The Hey You Lady

Why do we spend so much of our time working? I've asked myself that question so many times I've lost count.  The most common answer that comes up is "to pay the bills."  But when I look back to when I had my first "job" I didn't have any bills to pay.  I don't think I even knew anybody named Bill.  So, my initial reason for working was for a different reason. For as long as I can remember my dad has been self-employed.  During my early childhood and grade school years, Dad drove a catering truck in downtown Los Angeles.  It wasn't the big roach coaches that people cook the breakfast sandwiches and cheese burgers and burritos on.  His was more like the mini convenience store on wheels.  Sometimes when I'd have a day off from school I'd go to work with him.  My job was to stand next to his TV-tray table and collect payments from the office workers and warehouse guys for their coffee, donuts, sodas, sandwiches and snacks.  My "salar...

This is the very first picture of me, taken on the day of my birth, October 5 (you figure out the year).  A lot of preparation went forth into my arrival by my parents, without whom the occasion would have never occurred.  They chose a name that had a special meaning - Mary Helen, the same name my mother gave her dolls when she was young.  The name is also after my two grandmothers.  My parents also took special care to prepare a place for me.  Not just a place that would provide safety and shelter.  They prepared a place for me where I could grow surrounded by love, knowing I was the most precious little girl in the whole wide world.  I was joining a family of not only my parents and my big brother, but also grandparents, lots of aunts and uncles, and a handful of cousins.  Everyone in my extended family was joy-filled when they learned of my arrival.  My great-grandparents even made a special trip from the mid-west to see me.  My mom ...

In honor of St. Patrick's Day ...