Got a total of 398 views and still 9 downloads on my photo albums.

When I got up at 6:00, I found that Tom left a message on our memo board saying he got in late and has his alarm set for 9:00. So I guess we’ll be leaving closer to 10:00 and returning at 6:00.

Anyway, on our way back yesterday, we stopped at the Maricopa box and picked up a letter from Mary, which I read aloud on the way back. It had the both of us laughing our asses off.

First, she sent a picture of a fat prairie dog from a magazine. I have it on the fridge. Tom said that in the Midwest they tend to be fatter.

Tom fixed my printer so I didn’t have to write by hand.

What had me cracking up was that she punched Hope out. I’m so glad she stood up to the sicko, and yes, I know exactly what she means by saying we all have our breaking points, then we reflexively lash out. I wasn’t kidding when I said I promised myself that the next time I’m threatened or hit, I will fight back no matter what the consequences. I owe it to myself to do so after being pushed around, picked on, and stepped on throughout my life like I have been. I won’t want to stop either once I get going and I won’t feel bad about doing it any more than she said she did.

Apparently, Hope was getting on her nerves, poking her in the ribs, so she turned around and socked her. Hope screamed and went running down the stairs screaming that Mary hit her. When the DO asked if she hit her, Mary said, “No, I’ve never hit anyone in my life.” Then she muttered under her breath, “Till now.”

I had to laugh when she said to excuse her foul language. Her foul language? What about mine?!

After reading the part about Hope, I turned to Tom and said, “But of course if it had been me to hit Hope, I’d have been tossed on restriction and charged.”

His response to that was, “Yeah, but when asked if you hit her, you’d have been like – you bet I did! Send her back and I’ll do it again! At least Mary denied it.”

I assured both Tom and Mary that I’d have denied it too, though what he said was still funny. I can see, though, how the DOs would believe Mary quicker than they would me cuz I was an established bully. When I stopped Chavez and demanded to be pulled when Nancy threatened me, she wasn’t sure who to believe at first. But with Mary always being so sweet and so mellow, I’m sure no one would’ve ever questioned her if it had been her in my shoes that day.

The sick twist has to pay something like $150,000.00 in restitution after her prison term. Maybe I should add redheads to my hate list, huh? So in response to that, I turned to Tom and said, “And of course God would never allow Mary or I to get restitution from our abusive mothers.” Then again, while money helps and money’s nice, it can’t undo what was done to us nor can it ever erase the memories. I don’t blame Adam, Mary’s brother, for his anger toward their mother. Like I said, if it were me, I’d disown her mom, but only she can decide that. No one can make that decision for her. Not Adam, not her aunt, not me.

Sure enough, she laughed at the religious words that had me totally stumped, just like Tom did.

She likes coffee too, which I told her we would sip on when she visits. I can just see it – in the midst of discussing current and future things, we’ll laugh over the past and things like, “S has a crush on you.”

She’s still into sports. The kind I never had any interest in, but she seems to be enjoying herself with it and that’s all that matters. With her being born in ’77, I don’t know if she was ever into Charlie’s Angels, but I asked her about it and who her favorite angel was if she was into it.

She mentioned writing poetry and I sent some song lyrics of mine for her, though as I told her, I haven’t written any lyrics in years. Just got sick of that, the drawing and the instruments, I guess you could say, the more I’ve gotten into computing.

Tom told me he was telling this guy at work about our rattlesnake that likes to hang around here. The guy asked what we were gonna do to get rid of it and Tom was like, get rid of it? My wife already has a name for it (Diamond)!