Friday, September 25, 2015

Mama's Got A Brand New Bag


Sometimes things don't work out the way you want them to. When my Mum died in June, I told the funeral director that I wanted a Thumbie. That's a cast pendant of one of your loved one's fingerprints. He assured me that he had taken her fingerprints and that it wouldn't be a problem.

You see, after my Dad died almost six years ago, I went to the same funeral home with my Mum to make arrangements and learned about Thumbies. I wanted one and my mother bought one for me, saying it would be my Dad's last gift to me, making it that much more special. It came just before Christmas and I've worn it ever since. So when my Mum passed, I REPEATEDLY told the funeral diector that I wanted a matching Thumbie. No problem! Except ... he was new to the job and had never ordered one.  And so, he called in an associate who walked him through the process.

And I waited for my Thumbie to arrive.

And I waited. And waited. And waited.

It was supposed to come in 4-6 weeks.

At week 9, I stopped by the funeral home to inquire about my Thumbie.  The very  nice woman at the reception desk asked me to wait while she tried to find out what happened.

So I waited. And waited. And waited.

Sometime later, the woman (quite sheepishly) approached me and and said, "We can't find a record of the order."  Uh-oh!  She said, "We'll contact you as soon as we have any information." I took that to mean that the order had never been placed. I wasn't happy but, hey, mistakes happen.  So I went home to await a call.

The call came the next morning, and not from the young funeral director I had dealt with, but the Big Guy in charge who apologized profusely. Not only had the order NOT been made, but they could not find my mother's fingerprints--no matter where they looked. There was to be no Thumbie.

I cried.

The New Comer Manager, John, very kindly offered me a replacement piece of jewelry.  This was to be a piece of jewelry that would hold a tiny portion of my Mum's cremains.

Mum wouldn't be Mum without her glasses.
So a few days later, I grabbed my Mum from off the entertainment center in my living room where her ashes had been residing, packed her off in the passenger seat of my mini van, and she rode shotgun for her second trip to the funeral home this summer.  On the way, I told her all about the changes in our little suburb.  (Holy cow, there've been a lot of them in just a short span of time.)

John wasn't at the home, but the woman I'd spoken to the week before sat me down in the same room where Mum and I had made my Dad's arrangements and let me pick out a piece of jewelry.  It was a toss up between a dragonfly (my Mum had a pretty dragonfly pin that she wore on her favorite sweater) or a hummingbird.  (Every summer she hung a hummingbird feeder and delighted in watching those tiny birds have dogfights over who got the nectar.)  Since a dragonfly is a bug, and I'm not really a bug fan, I chose the hummingbird.

They took some of Mum's cremains and said the hummingbird would arrive within the week.  When they returned Mum to me, they'd put her "temporary" box (my brother is going to make a more permanent box for me for Christmas) inside a purple velveteen bag.  I laughed when I saw it, and told the woman, "Hey, Mama's got a brand new bag."  (I think she may have been too young to remember the song Papa's Got A Brand New Bag.)  So, Mum rode shotgun all the way home, wearing her new "dress."  (And I kept singing over and over again that phrase from the song Try A Little Tenderness.  "Women do get weary ... wearing the same old shabby dress."  (My Dad used to always call out "then buy her a new shabby dress" which always made me laugh.))

Less than a week later, the hummingbird arrived.  John called and asked me to bring Mum back because they had more cremains than they needed.  So, back in the velveteen bag she went, she rode shotgun again for her third trip in less than three months to the funeral home.

John and the whole staff at New Comer have always been very kind. Not only didn't they charge me for the Thumbie, they credited my brother's credit card, and gave me the hummingbird for free.  I'm impressed by their integrity. They could have just lied and said, "Oh, we found her fingerprints" and faked a Thumbie, but they didn't.  And they made it right.

The Thumbie is approximately the same size as a dime.
 Of course ... maybe I should have gone for the dragonfly after all.  Sometimes Mr. Hummingbird's wings jab me in the throat.  Mum's neighbor, Amy, said, "I'll bet your Mom's trying to get your attention."  My Mum would never hurt me, but I laughed at the idea, and now if the wings jab me I said, "Okay, what do you want me to do, Mum?"

So, Mum and Dad are together again on my entertainment center.  It would be much better if they were really here, of course, but thanks to my Thumbie and hummingbird charm, they're close to my heart every day.

Dad didn't want to be left out of the story.



Friday, September 18, 2015

What should I do with the plants?


It's been a difficult summer. Losing my mother was just the beginning. Clearing out her house has been a monumental task. And what do I do about her plants?

This little guy is blooming again right now.
When Mum went to hospice, I asked her if she wanted to take any of her plants.  She said no.  I took one anyway. A little African violet that was blooming its heart out.  Sometimes the volunteers would water it, but usually I'd find it pretty dry and water it.  After my mother died, I went to the hospice house to pick up her things and saw the plant sitting outside and looking very unhappy.  I took it home with me and it has lived on my kitchen counter next to my cactus.

Early this summer, I gave five or six of Mum's houseplants that could live outside to her neighbor. Amy was very happy to get them, immediately planted them outside, and most of them are doing well. But what do I do with the rest of them?

My Mum had a green thumb. Me? Not so much. But I try.  In fact, I've been taking care of the rest of her houseplants and, so far--so good.  But what do I do with them?  I already have my own houseplants.  Mum left behind two more African violets and at least seven orchids.  After she died, one of the violets exploded with blooms.  Two of the orchids have bloomed (one just last week, and another is going to bloom soon--she had wonderful luck with orchids).  They like the eastern sun exposure, I guess.  But I already have five orchids of my own.  My brother doesn't want them. Mr. L doesn't want to feel like he's living in a conservatory, and I can't bear to throw out a living plant that hasn't every hurt anybody.

So, what should I do with her plants?

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

New to you!

My friend Mary Kennedy and I are celebrating because we've both got new books out.  As this is my blog (tee hee), I'll go with mine first.

Six Pack-smMy readers asked for it,  and I've delivered.  A Jeff Resnick Six Pack features all six Jeff Resnick "short" stories.  (Some are a lot longer than others.)

This collection of short stories bridges the gaps between the Jeff Resnick novels of suspense and intrigue.

When The Spirit Moves You: Does Jeff believe in ghosts?
Bah! Humbug: Christmas with his girlfriend Maggie’s family is anything but merry.
Cold Case: A small boy is missing. Can Jeff find him?
Spooked!: A malevolent spirit visits for Halloween.
Crybaby: Have diaper bag—will travel!
Eyewitness: Jeff can’t move ahead in live until he finds out who murdered his wife.

Trade paperback | Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide

Kobo | iBooks | Nook   Coming soon to audio!


And second in the Hollywood Nights series from Mary Kennedy ... MOVIE STAR!

Movie Star-smJessie Phillips and her friend, Tracy, go Hollywood when a film company chooses Fairmont Academy as the setting for a sizzling thriller. Sparks fly off and on the set as the teens become embroiled in a mystery fit for the big screen, and things heat up for Jessie when the film’s star Shane Rockett takes a shine to her. Will Jessie score more than her fifteen-minutes of fame?

(This novel won an award and grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for "artistic excellence in literary fiction.”)

Kindle US | Kindle Worldwide

Kobo | iBooks | Nook | Smashwords



Tuesday, September 1, 2015

New from my friend Victoria Abbott!

YAY -- Today the 4th Book Collector Mystery, THE MARSH MADNESS, by my pal Victoria Abbott, is available in ebook, paperback, and audio.

You're gonna love itThe national bestselling author of The Wolfe Widow presents another spine-tingling mystery featuring rare book collector Jordan Bingham and some Ngaio Marsh first editions worth killing for…

Jordan works hard to improve Vera Van Alst’s collection of classic detective stories. So when Chadwick Kauffman—heir to the Kauffman fortune—offers a very good price on a fine collection of Ngaio Marsh first editions owned by his recently deceased stepfather, she is thrilled to meet with him at his fabled summer estate, Summerlea.

The next day, Jordan and Vera are shocked to read that Chadwick has died in a fall from the grand staircase at Summerlea. But when the picture in the paper is of a different man, it becomes clear that the ladies are victims of a scam. And they’ll have to unmask the imposter fast, because someone is trying to frame them for murder…

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Chapters
Kindle | Kindle Worldwide | Nook | Kobo | iBooks
In audio:  Audible | Amazon | iTunes | Tandor Media (on CD)