, when our flowers were in full bloom and our grass was like a blanket across both yards. It was just the right time to get her active doing something in the yard. I bought this croquet set, a game that’s played by striking a wooden ball with a wooden mallet, through wire hoops that are placed in the grass in an open space. On a sunny day, as she sat in the yard in the shade, I went and got the colorful game and began sitting the game up. She sat there and watched me trying to hit the wooden ball through several of the wire hoops. I’m wondering why she isn’t saying anything or coming to join me, so I walked over to her and tried to hand her the mallet. Then I saw that she was turning her head away with this big grin on her face with tears rolling down her face. She finally just laughed out loud which somewhat a relief. When Mommy is having a good hearty laugh, she sometime looks as though she is crying at the same time. But to hear her laugh, always a delights me. Come to find out, she was laughing at me the whole time I was trying to hit the ball through the wire hoops like I was trying to hit a golf ball . . . totally the wrong way. She finally got herself together and said “you don’t know how to play that game boy.” What happened next amazed. Mommy got up from her seat like she had absolutely no knee pain or nothing, grabbed my crocket mallet and walked over to one of the balls in the yard and positioned herself on the ball the ‘correct’ way and began to hit the ball through several of the hoops with no problem. Then, it got to be super fun to her as she got progressively into the game. Just like a little girl, she began to giggle and cheer herself on as though it was a championship croquet match. She actually hit the ball through the hoops with no trouble at all, giggling laughing the entire time. Mommy was good at this game! She hit her ball, walked and hit it again with not trouble at all. Mommy was just like a little girl . . . giggling and laughing and just having fun playing “croquet.” We had a good time.

I guess it was just one of those times that something touched her, sending her back to childhood maybe. I will never, ever forget that day outside, when Mommy and Me had one of our greatest times together, playing crocket in our yard. “I Peeped The Little Girl” in Mommy that day.