Dedicated to Lucy Bowling

And

Tina Huston

Another boring afternoon (or so I thought)

Every weekend Dad, Mom and I would go and visit a relative at a Nursing Home. Mom would stay the whole afternoon. I always wished that I had somebody to sit with me, so I would not have to spend the whole afternoon in the Nursing Home, waiting on Mom. I would roam around through the halls or sit in the Lobby. If it was nice out, dad and I would take a small walk outside.

Dad and I would go to the Nursing Home in the evening to check on the relative, I would sit in the lobby and talk to a woman, named Marylyn, who answered the phone, and watch certain residents that were not allowed to go outside. I enjoyed talking to her. Dad did not stay very long, and then we would go somewhere to get something to drink and snack on.

It was the last of Feburary of 1998 and it was on a weekend. I liked the one woman that worked the weekend, she was nice and kind, and we did talk a lot. It helped pass the time away, while waiting on Mom. Another woman worked the next weekend, she did not talk and really was not suited for the job, (I did not think.) So I thought to myself as were getting out of the van and were ready to go inside, "well, another boring afternoon". But when we walked into the lobby, sitting behind the desk was a nice pleasant woman with a very warm smile on her face. There were no words spoken between this very pleasant woman and me, but I knew right then we would become friends. I could feel that there was something very special about this woman. I asked Dad, I wonder what happened to the other woman? I wondered if this new woman would stay on?" Of course we both did not know. But I could not get this woman out of my mind or did I want to. By looking at her name badge I saw  her name was Lucy Bowling.

The following weekend the MaryLyn that worked during the weeks at nights was breaking a new girl in, I asked Marylyn, "are you leaving"? She told me "no", that she was just helping the new girl, her name was Tina Huston.

One weekend I was talking to a friend that I had met at the nursing home in the lobby. We were laughing and as usual my friend was acting crazy. After my friend left the lobby, I turned my chair around and said to Lucy. "she’s crazy." Lucy said, "your right". And that is how Lucy and I started talking and how our friendship grew into something very special. It did not take Lucy very long to understand me. And as time went on we started sharing special things with one another. She told me about her sister when at a very early age of her life came down with a very high fever, and when her sister woke up a few days later was brain damaged by the high fever. Lucy said, "my sister will cry when people make fun of her or stare at her. I said, "Oh yes, I know that story well." When Lucy told me about her sister, there was another feeling that came over me, and I really felt very at peace with her. I took my story about how it felt to be disabled to Lucy. And Lucy said that I help her understand better about people and how her sister felt. Lucy always told her sister, "they, have the handicapp NOT YOU." Tina worked the next weekend. Mom said to me, "why don’t you go and talk, to that new girl, she wants people to talk to her, she wants to get to know people around here." I thought to myself, "yeah right, she is going to understand every word that I say". But some how Tina and I started talking, and we really did hit it off. Tina and I have one thing in common, we both love to tease and scare people. Especially the "EASY ONES". I came to find out that Tina and Lucy worked at the same place during the week. And it’s so easy to scare Lucy. I think that Lucy would be afraid and jump at her own shadow. Tina has little bugs that really come in handy. All Tina has to do is put a bug on Lucy’s desk, or on her pop can or any place, and when Lucy sees it, she jumps and yells. I told Tina to go out and buy a rubber snake. I can still see in my mind, the joy that she would have going out and buying a snake and taking it to work with her. Tina said, that Lucy had a little tree by her desk. So she waited until Lucy left her desk, then Tina put the snake around the tree, and when Lucy saw it, she screamed and jumped. I helped plan these little tricks, but I only wish that I was there to see the ACTION!

I made Tina an "AWARD" , for a job very well done of scaring Lucy, Tina took it to work and showed Lucy. That weekend when I walked through the door, Lucy had a smile on her face, and setting beside her on the desk was the REWARD in a frame setting on the desk. I knew that it looked different, but I could not figure out why. I said to her, "what did you do?" Lucy said, Tina showed me what you made her, so I took it and blew it up then erased her name, and typed my name in it." I just sat there and shook my head and laughed, for I could not believe what she had done.

Lucy told me that some people at work were waiting on her to go to lunch with them and she was a little late, and they said, "Where is that Good For Nothing Thing?" Well, some how that name does fits Lucy, so I just called her "Good For Nothing Thing", and she calls me that name also. Good For Nothing can get her own self into trouble. One day she said, "I hate Tina's bugs….. no I love Tina’s bugs". So the next weekend I told Tina what Good For Nothing said, and I know that Tina was in her GLORY all week, getting Lucy with her bugs. One afternoon a woman walked into the nursing home, I was setting by the desk. The woman ask Lucy where a room number was of somebody. Well, Lucy looked and looked on the name sheet I finally said to Lucy, "don’t you know how to read"? The woman looked at me like I was crazy. Lucy did finally find the name of the person and the room number. After the woman left I said to Lucy, "I had to say that". Lucy said, "no, you didn’t, she looked at you like you were crazy". Then we both just cracked up laughing. I told Tina what Lucy did the following weekend. Tina said, I will get my girls to make up something on the computer at home, then I will take it into work and put it on her desk. The sign said, "READING IS FUN, TRY IT SOME TIME". Lucy brought the sign in with her the following weekend. There was a Mickey Mouse picture on it to.

In July of 1998 there was an opening at another Nursing Home closer to home to us. So we moved our relative to this other Nursing Home. But I told Dad that I would have to go back and visit MaryLyn, Lucy and Tina, and my other friend that I had made that lives at the Nursing Home. When Lucy heard that we had moved our relative closer to home, she thought that she would never see her again. Lucy still did not realize that I had became very close to her and loved her. Well, when I went and visited Lucy, a big smile came over her face, and then she told me that she was very sad when she heard the news and she thought that she would never see me again. MaryLyn left the Nursing Home, nobody knows where she went to work. I go and visit Tina, she is my "Partner in Crime. I call every weekend at the Nursing Home to talk to Lucy one week, and Tina the next week.

It was my birthday in 1998, and we were eating supper when the doorbell rang, and Mom went to answer it. She thought that it was a pizza for the people next door. The man told her no that it had my name on it. I said, "what the heck is going on"? I thought that maybe it was something from my sister Lisa, but to my great surprise the card was from Lucy and Tina. It was a chocolate pizza. I just fell back in my chair and shook my head, I was very touched to think that these 2 people thought enough of me, to do something so kind. I called Tina the next day at the Nursing Home and told her what a surprise and how happy I was to see the chocolate pizza. Mom told her that it did not get here until 6 P.M. Tina said, we order that early in the morning. That is one birthday that I will always charish.

I did not know that Lucy could play a trick on someone so very well, until one day I called her at the Nursing Home. Lucy said, I think Tina is mad". I said, "why Lucy"? Lucy said, "I don’t know why, but I just would not talk to her". Then Lucy had to put me on hold to answer another phone call. My mind was going wild, I could not think of anything that I had done to make Tina mad at me. When Lucy came back on the line I asked her, "Ok Lucy, what is going on?’’ Lucy cracked up laughing, it was a joke. I said, "you GOOD FOR NOTHING THING"! Then oh how the pleading and the begging started not to tell Tina. I just said "NO, NO NO"! I wrote Tina a letter and mailed it to her home, for I know that "GOOD FOR NOTHING" would not tell Tina what she had done. When Tina took the letter with her to work she said, "when were you going to tell me about this"? Lucy said, "Oh I was going to tell you". I.went to see Tina that weekend, and we talked about how Lucy played that joke on me. I told Tina that Lucy sounded so serious that even she would of fell for it. So I told Tina, that I did not care what kind of tricks she did to Lucy, just do it all week. Tina planned every day to do something to Lucy, and I was in MY GLORY! Lucy should know by now, that she is NO MATCH, for Tina and me. Tina, you sure have taught me well with your tricks. But we do think a like when it comes to scaring that "Good For Nothing"!

As time went by I grow closer to Lucy, I felt like I could just be myself and could confide myself in her. Lucy always "thanked" me (and still does) for leting me be her friend and letting her come into her life. But I have told Lucy over and over, that I was the one "thanking" her for being my friend and letting me be a part of her life. "I am the lucky one Lucy".

In 1999 of last year, I went over to the nursing home to see Lucy. Someone asked Lucy if I lived there. Lucy said no, that I was just there to visit. She told this person that we met and got to be friends, and we liked each other. I said, "love NOT like". I wanted to tell Lucy so much that I loved her, but the nursing home was not the place for that. Lucy finally got E-mail at her job. I did not think that it was fair to keep on with this "so called game". So I wrote Lucy an E-mail and told her how I felt, and she wrote back telling me that she loved me dearly. I feel like we have known each other all of our lives, and Lucy feels the same way. I feel free that I can confide in Lucy about anything and know she will understand. Lucy told me that we have a "special bond" between us, and we have.

Lucy will be retiring from her job soon, although Tina and I both tried everything to talk Lucy to stay on just one more year. Lucy, I think Tina will agree when I say, "you are the life of the party. Tina and I really enjoys thinking up stuff just to scare Lucy. That is our "highlight" of the day. Tina E-mails me and tells me what kind of trick that she pulls on Lucy just to scare her, and I crack up laughing, and E-mail Tina and tell her what a "OUTSTANDING JOB", she has done.

Tina will really miss Lucy a lot. I will miss Lucy’s E-mail letters, and all the neat stuff that she E-mails me from her friends.

I want to take this time to "thank" Lucy and Tina both for being my friends.

Written By:.

Susan Milburn

March 22, 2000