No More Nice Girl!!

I have spent a lot of time on the blogs lately and I realized something...I have not been very true to myself here. I have written about things that I feel others will find interesting and I have always tried to keep it civil. Now anyone who really knows me knows that I am loud, obscene, opinionated and often so truthful it can be mistaken for rudeness. But for some reason here I have tried to be a good girl and where the hell is the fun in that?

So from here on out I pledge to be a more realistic version of myself. No more watching my words and hoping I don't offend too many people. I will be what everyone who matters to me loves....ME!

Can you go home again?

For Father's Day this year I flew back home to Oregon to surprise my father. I have not missed Oregon in the 15 years since I moved to Arizona. I love AZ. But being home and being with my family, those people who 15 years ago I did not get along with so well, really made me consider packin it up and movin back home.

There was a feeling of safety that I have not felt in years. Like I could let my children outside and they wouldn't disappear. All the neighbors that were there when I grew up are still there! 15 years I had been gone and I still knew almost everyone.

I miss being able to walk into my backyard and plant something without it having to be a cactus that will hurt like hell when the kids run into it. The cherry tree in my dad's backyard that I used to climb as a kid was still there and as I climbed it at the age of 32, sat in the branches enjoying cherries so fresh they melted in my mouth and spat the pits at whomever dared walk under my domain, I realized that this was something that my own children would never experience. All of the memories I have of growing up are things that my own children may very well never know.

I can't explain it but things just felt simpler there. More relaxed and definately cleaner. Taking in a deep breath of that wonderfully clean air was so refreshing. Looking out across the horizon and seeing beautiful skies and clear mountains, nothing obscured by hazy brown clouds. I wonder if these feelings were supported by the fact that Oregon represents the innocence of my childhood. Did it feel safer and cleaner because that is how I saw it as a child or is it really that way compared to the dirty, dangerous place I live now?

How do you move back home after 15 years? Where do you live? How do you support your family? How do you leave your family here in exchange for the family there? And what if after you give up everything here you get there and realize it was all an illusion?

~Darlin~

DUI's & Traffic School

February 2006 I received a DUI (Driving Under the Influence). I was shocked and horrified. What would my friends and family say? I have to be honest and say that up until this point I had no idea what the real repercussions would be from this. I mean I knew it would be on my driving record for 5 years (now 7), that my insurance would increase and that I would have to pay a lot of money in fines. What I did not know was how it effects EVERY aspect of your life. My total punishment:

• DUI on my record for 7 years
• 24 hours in jail ($386)
• 90 day license suspension ($45 reinstatement fee)
• Alcohol evaluation class ($75)
• Alcohol awareness class ($125)
• Defensive Driving class ($65)
• Traffic Survival class ($55)
• Approximately $1900.00 in fines
• License on probation for 2 years

I was pulled over last Friday night for making an improper right hand turn and speeding and to my dismay the officer informed me that my license was suspended. I did argue because I had paid to have my license reinstated after my 90 suspension because of my DUI. Unfortunately I found out (after pulling out every piece of paperwork I have ever received for tickets) that I had not attended one of the required classes. I had mistakenly thought that defensive driving and traffic survival were the same thing. Believing this I only attended the first. So yes, my license was indeed suspended. The officer assumed that it was suspended for my DUI and under Sheriff Joe's new laws they had to impound my car for a minimum of 30 days.

I called around Saturday morning and luckily found a lady who was willing to allow me into her Sunday class (you are supposed to sign up a week in advance). I took the class Sunday from 7:30am to 5pm. It was taught by a very charismatic young lady named Kristen (pictured above). She was entertaining and kept the class involved and awake. I did learn quite a bit in the class about the new DUI laws that passed only last month.

If in the next 2 years I get pulled over for ANYTHING I go back to jail for 9 days, my fines triple and my license is then suspended for 180 days. If I get pulled over for a DUI in the next 7 years then I go to jail for 90 days, license is suspended for a year, fines from $5,000-$10,000 and pretty much my life is ruined. Not worth it!!

So I took the class Sunday, went and got my license back Monday morning but unfortunately I cannot get my car back until I have an impound hearing which they have 5 days to schedule. What upset me was that they impounded it falsely yet I still cannot get it back. So now I am driving around in a like 1982 Corsica that my boss loaned me until I get my car back. It sucks but hey it gets me to work and back so I can't complain. Its better than riding the bus or walking.

The really ironic thing about this....when I got pulled over last Friday....I was the designated driver! Figures!

~Darlin~

Daddy's Girl

For those of you who know me it may come as a big shock that I am a Daddy's girl through and through. In the picture here that is (from left to right) my sister Teresa, my Daddy and me when I went back home for Father's Day. My father was very strict on us growing up. My mother and he divorced when I was 6 and I had two extremes when it came to parents. Mom was very relaxed, let me pretty much do what I wanted. Dad on the other hand ruled us with an iron fist. He only had to spank me twice in my life. Both when I was very young. But to hear my father raise his voice at me, to this day can bring me to tears.

My fondest memories of my father:

• Going to the city dump and then Dairy Queen for an ice cream every Saturday


• Dancin in the garage to the oldies when he would work on his cars


• Camping (duh)


• Flying in his plane


• Going to the lumber mill he worked at everyday with mom for lunch and riding the forklift


• Flannel shirts and Levi jeans (enough said)


• Coffee and toast in the morning before he went to work


• Bedtime games (Tickatoos, Round Moon, Johnny Fireman)

I can still remember climbing out of bed at 3am in the morning to walk into the kitchen and see my big, strong Daddy standing there in his flannel shirt with a white t-shirt underneath and his Levi jeans. My little bare feet were always cold as I crawled into his lap to eat our toast and drink coffee. I would pull his over sized t-shirt that I always wore to bed over my knees and he would wrap his arms around me to warm me. Before he left for work he would carry me back to my room and tuck me back into bed.

I am blessed to have a father as wonderful as mine. He was the ideal man, strong, brave (the great spider slayer), smart, handsome (this became a problem with my friends in high school) and very funny! I measure every man that enters my life against my father. I have yet to meet one who measures up. I love you Daddy. Love your Peachy Fry

The Old Waterin Hole....With A New Age Attitude

I can remember when I was a child and my Uncle would take me up to his favorite little bar with him. I loved the smell of stale beer and cigarettes, peanuts on the floor and every old timer in there wanted to hand me a dollar or two. It was a tiny place where everybody knew everyone else by name and you felt safe.

Nowadays these little gems are few and far between. In a world overrun by large, corporate owed bars that are the size of football stadiums, finding a hole in the wall waterin hole is considered a real accomplishment. These are not for the meat-seekers, that is, those who are out looking to get laid. These are not for the men who want to act like cavemen and fight to prove their prowess. And they are not for the women looking to have drinks bought for them all night long.

An old waterin hole is where you go to talk to friends, shoot pool, relax and avoid the social interactions forced upon you at the larger bars. Do we have a good time...yes. Do we get a little crazy on a Friday night...hell yes! The difference being that we know everyone we are with, we know that no one will try to take advantage of us and that someone will drive us home at the end of the night if we need. Fights almost never happen unless an outsider enters and is rude or inconsiderate.

The days of old have shifted slightly though in the case of women in the bars. When my Uncle would take me you would rarely see a woman there, muchless a group of women unless there were men there with them. But times have changed and women have invaded man's secret hiding place and in some cases even taken them over (although we are always willing to share).

In the end I will take my little home away from home and keep it safe from the invasion of the meat-seekers and cavemen of the corporate bars. It's mine I say and you can't have it. I just hope there are still some left when my children are old enough to enjoy them.

~Darlin~