Dear Gram,

Although you have been gone for almost twelve years, I think about you every day. I really miss you.

I miss the way you closed your eyes and threw your head back when you laughed. I do that too.

I miss how you welcomed the chaos that was a house full of grandchildren. I miss the taste of your spaghetti sauce and the way you would roll out and cut your own noodles.

I marvel at how you cooked huge, Sunday suppers in that tiny kitchen, with no counter space, no air conditioning and no dishwasher. I can barely get a meal made for four.

I miss you yelling at me and my cousins to get out of the trees before we break our necks, to quit jumping around in a house with old wiring because we might start a fire and I miss you giving us a grocery list and sending us on our way. We took so long to get back from the store because we stopped to pick mulberries along the way. I suppose you always knew that when we came back with stained fingers.

I loved how you would say, “Everyone needs to be quiet because my story is coming on!” and within five minutes of As the World Turns starting you would be sound asleep. I miss you glaring at us in church when we had the giggles.

I miss you letting us go through your makeup drawer and use your little, Avon lipstick samples. I miss the smell of the roses in your back yard. I miss playing kickball and using your azalea bush as home plate.

I miss watching you take care of Kevin with strength and grace. I am still amazed at the way you would wrap your arms around his chest and “walk” him from room to room. It was the closest thing he had to doing it on his own.

I hate that I was pregnant with my daughter when you died. I wish she had known you. I can’t think of a better role-model, mentor, relative or human being than you. I am so proud to be your grand-daughter.

I know it was a gift to have you around as long as we did, but that doesn’t mean I will ever stop wishing that you were still here.

Love,

Diane

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On yesterday’s Oprah, ABC’s John Quiñones discussed What Would You Do?, which is his latest social experiment airing on Primetime…formerly known as Primetime Live. Also, formerly known as an interesting show. In this experiment, hidden cameras are used to see how people react when put into volatile situations.

In the first segment, we saw a group of female actors in a park. One of the girls was being bullied by the other three. The hidden camera was used to see if anyone would stop and help the victim.

The mean girls used labels like “nerd”, “loser”, and other niceties. Many women stopped and scolded the girls for their lousy behavior and made sure the victim was okay. Most men did nothing. Though in their defense, when women are talking, men don’t really listen. Unless that woman is Erin Andrews.

In the second experiment, an actor behind the counter of a bakery in Texas tells an actor dressed as a Muslim woman to take her business elsewhere. In this case, the cameras are there to see if anyone will criticize the “clerk” for his blatant discrimination.

Most customers ignore the situation, even when the clerk tells the woman to “get back on your camel and go back to where you came from”. Which is the point where I would have left the store, driven down the road to a cattle ranch, picked up a longhorn, then gone back to the bakery and kindly asked that bigot to bend over.

This lady with the sideways glance is Kiley. Kiley didn’t know there were hidden cameras watching her, as she watched her best friend’s boyfriend in a restaurant with another woman. You got that? Read it again. Here, let me help. Kiley’s best friend is Mary Ellen, and Mary Ellen’s boyfriend, David, was flirting with a woman who was not Mary Ellen. The other woman? You guessed it, she’s an actor.

Kiley was set up to see if she would confess what she witnessed. She did. She nervously told Mary Ellen that she saw David holding hands and kissing another woman. And to prove she’s the kind of friend every woman should have, Kiley then reached in her purse and offered Mary Ellen a Xanax.

After reading this, I wish I had some to offer you.

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If you haven’t been watching the Olympics, it’s time to climb out from under your rock. Let’s catch up, shall we?

The opening ceremony in Beijing was, simply put, visually stunning. Unless you happened to be on narcotic pain killers for a migraine headache, in which case it was quite scary.

The audience was filled with world leaders and dignitaries, including our very own President George W. Bush, who appeared hot around the collar. It’s possible it was the temperature. But, it was more likely the lead paint from his “red phone”, which was ironically Made in China.

Here, he trades in that red phone for his finger phone and tells Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin to, “Call me”.

This is swimmer, Michael Phelps. He strikes this pose A LOT. Because he can. He currently holds three gold medals with more on the way. On day three, he and his teammates took it upon themselves to smash some Frenchies. Merci beaucoup, Mr. Phelps. Merci beaucoup.

If you haven’t watched synchronized diving, don’t start. You will be enthralled by the smoothness, the timing, and the skill, only to find out something was completely off.

A fraction of a twist here, a slight over extension there. All noted while the divers are flipping and speeding through the air. Here you can clearly see why the USA didn’t earn a medal. What? You don’t see it? Note the toe curl. No medal for you!

Currently, China and the United States are neck and neck in the overall standings. If you want to give a shout out to the underdog, you’ll need to cheer for Uzbekistan. Because if your country was somewhere between Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, you’d need people to cheer for you too…medals or not. No offense to the former Soviet Bloc. Just sayin’.

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