Rainbowstop.com Laurie's Blog

So here I am at a turning point in my life. You could say I’m at a fork in the road only I know which road to take and that being the road less traveled. After all you never know what kind of adventures you might find there! I’m the type of person who was always called a Polly-anna; one history teacher called me an Idealist which I took at the time as an insult until I ran that by my college Professor in Philosophy and she laughed and said that was a compliment and I now tend to agree with her. My sister always considered me as a person who was always wearing rose-colored glasses. She just couldn’t understand how anyone in their right mind could “love” high school. I took my mom’s advice she said “sign up for every club you can and you’ll enjoy high school.” So I did. Every club there was I was somehow connected. I wasn’t part of the “in” crowd either although I bet most people remember me from high school because of my visibility and perhaps my outspokeness. I was an A student but it was more like an A- and I did study all the time. So much so that I was put down by my father for studying too much. I find out later that my sister resented being dragged off to football games; dances; being a bridemaid; marching in a drill team I admit it was a bit much marching for 10 miles in a parade at the age of 10 but what can I say to me it was fun and full of adventure to her it was not fun and not an adventure. It’s funny how I learned just how different I was when I went to college and read about the 10% of people in that psychology experiment who chose not to push the red button just because someone in a white coat told them too. I would have said no I won’t do it and that would have been the end of that. I found out I was in the 10% non-conformist which made me unlike everyone else. What an eye opener that was. Meaning the other 90% would have shocked those students just because they were told to by their superiors. Forget the screams that was coming behind those walls. The people who were pushing the buttons did not realize that it was only pretend and that the people on the other side of the wall was not hooked up to a shock machine. They were acting as if they were being shocked with screams and moans and yet because someone in authority told them to flip the switch and they did without question.

So are you wondering why a 54 year old baby-boomer wanna be hippie non-conformist psyche major who refuses to take off her rose-colored glasses and I hope you will put your rose-colored glasses on and see the cup as being half full rather than half-empty; know about transformations and why I chose to deal with baby boomers. Because many of the issues that face baby boomers I experienced first hand and through my studies and counseling endeavors I feel I could be a wonderful teacher. They say when the student is ready the teacher will appear. So I hope you are ready and I hope I can be of service to you in some way. Perhaps you too have experienced a loss of a love one who couldn’t deal with the loss of an empty nest or perhaps you may no of someone who maybe experiencing this loss and you could be of service to them by getting them professional help in the mental health field than I know this blog has been helpful. So hold on tight and enjoy the ride!

My first topic will be that of the empty nesters. I have three older children who are grown 32, 30 and 28 and I remember crying when Jeff my youngest received his first holy communion. So I can relate to the feeling of how fast kids grow and to hang on to them for as long as you can because before you know it they’re grown and off to a new adventure of their own. Some go off to college, and some go off to the service while others get a job and move in with all their friends. You maybe lucky if you get a phone call from them once a month or if they drop by for the holidays. Thank goodness though for the social network Facebook and I highly recommend you get connected if you aren’t already. It is a wonderful way to stay connected with long lost friends I found one of my dearest friends from junior high and I had been looking for her for ever and a day and finally I found her brother who was able to give me her married name and we’re now connected. In my book I’ll give details as to how to get connected to Facebook it isn’t hard really it’s just coming up with a username and password and voila you’re connected to millions of people all over the world. It is hard to let go. This emptyness you are feeling is a feeling of despair and mourning the loss of your child. This child you took care of for 18 years of their life is suddenly gone. So are the cub scout meetings, church group meetings, school activities and this deep down feeling of “what do I do now?” I do want to emphasize that in some incidences these feelings of depression should not be overlooked especially if you’re experiencing deep signs of depression such as sleeping all the time, no energy to get out of bed and not realizing you’re worthiness and thinking about harming yourself — it would be a good time to see a therapist because I had a god parent who was going through difficult times with her children growing older and her feeling unworthy that she ended her own life and almost took her daughter’s life as well and for some people this is a turning point for them and they just don’t know how to cope with the loss. The first thing you need to do if you feel you are experiencing the loss of your children moving on with their lives is to realize that is why you’re feeling the way you do. There are several stages that you will go through. First is the hurt and the anger and perhaps there will be some denial. I suggest you take out a piece of paper and write down how you’re feeling and why you’re feeling this way. Keep a journal and jot down your thoughts or whatever comes to mind. If you enjoy art then art is great therapy as well as talking to someone perhaps a close friend who had gone through the same thing or perhaps your own parents. Once you have identified the situation you can then move forward and accept the fact that parting from the “nest” is a part of life. Life in itself is a journey, from the time you were born, to the time you move away, and to the time you die it is the circle of life. You have come full circle. This is a turning point for most people. I have lived through it but there have been others who have not. My youngest child is turning 18 next year and we’re talking about getting an RV and giving him the house. Hey he’s 18 and we’re free at last! We want to travel around the states and see the world! It is a time of rejoicing — give yourself a pat on the back for a job well done! Then throw that graduation party and rejoice! For it is a rite of passage and put on those rose-colored glasses after all life is what you make it! You can create your own reality — quit holding yourself back you can chose to enjoy life or not too. That is the beauty of having “free-will.” We can make our own choices it’s all up to us. Put on some beautiful music, take another look at that rose; isn’t it time to dig out those china dishes and have a party throw it in the honor of being free or throw that birthday party you always wanted. No one can throw a party as good as you! Learn how to do the cha cha cha; take a look at that beautiful sunset and that lovely rose that is in your garden. Beauty and joy and laughter is all around you. Life is what you make it and be grateful for what you have. There is nothing wrong with living in a world with your rose-colored glasses. So hold on tight for another magic carpet ride. Life is what you make it and we baby boomers don’t think we’re growing old — our lives have just begun.

Continue reading Rainbowstop Advice on Boomers Transformations Empty Nesters

Today a non-profit art and music venue (AFU) had to close its doors on Callow in old downtown Bremerton, Washington the last weekend in August of 2011. It had to close its doors because the owner felt he could do better financially by having the building closed than by renting it. This is a sad day indeed.
I wish parents would realize the importance of the arts for their children because it is like a magic carpet ride. It can do wonders for a child’s self-esteem and the kids in the community need a place where they can listen to good music and at the same time have a safe place to hang out.
It was bittersweet watching Jeremiah and his garage band play their music because I knew it would be their last time playing there and at the same time I was excited that they were able to share their talents with the kids and the adults who came out to listen to them and gave the band great encouragement. Andy O was the manager of the AFU and he was able to give some closure by giving all the bands who had played at the hall the opportunity to play for a half hour. Of course, this lasted all night long and the police gave them a heads up by saying “keep it quiet and we’ll let ya slide since it’s your last time playing.” There was food and a party and great music. It brought a sense of closure for those in the community and I’m sure there lost hasn’t been felt yet — anger, denial and most aren’t past denial yet.

I’m not sure what is going to become of Andy O for he is a rarity — a man who loved the kids, the artist, and the great musicians who in turn thought the world of Andy O who cared about the community.
And as far as the arts go I know how important it is to experience all aspects of art and music. I loved music as a kid and I sang in several choirs and went to many concerts and shows. However, it wasn’t until I ended up in an arts class 200 level in college (it was the only class opened to meet my major so I took it). I had never been inside an art museum until I was required to attend one and report back my findings in a paper that I wrote for that Art History class. The museum I chose was the Seattle Art Museum and I must say I had no idea of all the impressionist paintings as well as contemporary art portraits that lined the halls of the Seattle Art Museum — it was a great awakening for me and one that I love to this day. I had to work extra hard in that class after all everyone in there with the exception to me were art majors — and yet I ended up getting a B out of that class and I never heard of any of these artist except Van Gogh and yet when I walked out of that class it changed my life forever and I now have a love not only of music but of art as well and I feel everyone should have the experience of attending a music venue or an art museum at least once in their life. It could open up a whole new world of opportunities.
So I know how important theater, art and music is and I plan on donating to the arts whenever I can and I hope others will too. When money is tight it is usually the libraries, the arts and music programs that are cut.

Continue reading Are the Arts and Music becoming a dying bred?

What do you think of when you hear the words poor and poverty? Do you think of a young single woman with 2 children? Do you think of the alcoholic or the drug addict who lives in your neighborhood or on skid road? Do you think it could possibly be your grandmother or a long lost aunt? The largest growing segment of our population is poor, elderly woman.

Why has this not been addressed? It is fact that men die before women do and when they die their spouse only receive half their social security. My dad probably knew that but my mother didn’t.

Women out live men and yet they have no means of support other then their social security and in today’s inflationary times that’s not enough to live on. They barely have enough money to eat and pay the utilities and maybe they might be able to save up enough to pay the property taxes.

After my mom spent ten years of her life taking care of my dad, the last year of his life was my mom’s worst. Dad didn’t want mom leaving because he was afraid to die alone. However, I felt mom needed an out at least once a week. So I took her to the Fun Network which was a bunch of baby boomers and older women who got together and networked. This is where my mom learned that she needed to put my dad’s medical bills on her credit card. They had racked up forty thousand dollars even with medicare they still had to pay out that twenty percent. So mom did. Mom had about ten credit cards and she spread the amount over all the cards. She was able to buy a plot from my Aunt’s friend (mom only bought one plot). They thought mom was going to buy two oh well she was able to make payments on that. Then my aunt bought my dad’s coffin and mom had a small graveyard service and she had put an ad in the paper and that was her contribution.

While my mom was going through her bills she noticed dad had left her a note saying you have four months before foreclosure. She showed this to me and I said mom how much is your mortgage and she showed me and I said oh my gosh we have to get you into refinancing your loan. So we went to Washington Mutual filled out the paperwork and after about three weeks there was no word from them I decided mom and I would give them a personal call. So we popped in on them. Now this was the good old times when people were financing right and left and buying homes had never been at their highest and so mom’s loan was at the bottom of this guys pile. So I asked for it back. He gave it to me and the next thing we did was made some calls. Finally a guy with Countrywide Homes out of Spokane was willing to work with my mom. She sent him the paperwork and after a month we’re still waiting. He calls mom and tells her he did everything he could but it didn’t look like she qualified. Well three days later mom gets the loan approval in the mail — it was signed, sealed and delivered with one tiny catch and that was a balloon payment which would come due in two years from that day. I told mom to not worry that would buy us some time to try to find other alternatives. So right now she was alright. As 18 months went by and all mom could think about was how there was no way that she could make a balloon payment we took her with us to see if we could qualify for a house and include all three incomes — which we could. So that was one option. Meanwhile mom decided she needed a new roof and she still had money on one of her cards to pay for the roof and so she has the roof put on. Then she calls a lawyer to see if she can qualify for bankruptcy and they tell her she can 6 months later and so she’s planning on that she learned that at the Fun Network and then she gets a call from a women out of California who said mom could qualify for a reverse mortgage now bear in mind we tried to get mom a reverse mortgage early on in 2004 and she did not qualify however the value of homes jumped between 2005 and 2006 and that is right in the ballpark of when this women called her out of California — she was headed to a seminar in Seattle and would love to set up an appointment with my mom and discuss the details. I was there along with my mom and the women out of California who had hooked up with an old boyfriend she knew from here — they got the paperwork started, they got an apprasier out here that week and by the end of that month the home had closed. Her bankruptcy went through and now she is relieved that she can stay in her house without having to make payments up until she dies then the estate can buy back the property which is what I plan on doing.

Things that women can do to prepare for their golden years are: Life Insurance (term; VUL if you can afford it) my son who is young chose the VUL and now that he’s getting out of the military and will be living in Japan he can cash out for $6,000 and that’s all tax free money — not bad considering the stock market had taken a nose dive and is now recovering —
homeowner’s insurance and fire insurance
health insurance (I always had 100% which my dad told me I was crazy and I told him what if he had a catastrophe illness 20% was alot to have to come up with at one time — he never did believe me I had 100% both me and my husband were covered and my husband had cancer twice and I never saw a bill —
Car Insurance — a must in today’s day and age! If your husband is the prime bread winner get disability and death insurance on both your car and your house. I had disability but once he died they stopped making payments so I had to pick up the tab — death and illness are not the same thing.

If you’ve read this pass this knowledge around it is only with unity and sharing of knowledge that could possibly prevent your elderly neighbor from being out on the streets. I was a widow at 44 and had three children to take care of — I ended up losing my house mainly because i was laid off from my job and could not keep up on the house payments; I was smart though and decided I wasn’t going to lose my house to foreclosure — times were alright 2004 and so I sold my house to an investor — walked away with $25,000 and was able to relocate and bought a mobile home.

There is light at the end of the tunnel. With wisdom and some good common sense I still wonder what my dad meant by leaving my mom that note “four months before foreclosure” did he think mom couldn’t do it — she probably couldn’t but she had me and dad knew that — maybe that was mom’s wake up call — to alert me that she only had four months to figure out an alternative solution — mom thought he thought there would be no way that she could keep the house not on half his pension — he was right on that accord. However, we acted swiftly and diligently and through perseverance, support and some divine intervention out of California — we were able to pull it off. Thank you universe!

Continue reading Elderly women wear the veil of poverty

Hey this is a new creation that Naomi has whipped up it is the Pink Gloomy Bear 3D using mini-pony beads and the cuff bracelet she used 6 x 9mm pony beads — definitely a great addition to your collection!

buykandibracelets.com

Naomi has been making kandi bracelets for about three years now and she has made them for her son Jeremiah and Rosalinda who simply love her kandi.  Naomi has always love arts and crafts and she has been doing various jewelry work for over thrity years and that includes bead work.  Quality and good craftsmanship is her motto and if you’re not satisfied with her work we offer a satisfaction guaranteed!  Good quality string; good quality beads (made right her in the USA) and good quality craft person who loves her work keeps the kandi tradition alive!  PLUR

Continue reading Gloomy Bear 3D Kandi Cuff Bracelets Are Here!

As I and the rest of the nation is waiting patiently to hear the President Obama’s state of the union address there is no doubt in my mind this will be the speech that will be long remembered.  If his state of the union is anything like his eulogy of the six people who were gunned down and died in Arizona by a madman (terrorist) than get out your tissue and your horns.   Happy Days are here again!  I have to tell you I was so moved after hearing President Obama’s Eulogy as he described Christina Taylor Green the nine year old who just happened to have been born on 9/11/2001.  She was a girl who helped others and was not afraid to speak up for the underdog.  It is no wonder this compassionate little girl was elected class president.  As he described her ordeal I could not help buy cry and I’m sure there was not a dry eye anywhere!  Yes, I could see Christina and I could see myself jumping through mud puddles in heaven.  As he stated this is a time of healing and with healing comes a time of accepting what has happened as a wake up call.  We need to reflect on the present and future and move on — the past has happened and there is nothing that we can do that will change it. This is what letting go is all about and this is what healing is all about.

As I wait eagerly to hear his speech next Tuesday January 25, 2001, I know that he will talk about the economy and how we have made great stride from the day President Bush left office to now but we still have along ways to go.  With that said there will have to be sacrifices made in order to get our country up back on its feet again.  There will be taxes (without taxes there’s no representation) and there will be cut backs as we are seeing right now.  As long as the cuts are across the board and not just focused on social services, mental illness, foster care, assisted living homes, elderly and children as well as the poor and the homeless.  Not when our country is still economically disadvantage not is not the time to tie women and children to the railroad track.  Changes need to be done gradually and not all at once.

I hope President Obama will bring up giving job subsidies to companies who will focus on alternative energy.  Wind mill; solar panels; and getting us off the grid and less dependent on oil.  As we see the rise of gasoline at the pumps they will only get higher.  No one is challenging them or if they are their cries are not being heard.  Electric cars; hybrid cars and high speed rail cars are the way of the 21st century.  With this new technology and innovation will come jobs and with jobs will come stability and with economic stability there will be less people needing help and so this will turn the economy around.  We have to focus though on our infrastructure by taking care of the sick, the homeless and the down and out.  We can not turn our backs on them because it could be you or it could be your mother, or your father or your sister or your brother.  We need to stick together as a nation and do what we can to help each other survive these economical times.  Despite what the naysayers say or do — we still have each other and when we are a party of millions it sure beats a party of one.

Continue reading Hope is what the nation needs

Tony Robbins, Zig Zigglar, Wayne Dyer, Oprah Winfrey, Dale Carneige and countless other motivational and inspirational speakers are all coaches from one degree to another! My library is full of various books from spiritual to business from relationships to drug and alcohol counseling to career development to time management as well as countless other books that all involve self-development. Since I hit the age of 50, I have been trying to figure out where did I want to go with my life. I have a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and I love listening and encouraging people to listen to their inner drive what is their passion what is it that they really like to do. For me it’s helping people grow and to step out of their comfort zone and become what they truly want to be — well that’s what a life coach does. So this is my passion and it has always been my passion since I was a knee-high to a grasshopper I just never realized it. I have always helped the underdog — from sticking up for kids who were being bullied and pushed around at school to protesting against the Vietnam and the Iraq war. I find that I have a wealth of information just waiting to share with those who want a life coach. Many of you I’m sure are asking well what is a life coach? Why would I want one? What could they do that I couldn’t do myself. For one I have a wealth of knowledge and I have taken many public speaking classes as well as toastmasters and have even studied business at a graduate level. I feel that I can bring to the table many skills and structure that a person would need in all facets of their life — thus I would be called a Life Coach. Once we identify the areas you need improvement in then we’ll set goals plan them and manage them and celebrate! This is what a life coach is all about — a support person who is your cheerleader and I’ll be cheering for you as you cross that finish line every inch of the way. Some people need structure and that’s what I can give you, some people need a push and someone that they have to account to if they made a commitment why didn’t they follow through — what is it that is holding them back! So I can act as a mirror and can hold that mirror up to you so you can see yourself — like a football coach does after every game. They go over the plays and one by one the coach will tell so and so what they did wrong and what they could do to improve — it’s all part of the game — whether it’s a relationship game, a career game, whether it’s getting the proper training so you can get that promotion or reading materials so you can keep up with your profession — that’s all part of it too. This is my first step to becoming a Lifecoach — writing it down making it a reality setting goals planning and managing — it’s like planning a trip, first you start here and then you map it out to where you want to go and where you want to end up if you want to make stops along the way that’s okay as long as you know where you’re going. This is my first blog stay tune for my next one — to be written in about a week. So don’t be afraid of shopping for a coach the first one you met may not be the right one for you — shop around until you find the right one for you! If you get a life coach it will save you years of reading and trying to get motivated to taking your first step — why waste your time when you can hire a life coach to help you with that first step. Remember your journey begins with your first step.

Continue reading Lifecoach career coach relationship coach mentoring coach and beyond!

This is a tribute to a Hall of Fame Radio Announcer Dave Niehaus he had passed away last month and I had taken my mom and Missy and her kids to pay tribute to Dave Niehaus…..I can hear Dave Niehaus right now proclaiming “get out the rye bread and mustard grandma cause it’s Grand Salami time!” Baseball had been a big part of my life not only as a kid but as an adult as well. I played all kinds of sports as a kid growing up and baseball really was my passion. Somehow though it rubbed off on my kids and they all loved the Seattle Mariners too especially James my oldest he not only loved the game but studied all the statistics. He knew who batted what and how many runs they had the whole nine yards. My mom and dad had season tickets and my mom just loved listening to Dave. We’d go over there and mom would have the TV on with the sound off so she could listen to Dave — Dave made baseball exciting. He was the type of announcer that voiced pictures through the radio — he would describe everything to a T and made it so exciting! I would be out gardening and listening to Dave and the Mariners. Jim would be out working on his car and he would have the radio on listening to dave. One time one of the neighbors asked him to turn down his radio and Jim turned it way up — hey it’s the middle of the day and afterall it’s the Mariners — we had a wonderful time going to the Safeco Field to pay tribute to Dave. Mom was really glad to go. We saw Bones and Mr. Double and the Ace Catcher — along with the president of the blind association who said Dave Niehaus had brought baseball to the blind and they really enjoyed him. He will be truly missed. Here’s to three generations Dave of memories — and I’m glad that I was fortunate enough to have been a part of Seattle Baseball.
MY OH MY….Fly Fly Away and of course I love rye bread for a grand slam homerun.

Continue reading Dave Niehaus Memorial 4 Generations

I learned how to be thrifty back in 1989 way before Ebay.  This was one of the lessons that I learned accepting gratitude from the universe gracefully.  It was not easy because let’s just say between my husband and I we made $60,000 and that was good money.  We had just bought a house in ’86 and two new cars and when he was diagnosed with cancer it was tough making ends meet with just my income.  So when the knock at the door followed by someone running after they had left us a care package I was at first mad then I smiled as I watched them drive away.  I opened up the package and in it was all kinds of baked goods as well as clothes and cash of $100.  This care package could not have come at a better time.  It was almost Christmas time and we now had enough money to buy presents for everyone.  I knew who had left the package and pretty much kept that to myself.  It was a women from our church who had nine children of her own and whenever I would see her I would say hi with a smile.  This was a lesson that has been passed down now from me to my children.  There is nothing wrong with receiving used items as Jeremiah my youngest son claims it’s new to you.  That’s the spirit. 
As I write this I can’t help but remember a particular Christmas of 2005 when I bought my mom all used designer clothes with tags (from Lamonts, The Bon, Frederick & Nelsons & the like) from varies thrift stores and gave it to her in this huge bag that I had decorated up .  I paid $20.00.   As my mom pulled out this huge bag full of clothes, I could not help watch  my Aunt Betty whoo and ahhh over all her neat stuff.  Mom pulled it out and then passed it to my Aunt Betty who passed it to my Aunt Eileen.   The kicker is my aunt had no idea they came from Goodwill.  My mom knew and she was amazed at all the good quality stuff I had picked out for her.  I gave my dad a burned copy of Enya for Christmas which he listened to at full volume it was a few months after that he passed away.  Now the reason why I’m writing this is because Ebay is full of treasures to be found.  It’s like a box of chocolates — you just never know what you’re going to get.  Why buy cheap junk from Walmart — it looks cheap.  You’re kids wear it once and it falls apart.  Why not swallow your pride and buy from buyers who put their wares on Ebay.  You can buy good quality clothes for fractions of the cost retail.  Let the sellers do all the leg work.  They go out to the thrift shops, discount shops, liquidator shops as well as wholesaler shopes and put it online where anyone can buy them.  You don’t have to go to the thrift shops and dig through the stuff if you don’t want to.  Consider Ebay as a way of life — look at it this way you’re getting good quality clothes and items for an affordable price and you’re helping a mom and pop out by buying goods from merchants who live her in the United States.  So as you’re gearing up for the holiday rush — think about savings and buying off of ebay and having that package delivered right to your door!  You don’t even have to go shopping if you don’t want to.  It’s all about the E.

Continue reading Why Shop on Ebay?

When I heard about the baseball coach Lou Piniella retiring from baseball, it brought tears to my eyes.  If I may quote from Romeo and Juliet “…parting is such sweet sorrow,” and the mention of Lou brought back wonderful memories of how he was able to transform the Seattle Mariners from a losing team to one that became a legend to recon with.  I mean Lou just had the Midas touch. Everything he touched turned to gold.  They were not gold to start out with by no means.  Take for instance bad news Johnson.  When Randy started out he could throw strikeouts but he could also hit a player or throw a wild pitch and no one would know where the ball would end up.  He basically had no control over the ball.  I remember taking my oldest son Jame who was probably 10 years old to a baseball game and we would be tainting bad news Johnson because he had thrown a wild pitch and low and behold someone didn’t get an extra base or a home run off of that error.  So Randy needed work and Lou knew what to do to help Randy get a better grip on his pitching.  It’s like once Lou came on board that launched Randy’s career to a Cy Young award.  Then there was Ken Griffey, Jr. and Alex Rodriquez and let’s not forget Mr. Double and countless others.  After all Lou had faith in his players and they knew it.  He was tough on them I’m sure but that is what makes great players.  Seattle was proud of their Mariners.  Everywhere I went the Mariners were on the radio.  My mom brought out her broom every time the Mariners played because she felt this would bring them luck to sweep the series.  It worked!  I can hear Dave Niehaus right now proclaiming “get out the rye bread and mustard grandma cause it’s Grand Salami time!”  Sure enough my mom would have the rye bread and salami out.  My mom was so into the Mariners that no one dare ring her doorbell during the Mariners game because she simply would not answer it.  I too would listen to the Mariners intently and I remember one time I was out shopping at the mall and there were a bunch of people standing around the TV and I stopped to see who was playing and it was the Mariners and they had just ejected Lou from the game and I smiled and said not again!  Laughed.  What would we do without Lou Piniella challenging a bad call — you can’t blame him for trying.  My mom always felt the radio announcers and the umpires had it in for the Mariners.  She says they would always put the Mariners down no matter if the Mariners were winning or not and I seemed to agree with her.  There were a lot of bad calls made against the Mariners but I guess that’s baseball.  I remember going down to get tickets for the Mariners and they were all sold out for that game and my 11 year old had this long sad look on his face so I bought scalped tickets (my one and only time).  As I bought the tickets I realized it was for a different date and this was after I paid for them.  Luckily they did not notice because they let us in and they turned out to be get this right behind home plate.  We could see everything and that was the best seats we had ever gotten.  We wouldn’t dare leave in the middle of a Mariners game even if the Mariners were behind because that was their strategy.  They liked to come from behind to win.  Now that was baseball.  Good to the last drop!  As the Mariners made it to the All Star Games one right after the other and even tied the most games won, it was not until Lou left that it took a piece of the Mariners soul with them.  The Mariners really were never the same once Lou left.  Sure the players could come and go but it was Lou who brought the players together as a team.  I have felt this loss as well as my mom and probably all of Seattle and it will be a loss for all of baseball to lose such a find hero as Lou Piniella.  Baseball in my eyes will never be the same.  He was a true hero.  He was true to his team; true to his fans and true to baseball in and of itself.  Baseball was Lou’s life and he gave his love of the game with each game he coached and each game he played.  I hope Lou’s leaving is just temporary.  He is needed at home to be with his ailing mother.  I hope once his priorities are taken care of he’ll come back to baseball in one form or another.  For me writing this blog has brought some closure as I am sure those of you reading this will find some closure as well.  For my mom and family we talk about the good old days of the Mariners when they were All Stars and who brought these have beens to baseball stars Lou Piniella the coach with an attitude!  So to Lou Piniella Goodnight and Good Luck!  My hat goes off to you my sweet prince!  Parting is such sweet sorrow!

Continue reading Lou Piniella “parting is such sweet sorrow”