June 15-17, 2000: Charlene & Steve's Visit to Chicago

Charlene and Steve came Friday night to stay at my apartment located at 553 W. Oakdale, Apt. 209.   Charlene went to sleep early, so Steve and I took a walk down the street to get ice cream.   We sat on a bench and had a nice conversation.    I think that was the first time I had been able to talk with Steve, without a bunch of others around.    

On Saturday, Charlene, Steve, and I went to get coffee/hot cocoa at Seattle Coffee.  Then, Charlene and I had breakfast at Panera Bread which was right near my apartment.    We had a nice conversation.  She said don't ever settle for a man, as many of her friends did that and have had a life of misery and regret.   She said God will find me a good man at the right time.   

She said she and her friends had a slumber party in Washington D.C.  I thought that was pretty cool. 

Then, I showed Steve and Charlene around my neighborhood.   We browsed around Cost Plus and the toy store on Broadway.   Then, they got dressed for her nephew, Brandon's wedding to Carolina.   Their wedding was going to be at the same church that Lilly Dunson got married at.  

After the wedding, Kelsey and Matt came to my apartment.  They really liked my apartment. It meant so much to me that they came to see my place.   Then, they all went to the wedding reception.  Kelsey said I gave her good directions to her hotel.

On Sunday, Steve and Charlene left for Door County, Wisconsin.  I was sad to see them go.

May 12-14, 2000: Mother's Day Weekend

Grandpa and my Mom came to Chicago to visit me for the weekend. It was good for all of us to be together this weekend.   On Friday, we went to lunch at Berghoffs..  They got to meet my coworkers, Bryan and Jeanette.    They went to the museum to see the Titanic display.   

Saturday, we went through the Chicago Conservatory and saw the most gorgeous flowers. Grandma always loved flowers.    Then, we went to the movie at the Biograph Theater on Halsted which was where a mobster died many years ago.  

Sunday, we went for breakfast at Ann Sather's and then to Holy Name Cathedral for mass.   Then, we got popcorn from Garrett's pocorn.  Since Grandma's death, I realized how much my family meant to me.   

May 9, 2000: Hesperia and Whitehall

Marianne and I rode up to Hesperia to put flowers down by my dad and grandpa's gravestone.   Then, we went up to Whitehall and put flowers on Grandma Gonyo's mom's stone (Ora Morrison) which was in the middle of the cemetery.    It wasn't far from the building at the entrance.  Then, Marianne and I went for lunch at Russ's.  It was nice to spend some time with her.   

May 8, 2000: Grandma's Funeral Service

On May 7, we had visitation from 2-4 p.m. and 6-8 p.m. at Young Funeral Home.      I had never said the rosary so had no idea what to say.   We thought that grandma would want that as a part of the funeral.    It was scary for me to see Grandma in the casket.  I didn't think it really looked like her.    When Grandpa first got to the funeral home, he went in to see her and didn't recognize her either and blurted out that that wasn't her and walked out.    We had them put the pink square dance dress on her.   Grandpa wanted to wear his Hawaiian shirt to the visitation which we couldn't believe.  

On May 8th, we had the funeral service at Prince of Peace Catholic Church in North Muskegon.    We all walked behind the coffin up front. It was at that point that I realized that Grandma was really gone.    My Mom read the first reading and I read the 2nd reading.   Charlene and Kelsey talked about their memories of Grandma.  Kelsey said she had kept all of the cards Grandma had sent her.    After the service, we went to the Laketon Township Cemetery and put roses on top of the casket.    Grandpa said out loud that he had to go golfing. We were all shocked.    

Walked with Charlene down at Pioneer Park and walked along the beach.  We talked about Grandma's death, as well as my dad's death.    I had alot of anger about him dying so young. I wanted to know more about my dad's death. She told me that he sat down and tied the belt around his neck.   I guess I felt better that he had sat down as I had always had images of him hanging from a tree.   

Marianne stayed the night at our house. I was so glad to have her there.   Kara came over and all of us went to G and L for chili dogs and then had ice cream at Frosty Oasis.  

May 3, 2000: In Memory of Grandma Thomas

Grandma Thomas was a wonderful lady.  She used to make such wonderful meals for us at Easter, birthdays, and Christmas.  I remember her making us homemade chocolates which I looked forward to every year.     She was an Avon Representative for several years and had this room in her basement with all kinds of samples. Kelsey and I loved to try out the lipstick samples when we were kids.     

She had been battling with arthritis and alzheimers for many years.       

My mother had been keeping me up on Grandma's health the past week.     She said the priest was going to give her the last rites today.    When she said that, I knew it wasn't long before she would be gone.    After work, I walked down Oakdale and along Lake Michigan.   I was happy to be back in the city.   On my walk home, I was thinking about Grandma and my family.  It was as if I knew something had happened.  When I got home, I had a voicemail from my mom saying Grandma Thomas had passed away at 6:30 p.m.    My heart dropped.   She said Grandma died in peace and that Charlene had read Psalms 23 over and over to my Grandma.   Aunt Elsie heard the 'death rattle' which was where you hear this rattling sound in the person's throat.    She had heard this before with other family members. She quickly yelled for Grandpa, Charlene, and my Mom to come back to the room.  A few minutes later, she took her last breath.    She said it was the most faithful experience she had ever had.    She said as soon as Grandma died, her skin instantly cleared and the color came back.    It was the sign that her soul was already on its way to heaven.    I will miss Grandma dearly.   

Brandie came downstairs to give me a hug.    Then, I called Grandpa to give him my condolences and was surprised he was so cheerful.    He went out and cut the grass. I was shocked, but I guess everyone deals with grief in their own way. Plus, he knew she had suffered for so long.

April 29, 2000: Moving Back to the City/Dawn Klee's Wedding

I was sad that I wasn't able to make it to Dawn's wedding, but I did call her a few weeks ago to let her know and had a nice conversation with her. Glen Brien helped me move back to the city.   

I found Brandie and I separate apartments in the same building at 553 West Oakdale, which was just north of Diversey.    I was in apartment 209.    I spent about 4 hours unpacking.  

April 2-9, 2000: Mexican Cruise

On April 2, I took a limousine from my apartment to O'hare airport which was really nice.  I flew to Los Angeles and met the rest of my family there.    We went on the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas cruise ship.    

Our first port-of-call was in Cabo San Lucas where we took this boat over by these beautiful rock formations, surrounded by crystal blue water.   We had drinks at this neat restaurant overlooking the ocean.    Had lunch at this Shrimp Factory Restaurant.     We were going to go shopping, but Grandpa took off and we had no idea where he went.   We had someone page him on the ship to see if he was there.    We searched the stores and all, but no sign of him. When we got back on the ship, we were so mad at him for taking off.    He was mad at us for worrying about him.    We had a nice dinner and saw three of the Osmond Brothers perform.  

Tuesday, we went to Mazatlan, Mexico.  Charlene, Kelsey, Matt, and I went over to a nearby island and went kayaking and did some rock climbing.    Charlene and I were so funny on the kayaks as we couldn't get the boat to move very fast.   Everyone else was way ahead of us.   We were laughing so hard.   Then, Charlene wanted to see Old Mazatlan so we walked around.     Kelsey, Matt, and I walked to Senor Frogs Restaurant.    That was a fun restaurant.  The waiters made us all these funny balloon hats and we danced to several songs.     We danced on top of the platform. My balloon hat was so high that it kept hitting the ceiling.   We saw our head maitre'd there dancing with some girl.    We got some shots and the waiter shook our head several times in different directions.   

Wednesday, we went to Puerta Vallarta.  Charlene, Grandpa, Mom, and I rented a car. We got a car with a cracked windshield which made us so mad.    We got lost in Puerto Vallarta and ended up in a residential area where no one spoke English.  

I had a body massage on the ship which was relaxing.  Wish I wasn't so ticklish, though.  

On Sunday, we left the boat to fly home.    I flew from LA to Chicago.   Brandie and Josh picked me up at baggage claim.  We drove back to Josh's house on North Ave. in Elmhurst. I bought them pizza for dinner for helping me out.    This cruise was one of the most relaxing ones I went on.