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(finger scrossed) My Mom seems to be back on the mend again for a second time. I know how she feels this summer. She said to me today that she was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I looked at her and said "yes, I know you are. I live that way all the time and I know it's not fun." Just as she was recovering from her knee surgery she came down with the flu. Since there isn't much anyone can do for the flu, other than to try to keep the patient comfortable, I felt pretty useless. She thanked me though for coming to stay and for bringing blankets, aspirin when needed, and keeping her company. I was glad to do it. She's not only my Mom, she's also my best friend. Many many times she's been there to take care of me, I was happy to be of some help to her. I just wish I was in physical shape to be of more help to her. As it was, just the little bit I did has made me sicker than ever. She wanted to get out of the house today so we took a drive down to the lake. We found a very nice place to eat lunch, then went back to the lake. We hadn't been there long when my IBS hit me at full force. So she spent most of the afternoon sitting at a picnic table while I sat in the bathroom being sick. To make matters worse I haven't slept more than an hour a night in almost 3 weeks. The fatigue is so bad, but the pain from my FM is even worse. There isn't one part of my body that isn't screaming out in pain right now. All I want to do is go to bed and sleep.   Last week my mother put her house up for sale. She's only had 2 showings so far, and I think she's begining to get discouraged. She's hoping she sells her house before Christmas, and so am I actually. Neither of us wants to spend one more day in SC than we have to. It's a shame because we really love the area and the shopping here, if only the people were nicer. For months now I've been playing spades on the WON network. I've met some really nice people there. For the last 6 months or so the people there had been planning a live spades tournament to be held in Carolina Beach, NC. This last weekend was the tournament. At first I didn't think I'd get to go, since I'd been in so much pain. Plus I was a little paranoid about driving for 5 hours alone. But as it turned out I did go, and what a weekend it was! (lol) I had arrived at the hotel around 1pm on Friday the 16th. As I got to the trunk of my car to get the wheelchair out a man came over and asked if I was with the spades group. I said that I was. Then he asked me who I was. When I told him I was Misty he immediately gave me a bear hug. As it turned out he was Wilofthewisp (Frank), my partner. :) He helped me get checked into my room, then he sat with me on the front porch. When dinner time came along a bunch of us (approx. 15) went out to dinner a few blocks away. One of the men who was running this event had a 12 yr old son named Ryan. From the moment we met, Ryan and I were best buddies. I'm not sure I would have managed without his help, and he had such a terrific personality that I wanted to kidnap him and bring him home with me. Once we'd all finished dinner we met down at the boardwalk. Two of the online players had arranged to be married Friday night on the beach at sunset and all the players were invited to the wedding. Now this was no normal marriage. The best man was not even a man, but a woman who was a good friend of the Groom's. Her name is CityGirl. The Groom was Badfinger, and his Bride was Morn'glory. The Matron of Honor was Lil Buckeye, and the Bride's Maid was no woman. In fact the Bride's Maid was a man named HD-Hogg. He came fully attired in a floor length blue flowered dress. (which he looked striking in too! lol) The whole group assembled on the beach. I had 3-4 men assisting me down the steps in my wheelchair and across the sand to witness the marriage. Once the Bride and Groom said their "I do's" they ran to the water and dove in. After the wedding we all made our way back down the boardwalk, and back to the bar at the hotel for the reception. The band played for the newlyweds and the rest of us assembled for some serious card playing. I had planned on staying with my girl friend Cam while staying at the hotel. I had waited for her to check in all day, but she never did. Finally around midnight someone came over and told me she'd just checked in. She had brought a friend with her as well as her son. As she unpacked her van and brought in the luggage she saw that the room she had rented for them was filthy. (we later found out their bed was covered with hair and upon turning down the sheets they found blood and syringes!!) Cam then went to the front desk to complain to the manager. The manager was drunk, and the 2 of them got into a shouting match I guess. Finally my friend joined the rest of us at the bar. She wasn't there more than 5 mins when the cops showed up. Apparently the manager had called them. They spent a few mins talking to Cam and informed her the manager wanted her off the property. No way did I want to stay here alone, and I got panicky wondering what I was gonna do. As it turned out I didn't have to worry about staying there alone. A few moments later the manager came out into the bar herself and wanted to know who was staying in room 102. I said that I was. Then she said to me "I want you out of here tonight too". It was 3 am and the police were still standing there. I was so furious I could have hit the woman (and I use that term loosely!). I said to her that I wouldn't stay one night in that friggin dive and not to worry I'd gladly go. I went back to my room and packed my bags. Cam met me at my car. We'd decided to drive my car around the block and park my car, then I'd ride around with her to find a room for the night. If you've never been to Carolina Beach, NC you haven't missed anything. I suppose at one time it might have been a nice town, but like the manager of the hotel, it too had seen better days. At 3 am the streets were full of drunks and police. After a few mins we found a motel. I'd stayed in her van while she went in to see if they had vacancies. When she returned to the van she said they had one room with one bed, and did I mind sharing the bed for the night. I told her as long as she didn't grope me in the night I didn't care where I slept! (lol) By the time we turned out the light it was almost 5 am and I was exhausted. The next morning I took off and went over to the hotel to see if I could get my money back. The man who had arranged the tournament went in with me for moral support. I'd gotten refunded for 2 of the 3 nights I'd paid for, and although I wasn't happy I left it at that. I'd spent my afternoon with Ryan and his older brother Robert. Ryan and I had spent several hours walking and shopping on the boardwalk. Then we met up with his older brother Robert to shoot some pool. At 7 pm the whole crew met in the room the tournament was being held in. We ate pizza, a huge sub, took tons of pictures and hung out till the tournament started at 9pm. Both Frank and I had agreed we probably wouldn't get past the first round. So we decided just to enjoy ourselves. As it turned out we not only got past the first round, we'd actually made it to the finals. We'd played our games so fast that we had a 2 hour wait to play the final match. It was already 1 am and again I was exhausted. So I slumped down in my wheelchair and propped my feet up on another chair and took a nap. I was awoken around 3pm to play the last game. I was in so much pain that I was wiping the tears away with a napkin. Concentrating was almost impossible and all I wanted to do was get this game over with so I could go to bed. As it turned out we didn't win, but it didn't matter to us. Since we'd gone into this tournament thinking we'd lose, taking second place was terrific! We'd both won a flatbed scanner, and a gorgeous trophy, along with a CD game for the puter for finishing the semi finals. Once the pictures were taken I said my goodnights and headed for my car. Frank had gone along with me to my car. I'd gotten the wheelchair put in the trunk and tried to make my way to the driver's door. This was when I broke down in tears. The pain was undescribable, and I wasn't able to move my legs at all. I felt so ashamed for bawling in front of Frank, but he was so sweet to me. In fact he insisted someone drive me to my motel room. I did relent to let Pammy, another one of the players, ride with me since she was staying at the same place. Then Frank and GrumpyOldMan (who's a real peach, and not old or grumpy) followed me over to my motel room. The men helped me out of the car and GOM pushed me to my room. They left and Pammie took over helping me get ready for bed. I can't thank them all enough for being so patient with me, and treating me so nice. It's been a long time since anyone has treated me like that and I appreciated it so much. By the time I shut my eyes it was again 5 am. I woke up around 10 am and packed my stuff. I then drove over to the hotel to say my goodbyes. I think the hardest thing was leaving Ryan behind. In only 2 days we'd become fast friends. My drive home was pretty uneventfull. I stopped a few times for Pepsi and coffee to keep me awake, and arrived home around 6 pm. After a short dinner with my mom I was back at my apartment by 9pm. Every time I think about the weekend I have to smile and laugh. All in all I had a terrific time, and the people I met were so nice. Everytime I meet an online friend I have such a great time. There's nothing like meeting someone you've "known" for months or years. As for the Astor Hotel, all I can say is that I've never in my life experienced such a place, and I hope I never do again. | |||||
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