In celebration of Scribbles 36th Anniversary, each day this year* we're featuring a different one-of-a-kind friend. Here's a look at some you may have missed....
*"Each day" does not include holidays or some weekends.
Our Most Recent One-of-a-Kind Friend...
MAR. 10-11, | 15
Amy Ballett wears a lot of hat's....
She's an established local artisan, a teacher, a mother, a daughter, a
proponent for the underdog, the list is quite long and impressive. I met Amy in
my high school days and our mutual love of art gave us a platform off which to
build a friendship, one that continues today thanks to social media like
facebook and her much deserved spot as today’s One-of-a-Kind Scribbles friend.
MAR 9 |15
With this being our first NEW One-of-a-Kind Friends in a few weeks, we’re giving you twice the fun. I met Laura back when I worked at Gusto’s [oh, Gusto’s, you were so special] Laura was a customer at the bar and also performed in many of the live productions “The Bar With Heart” presented to enthusiastic crowds. Fast forward to about a decade ago where I found myself sharing a campsite at Cedar’s with Laura and her wife Cathy and our mutual friend Lenny. What happens at Cedar’s, STAYS at Cedar’s, so the laughs we shared that weekend will remain between us. Through good times and scarier ones, Laura and Cathy are a loving force to be reckoned with and two special people I am so glad to call my friends.
FEB. 19 |15
[ENCORE] With her wild sense of humour and tell-it-like-it-is attitude, it's hard not to laugh and smile when Sandra Burger-Vedder is around. Hotter than a pepper sprout, Sandra is another friend I met when I was with Rob. Sandra is his cousin and a karaoke queen (especially Johnny and June Carter-Cash songs.) Don't ever change Sandra, you're amazing just the way you are!
FEB 18 |15
FEB 18 |15
[ENCORE] I met Travis Connors when I was seeing Rob, Trav is Rob’s cousin and a real great guy. When I first moved to Welland, Travis was a huge help, carrying in big items on a hot summer day. When my car needed a new battery or a bulb changed, Travis took care of it. He’s just that kind of guy, and that’s why he’s today’s encore one-of-a-kind Scribbles friend.
FEB. 15 & 16 | 15
FEB 13 & 14 | 15
[ENCORE] We met Nancy Erskine [above] through mutual friends associated with DCT (Dunnville Community Theatre.) There is just something about Nancy that I was immediately drawn to. Maybe it’s her love of theatre? Perhaps it’s her zany sense of humour? Could it be her kindness? Sincerity? Generosity? Zest for life? Who knows for sure? Nancy is indeed an original and definitely a one-of-a-kind Scribbles friend! ...I love ya Nancy xoxo
FEB. 12 | 15
She was Sally White when I first met her back in the 80’s, when we both worked at Howard Johnson’s Restaurant. Yes ANOTHER former HoJo employee who has remained friends ever since. Sally was part of a group of HoJo gals that often hung out together. Let’s see, there was Sally and Kelly and Annie and me of course....LOL! These days Sally is Mrs Tim Vince as well as a proud mother and as her facebook pix reveal, seems to have tapped in to the fountain of youth!
FEB 11 | 15
Kerri Thomson-Fortier and I hit it off immediately after meeting at Troll Book Clubs. I was supervisor for the Troll at Home department and Kerri was my right hand woman. It was often quite a challenge not to tell some irate person who was screaming at you through the phone, to go F themselves and it was great to be able to “shake it off” with Kerri, who I also hung out with outside of work. Kerri has helped me out when times were tough and although we don’t see each other as often these days, we do keep in touch on facebook. Kerri you look great .... like a fine wine, you just keep getting better as time passes and I’m so glad to be your friend.
FEB. 9 |15
In case you missed it when we first featured Lorenzo, here's an encore....I met Lorenzo Cromwell thru our friends Mikol & his hubby Dave (and I met Mikol at the New Vouz where we both bartended) Lorenzo lives in Port Colborne and is into photography, art and spirituality. Lorenzo shares his home with cats, Miss Lily (seen above) and Mr Pepper
FEB. 7-8 |15
I’m trying to remember if I met Kevin Spiece at one of Niagara’s old LGBT club’s first or if it was at mutual friend Dale Bett’s house, where Kevin was a roommate for many years. Kevin was very “heavenly” back then and was always helping out with events and fundraisers. Kevin’s name might sound familiar to you and it should. He wrote a couple articles that were featured in Scribbles last year (and by pointing out that it was LAST year, I’m hoping it entices our friend to write more posts for us.) When I think of Kevin, one-of-a-kind certainly fits the bill and that’s why he is THIS WEEKEND’S one-of-a-kind friend.
FEB. 6 |15
[ENCORE] With her wild sense of humour and tell-it-like-it-is attitude, it's hard not to laugh and smile when Sandra Burger-Vedder is around. Hotter than a pepper sprout, Sandra is another friend I met when I was with Rob. Sandra is his cousin and a karaoke queen (especially Johnny and June Carter-Cash songs.) Don't ever change Sandra, you're amazing just the way you are!
FEB. 5 | 15
Angela O'Neill-Whiteley is one of our Atlantic Canada pals who has great talent and strength. Angie operates a spa called Beautiful You and when she’s not pampering patrons, she is also an artist, whose canvas is the human form. Angela is a body painter and her work has made her very popular (especially around Halloween.) As for her strength, she lives in Nova Scotia. Why does that mean she’s strong? Have you seen the weather reports from that neck of the woods? Snow, snow and more snow. Anyone who can survive all that white stuff and still have a smile on their face, deserves an award. Angie shares her home with her husband and two kids and is an avid Scribbles fan. And by the way, Angie's husband Glyn operates Fundy (web) Hosting and is who found us our Scribbles.co domain name...so we are forever indebted to him.
FEB. 4 |15
FEB. 3 | 14
FEB 2 | 14
Being short, geeky and “delicate” during my awkward teen years, going to high school was a painful experience. I was often locked in my locker and called names and sometimes it was pretty rough to keep going back. Fortunately a select group of friends did emerge from the masses and topping them was Leeanne Chamberlain. Leeanne had a special place in her heart for me and we would go to house parties and hang out together. Finally I had a fun reason to go back to school the next day. These days Leeanne works at the new hospital in St. Catharines, and I think of her as one of the hard-working CARING caregiver who deserve far more respect and appreciation than they often get.
FEB. 1 |14
I believe I was about 10 years old when I first met Kirby Campbell. My family moved to a house next door to where Kirby’s family lived and I was friends with all the Campbell kids.
In our carefree crazy teen years, “Kirby Kool” and I hung out a lot with fellow neighbours, Shawn Hogan and his brother Lance and Rob Gaudet. I remember some pretty wild parties (or at least portions of them.)
I
will forever remember Kirby anytime I look at the Kilroy “tattoo” on my
left arm, Kirby an [seen below] d the boys put it there upon my drunken
request, using Indian ink and a sewing needle [do not try this at home
kids!]
These days Kirby enjoys married life, his kids and the dogs and it’s our pleasure to feature him as today’s one-of-a-kind friend.
MORE ONE-OF-A-KIND FRIENDS [ALPHABETICALLY]
If I had never worked at Talk Wireless there are a lot of wonderful Scribbles friends I would not have had the pleasure of getting to know. Ginger Blythin sits right at the top of that list. She actually trained me, as she was pregnant with her and hubby Neil's first child William at the time and they needed someone to take her place. Oh what a blast it was working with Ginger, I even made her a "Reserved for Pregnant Staff Only" chair (Ok, I didn't actually make the chair, but I did create a pretty cool sign for the chair.) Gingee defines one-of-a-kind.
Merry
Christine became a part of Scribbles when I was dating her son and we’ve
remained like family ever since. Merry
lives in Welland and if you were wondering why her name isn’t spelled M-A-R-Y,
it’s because she was born on Christmas day!
So they named her Merry (I wonder if it had of been a boy, would his
name have been “Christmas?”)
RETURN TO OUR HOME PAGE - CLICK HERE
ENCORE! Scribbles Spotlights
PAM HOPKINS
Scribbles is pleased to relaunch READERS SPOTLIGHT, the feature which salutes a different Scribbles pal each week.
We kick off our SPOTLIGHT with our St. Catharines friend Pam Hopkins. Pam first discovered Scribbles when I worked with her at Talk Wireless Inc. That would also have been the time I discovered what a great person Pam is.
My nickname for her is Sammie (as in Samantha from Bewitched) , our mutual pal and colleague Diane Murray is Endora and I am Uncle Arthur (a little typecast I’ll admit, but I’m good with it.)
It has been over a year since I last saw Pam in person, although we have kept in touch via emails and the place we all love to hate, facebook. And what a year it has been for both of us. Not that I’m making a checklist here, but I’d have to say Pammie has had some major life changing events that hit with such rapid secession it would make many want to throw in the towel.
But not our pal Pam. She has grown stronger and seemingly more appreciative of what happens this very moment, thanks to a strong will, determination and the support of family and friends.
A shining example to us all, we couldn’t think of a more deserving friend to kick off our Readers Spotlight. Unkie loves you Sammie.....and he always will.
CHRISTINE MANTEJ & LAURA DEGRAAF
I've known this happy couple since they were just little kids, in fact in Drew's (Andrew) case, I've known him all his life.
Drew is one of the sons of my lifelong friends Doug and Heather MacNeil and I've watched him grow from infant to a man (which is amazing because I'm pretty certain I still look exactly the same way I did when he made his debut)
Aside from being nice, Drew is also generous. You may recall seeing pix of him a few years ago when he had grown his hair quite long and had it chopped off for charity. That's something we still admire him for.
When Melisa Sider was just a kid, she was my neighbour at the apartment I lived in on Roehampton Ave in St Catharines. Back then I lived on the ground floor and Melisa would come over and play with my dog Poppy and cat Emerson. We used to play on my patio and draw pictures. Then she moved away and that, I figured was the last I would see of her.
Wrong! I'm not sure where they met, but somehow Drew and Melisa connected a few years ago and now reside in a home in St Catharines.
I can still remember the day I was visiting Doug and Heather, Drew still lived at the MacNeil homestead and was inside playing video games with Melisa. When I went in the house, Drew said he wanted to introduce me to someone. "She says she was your neighbour" he told me.
"My neighbour?" I thought, hell that could be anyone, it was a big apartment building.
I literally jumped up and down when I discovered it was my old playmate Melisa. Talk about your small world.
In early June, Drew and Melisa opened their door to me at a time I was in pretty rough shape (that's putting it mildly, I was a self-induced fucking mess) Without skipping a beat, they offered me a non-alcoholic beverage, a sympathetic ear and got big pappa Doug on the phone to calm me down and offer me a place to crash.
They even retrieved a ring I had somehow lost outside their door and anyone who knows me well, knows I don't like losing jewelry.
So this spotlight is all yours Melisa and Drew. Thanks for being there for me and showing me that sometimes kids can teach us so-called grown-ups, a lesson or two.
ROB DENNIS
While it's true the relationship shared by Rob (Proulx) Dennis is not what it once was, I am grateful that we have salvaged a good friendship.
Like all of us, Rob's not perfect, but for the most part, his heart is in the right place and he would give a stranger the shirt off his back.
There will always be a special place for Rob in my heart and in Scribbles.
FEB. 19 |15
[ENCORE] With her wild sense of humour and tell-it-like-it-is attitude, it's hard not to laugh and smile when Sandra Burger-Vedder is around. Hotter than a pepper sprout, Sandra is another friend I met when I was with Rob. Sandra is his cousin and a karaoke queen (especially Johnny and June Carter-Cash songs.) Don't ever change Sandra, you're amazing just the way you are!
Today's one-of-a-kind friend didn’t
start out as that. In fact, when I first met Darin back in our high school
days, I was afraid of him. He always had this “tough guy” persona and he would
hang out around a corner store which was on my route home. Anytime I would see
Darin standing at that corner, I would cross over to the other side of the
street. I was always kinda afraid that
this big guy could some day beat me up cuz I’m gay. Fast forward many years. A
new gay bar has opened in St. Catharines called Club Rendevouz and it is
co-owned by Rick Krieger and Darin Gayman.
Yes Ken, the same Darin that you thought was going to beat you up now
runs a gay bar. I loved getting to know the real Darin during his time at Club
Rendevouz. Many a time, when maybe we had
a few drinks in us, Darin would joke
about me crossing the sidewalk, it was funny then and it still is today. Darin & Rick handed the reigns over to
Chris Snow who renamed the old firetrap The New Vouz. Today Darin Sherk and his husband Jerry are
enjoying life in beautiful British Columbia and his recent facebook friend
request brought a delighted big smile to my face. You are a great guy Darin and definitely
one-of-a-kind.
FEB 18 |15
[ENCORE] I met Travis Connors when I was seeing Rob, Trav is Rob’s cousin and a real great guy. When I first moved to Welland, Travis was a huge help, carrying in big items on a hot summer day. When my car needed a new battery or a bulb changed, Travis took care of it. He’s just that kind of guy, and that’s why he’s today’s encore one-of-a-kind Scribbles friend.
I can’t really say that Michelle Cruise
and I are lifelong buddies who I have experienced wild adventures with, in
fact, Michelle and I only met briefly in person when she worked at a local
radio station. The station was part of a National fundraising event and the
company I worked for participated by answering the phones for incoming donation
calls. I got to hang out in the “green room” with the DJ’s and announcers and
the brightest of them all was Michelle Cruise.
Thanks to facebook, I get to follow the adventures of DJ Michelle from
the Nation’s capitol, as Ottawa is her home now. Michelle there’s always been something about
you that brings a smile to my face and that’s why you are today’s One-of-a-Kind
Scribbles Friend.
[ENCORE] We met Nancy Erskine [above] through mutual friends associated with DCT (Dunnville Community Theatre.) There is just something about Nancy that I was immediately drawn to. Maybe it’s her love of theatre? Perhaps it’s her zany sense of humour? Could it be her kindness? Sincerity? Generosity? Zest for life? Who knows for sure? Nancy is indeed an original and definitely a one-of-a-kind Scribbles friend! ...I love ya Nancy xoxo
She was Sally White when I first met her back in the 80’s, when we both worked at Howard Johnson’s Restaurant. Yes ANOTHER former HoJo employee who has remained friends ever since. Sally was part of a group of HoJo gals that often hung out together. Let’s see, there was Sally and Kelly and Annie and me of course....LOL! These days Sally is Mrs Tim Vince as well as a proud mother and as her facebook pix reveal, seems to have tapped in to the fountain of youth!
Kerri Thomson-Fortier and I hit it off immediately after meeting at Troll Book Clubs. I was supervisor for the Troll at Home department and Kerri was my right hand woman. It was often quite a challenge not to tell some irate person who was screaming at you through the phone, to go F themselves and it was great to be able to “shake it off” with Kerri, who I also hung out with outside of work. Kerri has helped me out when times were tough and although we don’t see each other as often these days, we do keep in touch on facebook. Kerri you look great .... like a fine wine, you just keep getting better as time passes and I’m so glad to be your friend.
FEB. 9 |15
In case you missed it when we first featured Lorenzo, here's an encore....I met Lorenzo Cromwell thru our friends Mikol & his hubby Dave (and I met Mikol at the New Vouz where we both bartended) Lorenzo lives in Port Colborne and is into photography, art and spirituality. Lorenzo shares his home with cats, Miss Lily (seen above) and Mr Pepper
I’m trying to remember if I met Kevin Spiece at one of Niagara’s old LGBT club’s first or if it was at mutual friend Dale Bett’s house, where Kevin was a roommate for many years. Kevin was very “heavenly” back then and was always helping out with events and fundraisers. Kevin’s name might sound familiar to you and it should. He wrote a couple articles that were featured in Scribbles last year (and by pointing out that it was LAST year, I’m hoping it entices our friend to write more posts for us.) When I think of Kevin, one-of-a-kind certainly fits the bill and that’s why he is THIS WEEKEND’S one-of-a-kind friend.
FEB. 6 |15
[ENCORE] With her wild sense of humour and tell-it-like-it-is attitude, it's hard not to laugh and smile when Sandra Burger-Vedder is around. Hotter than a pepper sprout, Sandra is another friend I met when I was with Rob. Sandra is his cousin and a karaoke queen (especially Johnny and June Carter-Cash songs.) Don't ever change Sandra, you're amazing just the way you are!
Angela O'Neill-Whiteley is one of our Atlantic Canada pals who has great talent and strength. Angie operates a spa called Beautiful You and when she’s not pampering patrons, she is also an artist, whose canvas is the human form. Angela is a body painter and her work has made her very popular (especially around Halloween.) As for her strength, she lives in Nova Scotia. Why does that mean she’s strong? Have you seen the weather reports from that neck of the woods? Snow, snow and more snow. Anyone who can survive all that white stuff and still have a smile on their face, deserves an award. Angie shares her home with her husband and two kids and is an avid Scribbles fan. And by the way, Angie's husband Glyn operates Fundy (web) Hosting and is who found us our Scribbles.co domain name...so we are forever indebted to him.
Merry
Christine became a part of Scribbles when I was dating her son and we’ve
remained like family ever since. Merry
lives in Welland and if you were wondering why her name isn’t spelled M-A-R-Y,
it’s because she was born on Christmas day!
So they named her Merry (I wonder if it had of been a boy, would his
name have been “Christmas?”)
It’s been many years since I have seen
our friends David & Jim Bailey-Triemstra, but thanks to facebook, we still
get to keep up to date. David –a renown designer and Jim –a horticulturist,
live in Brantford with their dogs in a grand mansion, which doubles as a
workplace. David and Jim are a
one-of-a-kind couple, who have been together for a long time, yet never
age...we admire that quality in our friends....LOL!
Being short, geeky and “delicate” during my awkward teen years, going to high school was a painful experience. I was often locked in my locker and called names and sometimes it was pretty rough to keep going back. Fortunately a select group of friends did emerge from the masses and topping them was Leeanne Chamberlain. Leeanne had a special place in her heart for me and we would go to house parties and hang out together. Finally I had a fun reason to go back to school the next day. These days Leeanne works at the new hospital in St. Catharines, and I think of her as one of the hard-working CARING caregiver who deserve far more respect and appreciation than they often get.
I believe I was about 10 years old when I first met Kirby Campbell. My family moved to a house next door to where Kirby’s family lived and I was friends with all the Campbell kids.
In our carefree crazy teen years, “Kirby Kool” and I hung out a lot with fellow neighbours, Shawn Hogan and his brother Lance and Rob Gaudet. I remember some pretty wild parties (or at least portions of them.)
I
will forever remember Kirby anytime I look at the Kilroy “tattoo” on my
left arm, Kirby an [seen below] d the boys put it there upon my drunken
request, using Indian ink and a sewing needle [do not try this at home
kids!] These days Kirby enjoys married life, his kids and the dogs and it’s our pleasure to feature him as today’s one-of-a-kind friend.
MORE ONE-OF-A-KIND FRIENDS [ALPHABETICALLY]
Bobby
Rock (B.R.) first came to Scribbles attention when he worked at the same
cellular dealer as Ken. Check events section for info on B.R. & Shane's
website and radio show.
Christine
Mantej & I shared some special moments when we both worked at TWI. Eben
when we switched locations and didn’t see each other as much, we were still
close and that meant a lot to me. To
many at TWI, my nickname was “Princess” (something I not only embraced, but
often insisted upon being called. LOL! ) My nick for Christine was “Angel” and
it forever will be.
When I was dating Rob, I met a lot of
his relatives, one of them was his cousin Gloria
Putman. If Gloria’s face looks
familiar perhaps it’s because she is Bylynnda Turvey’s mother, and we’ve
featured videos and stories of Bylynnda’s battle with Lyme Disease in Scribbles
often. Gloria always makes me smile and
that’s why she’s today’s one-of-a-kind friend.
Our friendship with Joanne Kildow (above) is a unique one. I met Joanne when I
worked at the Canadian division of Troll Book Clubs and Jojo worked at their
U.S. office. We spoke regularly thru work and have continued to confide in each
other ever since. We are “SS” to each
other –and only Joanne and I know what those S’s stand for.
I met Lorenzo Cromwell thru our
friends Mikol & his hubby Dave (and I met Mikol at the New Vouz where we
both bartended) Lorenzo lives in Port
Colborne and is into photography, art and spirituality. Lorenzo shares his home
with cats, Miss Lily (seen above) and Mr Pepper.
We met Nancy Erskine [above] through mutual friends associated with DCT
(Dunnville Community Theatre.) There is just something about Nancy that I was
immediately drawn to. Maybe it’s her love of theatre? Perhaps it’s her zany
sense of humour? Could it be her kindness?
Sincerity? Generosity? Zest for life?
Who knows for sure? Nancy is
indeed an original and definitely a one-of-a-kind Scribbles friend! ...I love ya Nancy xoxo
Rich Hunt is a name you see on Scribbles
a lot and with good reason. Our pal Rich
has an amazing outlook on life and often shares his philosophy’s with his
facebook pals and –with permission, Scribbles readers in a feature we cleverly
call “enrichments”. Rich is also a
singer, songwriter and is into photography and the great outdoors (a winning
combination) I met Rich when I worked at
TWI in St Catharines. When I worked out of their last satellite location in
Niagara Falls, Rich worked from there as well.
We were often the only two there
all day, meaning my serving of Rich’s words of wisdom were fresh brewed , often specific to my particular mood of the
day. Rich Hunt – the definition of a
one-of-a-kind friend.
With her wild sense of humour and
tell-it-like-it-is attitude, it's hard not to laugh and smile when Sandra Burger-Vedder is around. Hotter
than a pepper sprout, Sandra is another friend I met when I was with Rob.
Sandra is his cousin and a karaoke queen (especially Johnny and June
Carter-Cash songs.) Don't ever change Sandra, you're amazing just the way you
are!
Shannon Convery -or "Shanny" as we all call her is
related to my pal Becky Lee and were two of the many friends I made while
working at Troll Book Clubs
I met Travis Connors when I was seeing
Rob, Trav is Rob’s cousin and a real great guy. When I first moved to Welland,
Travis was a huge help, carrying in big items on a hot summer day. When my car needed a new battery or a bulb
changed, Travis took care of it. He’s just that kind of guy, and that’s why
he’s today’s one-of-a-kind Scribbles friend.
RETURN TO OUR HOME PAGE - CLICK HERE
ENCORE! Scribbles Spotlights
Scribbles is pleased to relaunch READERS SPOTLIGHT, the feature which salutes a different Scribbles pal each week.
We kick off our SPOTLIGHT with our St. Catharines friend Pam Hopkins. Pam first discovered Scribbles when I worked with her at Talk Wireless Inc. That would also have been the time I discovered what a great person Pam is.
My nickname for her is Sammie (as in Samantha from Bewitched) , our mutual pal and colleague Diane Murray is Endora and I am Uncle Arthur (a little typecast I’ll admit, but I’m good with it.)
It has been over a year since I last saw Pam in person, although we have kept in touch via emails and the place we all love to hate, facebook. And what a year it has been for both of us. Not that I’m making a checklist here, but I’d have to say Pammie has had some major life changing events that hit with such rapid secession it would make many want to throw in the towel.
But not our pal Pam. She has grown stronger and seemingly more appreciative of what happens this very moment, thanks to a strong will, determination and the support of family and friends.
A shining example to us all, we couldn’t think of a more deserving friend to kick off our Readers Spotlight. Unkie loves you Sammie.....and he always will.
CHRISTINE MANTEJ & LAURA DEGRAAF
Today’s Readers Spotlight is a double delight. It’s been a while since I last saw Laura DeGraaf and Christine Mantej, but just like our last spotlight pal Pam, that doesn’t mean I don’t think of them often.
Laura
and Christine are the best of friends and do almost everything
together. One of those things included working at the same business
together until changes in management earlier this year, meant Laura’s
position was no longer available.
Not
being at work together daily hasn't stopped these BFF’s from seeing lots
of each other. From horseback riding to all night drive-in theatre
marathons accompanied by Laura’s fiancé Ryan, Laura and Christine are
inseparable.
I met these two terrific girls when we all worked together at a local telecommunications firm. I remember Laura training me and how sweet she was to have colour-coded instructions to help me learn the ropes (and had little name tags on all her pens and desk supplies...LOL)
I called Christine Angel and she called me Princess (well actually, quite a few people there called me Princess because I was fine with that)
Even
though I was several years older than both Laura and Christine, it
didn’t seem like it to us. I was just another ‘girlfriend’ to share
secrets and sing Taylor Swift songs with ...and that made me feel so
special.
Thanks for doing that Laura and Christine, you are tops in my books.... forever.
MELISA SIDER & DREW MACNEIL
Drew is one of the sons of my lifelong friends Doug and Heather MacNeil and I've watched him grow from infant to a man (which is amazing because I'm pretty certain I still look exactly the same way I did when he made his debut)
Aside from being nice, Drew is also generous. You may recall seeing pix of him a few years ago when he had grown his hair quite long and had it chopped off for charity. That's something we still admire him for.
When Melisa Sider was just a kid, she was my neighbour at the apartment I lived in on Roehampton Ave in St Catharines. Back then I lived on the ground floor and Melisa would come over and play with my dog Poppy and cat Emerson. We used to play on my patio and draw pictures. Then she moved away and that, I figured was the last I would see of her.
Wrong! I'm not sure where they met, but somehow Drew and Melisa connected a few years ago and now reside in a home in St Catharines.
I can still remember the day I was visiting Doug and Heather, Drew still lived at the MacNeil homestead and was inside playing video games with Melisa. When I went in the house, Drew said he wanted to introduce me to someone. "She says she was your neighbour" he told me.
"My neighbour?" I thought, hell that could be anyone, it was a big apartment building.
I literally jumped up and down when I discovered it was my old playmate Melisa. Talk about your small world.
In early June, Drew and Melisa opened their door to me at a time I was in pretty rough shape (that's putting it mildly, I was a self-induced fucking mess) Without skipping a beat, they offered me a non-alcoholic beverage, a sympathetic ear and got big pappa Doug on the phone to calm me down and offer me a place to crash.
They even retrieved a ring I had somehow lost outside their door and anyone who knows me well, knows I don't like losing jewelry.
So this spotlight is all yours Melisa and Drew. Thanks for being there for me and showing me that sometimes kids can teach us so-called grown-ups, a lesson or two.
While it's true the relationship shared by Rob (Proulx) Dennis is not what it once was, I am grateful that we have salvaged a good friendship.
Like all of us, Rob's not perfect, but for the most part, his heart is in the right place and he would give a stranger the shirt off his back.
There will always be a special place for Rob in my heart and in Scribbles.