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"My Beauty" written by me in 11th grade

I walk the sidewalk of life and I see
a beauty so wonderful, it's hard to believe.
She walks as if she is poetry in motion,
but what her face looks like, I haven't a notion.
For she walks in front of me, looking straight ahead,
but believe me, her figure could raise the dead.

Her shape is hourglass - that is, from the back
And her hair is colored a deep, dark black
Oh, wait! She turns! I'm at her command.
My God, what have I done? My beauty is a man.

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Ever since my teen years, I knew I wanted to be cremated, I just didn't know where I wanted my ashes spread. For a while, I wanted them spread at the old creek pool at Camp Sumantanga. However, about 15 years ago I settled on my "final decision" - Washington D.C. at the White House, U.S. Capitol, and Supreme Court building. Yup, I want my ashes balanced between the branches. Ain't I such a patriot!?

Since 9/11, I've been coming to terms with the fact that this wish may not be possible. I certainly don't want JD* and my kids to get tackled by government agents thinking they are sprinkling some sort of chemical weapon. If my wishes can't go as I really want, I'm just hoping for them to somehow get spread in D.C. - preferably somewhere around The Mall. Oh, JD has expressed interest in maybe keeping a portion of my ashes around the house. As long as they end up in D.C. or somehow "kept" with her after death, I promise not to haunt any of my offspring over the issue. ;)



* I KNOW JD will outlive me and I just don't want to think about what life would be like if I didn't go first.

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I have a favorite drink (non-alcoholic) that I just call "my concoction." If other people drank it, I'd love for it to have my name tagged onto it. It is exceptionally easy - equal parts of Mountain Dew and orange juice.

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I'll try to keep this short and focus on items I currently crave when I need comfort.

1. Mexican food - tacos from El Cazador, chicken fajita quesadilla and cheese dip from Casa Blanca, homemade burritos

2. Berry family recipe for spaghetti

3. mac and cheese with sliced deli ham mixed in

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Humans will always have a fear/hatred for "the other." Whether "the other" is a different race, ethnicity, skin tone, nationality, religion, hair color, language, or whatever dividing lines seem most obvious to a particular group of people.

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As an Army Brat, my childhood wasn't conducive to creating long-lasting friendships. My best friend from 2nd to 4th grade was Justin Peterson. He went to Spain and I went to Tuscaloosa, AL. We talked on the phone once a couple of years later. Justin seemed to barely remember me at all. That was really heartbreaking for me.

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My earliest memory is from about 3 years of age. My parents took me to a zoo. I saw some ducks next to the pond. I decided I really wanted to pet a duck. When I reached out to do so, it bit me on my right index finger. It really hurt!

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I started drawing up blueprints to my dream home in high school. While there have certainly been changes to the design over the years, here are the basic things that I would love to have.

1. I want a flat front yard. I don't want to have to drive up and down a hill to get in and out of my garage (because my dream home will be located somewhere that has winter in all of its snowy glory) and do want to have an area of grass to do croquet/etc and let the kids play.

2. The backyard can slope up or down into a more wilderness, hilly area. I love being able to sit out on the back porch and look out at nature.

3. Must have a front porch with swing and close enough to the n'hood sidewalk for me to say "hi" to the n'bors and walkers. It would be additionally nice for the porch to wrap 3/4 to fully around the house to allow for enjoying the porch no matter the direction of wind and the sun.

4. Somehow detach the master bedroom suite from the bulk of the rest of the house. A favorite design of mine from high school had the MB suite connected to the house by a long hallway with floor to ceiling windows on either side of it, looking out to the forested landscape outside.

5. I am a HUGE fan of Mission/Craftsman/Prairie styles with lots of built-ins, exposed wood/stone, and open floor plans.