I need to give myself more chances to nap on the beach ……

A palm tree husk makes a great beer holder …..

And a chatty parrot makes a hell of a great bar friend …..

As does this guy ……

Jimmy Buffett is universal……

And apparently, so is Bobby McFerrin …

No matter how far away you think you are ….

Sometimes a little piece of home is right there with you …..

A job that you can dance at is a great job to have …..

And if my mother drinks one of these ……

She’ll wear a pirate hat …..

I reinforced my choice of favorite time zone …..

And I remembered that sometimes, anything goes…..and that’s ok …..

I learned that paradise doesn’t have to cost a fortune…..

Especially if you know where to shop ……

And it’s true, women in every country do love them some cute shoes, y’all ….

And men ? Well, a picture’s worth a thousand words……

I learned that when I pay in pesos my bar bill is OUTRAGEOUS !

I’m still always ready to start my next adventure   ….

And that my feet like the first part of this sign the best …..

And that sometimes it’s nice to sit quietly and watch the sunset while thinking about the ones you love …..

And that no matter where you go and what you do, someone (or two) is always happy to see you come home ……

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In the haze of pain that comes with losing my father, I often selfishly forget that others lost him too. He was not only a father and a husband, but a friend. A friend that touched lives long before I was even on this earth. I am thankful for the times that I am reminded of that. Today was one of those days. Upon checking the mail, I came across this ……

Inside was a letter from a childhood friend of my father’s. I won’t put her name here in order to respect her privacy, but I will put the text of her letter here, and I think that explains it all…..

February 23, 2010

Dear Kim,

I want to introduce myself to you although we did meet once several years ago when you were living in Poplarville. I knew your father through all of our “growing up” years but somehow life just takes friends in a different direction and we lose touch.

When Billy’s father got out of the service, he joined Louise and Billy at Gaggie’s house in Poplarville. Big Bill, Louise and Billy then moved to Africa. Billy and I lived across the street from each other, started first grade together, and he moved to Africa for a short time and then returned to live with his grandmother because of the school situation in Africa.

So, during those many years we were just such good friends, like boyfriend / girlfriend, and also very close to all the other children in our neighborhood. We did get to the age of dating but then we just returned to being “good friends” and nothing closer. Actually, about the 6th grade, a new, good-looking girl moved to Poplarville, All the boys my age just went bananas over her and your dad even paid a mutual friend $.50 to sit by me at the movie so he could walk down the aisle, look at me sitting by someone else and then announce we were “breaking up!” It was all such an innocent wonderful age and town to grow up in and your dad was very much a good friend and great guy.

During one of those innocent years, about the second grade, Billy gave me the enclosed pin. He said it was an emblem that was on his dad’s uniform while he was in the Navy. You know how you keep things, old jewelry and things that just get “shelved” somewhere, and then suddenly they just appear. During Katrina our house flooded and many items were just boxed away to be looked at later. About four or five months ago I was going through an old jewelry box and other “stuff” we rescued after the storm but did not have time to address. There in the box was the Navy pin Billy had given me 60-something years ago !!! I heard that he was not well and I started trying to find someone who knew where he was living. I asked my sister, who had moved back to Poplarville to find me an address. Intuition should never be ignored but again, I left it up to someone else to find Billy’s address for me instead of actively searching. Within a few weeks, my sister to called to say that Billy had died.

My biggest regret is that we did not get to touch base again and that he did not get to see his dad’s pin. AND, once again, I asked my sister to get your address for me, so I am a little belated in expressing my sympathy to you in the loss of your father. He was a fun, handsome guy and a long-ago great friend!

Forgive my lengthy letter but I wanted to tell you how this pin had made the round through several states, through several hurricanes and now to you.

To her I say thank you, your letter means so very much to me and I am sure to my mother as well. It invoked memories of the town my father and I were both lucky enough to call home, and cemented another precious memory of him in my mind and heart. The pin that you included was shared by my father and grandfather, and will now be mine, and I will treasure it forever. There are no words to express what your simple act of a kindness has meant to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I went “back home” for a few days to visit friends in Mississippi and go to New Orleans for the NFC Championship game. I drove around my old home town, visited friends, left flowers at the cemetery, and just reconnected for a few days. Not much has changed in small town Mississippi, and even though I have, my friends there are like family and I always feel like “I’m home” when I get here. It’s a nice feeling to have. Sitting on the corner and looking across at my old house was tough, but I just thought of the memories I’ll always have and it made it a little easier to drive away. From there, I went to New Orleans. I have spent a large chunk of my life in and around that city, and to say that it’s soul and mine are intertwined would be an understatement. So many things I remember….. shopping with my Granny on Canal Street, my Papaw watching me ice skate at Lake Forest Mall, Christmas in The Oaks, Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, Audubon Zoo, oysters and poboys with my parents at Acme, dinner at Galatoire’s …. My daddy was born there, his family before him, and he and I both spent our youth on it’s streets from the Vieux Carre to the Garden District, Gregory and I renewed our vows and spent so many happy times there…. it’s a beautiful city and so much more than what the tourists see. It fills my heart with joy each time I visit, and also with sadness at what is no longer because of Katrina. But this trip was different for me and the city, because the New Orleans Saints have finally made it to the Super Bowl. WWL’s Jim Henderson summed up the emotion of a city and her daughter’s and sons in this clip……

…and I was there to see it. It was a moment I will never forget, and one that I will cherish forever. In the city I love, surrounded by my close friends, and basking in the feeling of so many that feel the same way. Grown men crying, strangers hugging strangers, screaming so loud until our voices were hoarse, and cries of “Who Dat” filling the streets. It was one of the most emotional moments I think I’ve ever experienced. And it wasn’t just football. It was the city, the memories, the two men that shared those memories in that city with me. I was crying for my team, but I was crying for them. I was crying for my grandparents, my great aunt. All of the people who passed their love of the city onto me. I felt them with me. And it felt good.

Yes, I know what it means to miss New Orleans.

But I also know she lives within me. And I am never alone.

Who Dat.