I’m floored, and impressed. Let me explain. My particular suburb is one of the largest cities in Illinois, but to me it often feels small. For example, our yearly tradition is the Memorial Day parade; the boys march (with their Boy Scout Troop) in the parade, accompanying the Gold Star Families, and I watch the parade. In the middle of our downtown area on Memorial Day, I always, without fail, see about 30-40 people who I know. It’s a weird thing, living in this “big” town but feeling like it’s Mayberry at the same time. While our town has grown by leaps and bounds since we moved here in the…
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- Best Thing Ever, Blessings, Favorite Things, Fun in Chicago, Proud Moments, Something That Could Change Your Life
Love.
©2010 Suburban Scrawl
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Happy Birthday, Bijoux.
It occurred to me with a start last night that twenty years ago today, my beloved beagle (and subject of the book I wrote) Bijoux was born (may her memory be for a blessing). She died in April 2003, and the idea that she’s been gone nearly seven years floors me. She impacted my life in ways that only a true dog lover will ever be able to understand, and as I type this, my eyes are misting over, even after all this time. I wanted to honor her by re-posting some stories about her from my book blog. I wrote about her entire life from the week she arrived…
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So I Received This E-mail From Haiti…
I was thrilled yesterday when I received a response to the fan letter I sent on Tuesday! Saturday, January 23, 2010RE: THANK YOU (a fan letter)From: Bill NeelyTo: Melisa Wells Hi Melissa {sic}, I’ve just read your email. Thank you so much for taking the time to write and for your generous words. They mean a lot. Its been a challenging ten days. But I’m glad something I did could reach out and perhaps help Haiti in some way. Thanks again. Bill BILL NEELYINTERNATIONAL EDITOR, ITV NEWS200 GRAY’S INN ROADLONDONWC1X 8XZUNITED KINGDOM ©2010 Suburban Scrawl
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I Hope He Gets His E-mail on a Blackberry or Something…
I really sent the following e-mail: To: Mr. Bill NeelyFrom: Melisa with one S1/19/10 Hi Mr. Neely, I just wanted to take a moment and commend you for your ITN report (it was shown in the States yesterday evening on NBC Evening News with Brian Williams) about the woman who was rescued from the ruins of a bank in Haiti after being buried alive for six days. Your delivery of the report was superior and I was overwrought with emotion in the first few seconds. Your report, along with her rescue, was such a rare piece of good news coming from that area of the world after the horrific tragedy…
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Thankful.
To commemorate today’s Thanksgiving holiday, I wanted to do a short post about some of the little things I’m thankful for. I mean, of course I am terribly thankful for my family and friends, and for having good health, a roof over my head, food to eat, and clothing to wear. VERY thankful for all of that. And not that being thankful for all of that is “boring”, but I wanted to use my fine motor skills (figuratively) to reach a little further today. Here are a few other things–much less important in the grand scheme but important just the same–that I am thankful for: 1. My washing machine, because…
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Good Thing I Can Count Really High.
You may have heard somewhere around the internet…today is my birthday. Last year on this day, I turned the Big 4-0. I posted about counting my blessings, and I ended with: So, Forty? Look out, because I’m going to totally kick your a$$. I’ve gotta be honest. I think I did that. It was a really good year! I’m still counting my blessings; I try to do that daily (some days are harder than others, but I think that’s pretty normal!) In my reflections recently about this birthday, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the people who surround me. I’ve been asked several times this week, “Are you…
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A Nugget From Heaven
At the salon, we’ve been thinking about (and talking about) Margy a lot over the past week or two. Some of you will remember reading the post I wrote about Margy last November, right after her funeral. She was one of my favorite clients at the nail salon ever. EVER. (She was a favorite of just about everyone else who works there, too!) That post happens to be one of my favorites in the more than 650 I’ve written here at the Scrawl, so I’m going to give you a chance to read it now (or re-read it) before going forward. Click here; it’ll open in a new window. And…
- Amazing People, Best Thing Ever, Blessings, Friends, I'm Apparently Old., My Sister Has Mad Skillz, Proud Moments, We Are An Awesome Couple
The Best Thing Is? It Goes Both Ways.
You have my heartAnd we’ll never be worlds apartMaybe in magazinesBut you’ll still be my star Baby cause in the darkYou can’t see shiny carsAnd that’s when you need me thereWith you I’ll always shareBecause When the sun shines, we’ll shine togetherTold you I’ll be here foreverSaid I’ll always be a friendTook an oath, I’m a stick it out till the end Now that it’s raining more than everKnow that we’ll still have each otherYou can stand under my umbrellaYou can stand under my umbrella (Ella ella, eh eh eh)Under my umbrella(Ella ella, eh eh eh)Under my umbrella(Ella ella, eh eh eh)Under my umbrella(Ella ella, eh eh eh, eh eh…
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An Attitude of Gratitude
I’ve wanted to write about a friend of mine for a while and couldn’t really figure out the right time to slip a post about her into the mix. I think, considering yesterday’s news about Patrick Swayze, today is the day. I’m not going to give a lot of details about the circumstances of our meeting or where we most often cross paths, because I don’t want her to worry in the least about her privacy. So. I have this friend. She is beautiful. She is a young (early 30s) mom. When I met her, I liked her immediately. She oozed friendliness, and was always full of smiles (she still…