If memory serves me, I left you with the story of how Clay's song helped me through facial cancer.

The year 2003 brought several big impacts on my life. You have guessed one: Clay! I did not see the whole of American Idol that year but "rewind" certainly gave me all of the missing parts. My interest in Clay at first was his voice and his vocal abilities. For one, his breath control. It is amazing, as he said he had no training, I admired the way he would sustain a phrase and go right into the next without taking a breath. I was able to do it as a coloratura, but I read books, and had two fabulous vocal coaches both as I entered the Opera World.

It has always been my dream to be able to sit down and discuss this ability with OMC, but I know as do you that, that will never happen. Remember in my day, we had no mics on stage, and no gimmicks when recording.

When I was elected to the first board here, I was able to speak to a large audience since it was second nature to project, but had to " tone it down" and use a mic. During our lectures, even in front of large audiences, neither my husband nor I used a mic. It is amazing to live this long and be able to see the changes.

Changes! The first big one came when on Jan. 1st - Mike (Angie's husband) was suddenly rushed to the hospital and passed away. That was my second big change in 2003. Angie's two daughters helped her in the following days, and I took her wherever she needed to go. Angie, the trooper, was loosing her eyesight more than ever, but she insisted on living alone, cook, and everything else.

I bought her the tape version of Clay's book and she listened to it over and over again. She also enjoyed his music, but adored his speaking voice on those tapes. She remained my confidant and in her way always had 'THE BLESSED MOTHER" watch over me. When I had a second oral surgery, she gave me HOLY WATER and I used it. She always paid for 60-day prayers by the Jesuits as my birthday gift. And still on Passover, she made the traditional dishes.

Angie loved to eat. She was not a big woman, but she adored food: especially Italian since she was Italian. She had many favorite places to eat and there are many here in Az.

The years from 2003 and 2005 went swiftly and soon it was time for me to reach the big 80. I felt so privileged that GOD kept me going with low funds and many problems, and I MADE IT! I have a wonderful picture of my three close friends at the restaurant where that picture you see on Clay's official site was made. Angie's youngest daughter sent a huge bouquet of flowers to the table.

I HATE CRICKETS! We used to have them every summer and they would sneak into my Condo and keep me awake at night. (Not now as I write though. THANK GOD!)

Exactly a month after my birthday, I was awaken by that awful chirping sound at midnight. I got out of bed and with my trusty fly swatter followed it all around my bedroom. At the other edge of the foot of the bed, it jumped to the side and I turned around VERY FAST and fell on my left hand. When I pushed myself up with my right hand, my left arm fell loose and I could not touch it, I could not get up.I was suffering an attack of Firbomyalgia in my legs at the time and I could stand on only one leg. The other would not go up without leverage, so I crawled around the bed for THREE AND A HALF HOURS to the other side of the bed where my phone was. I leaned over the edge as best I could, but could not reach the phone. I called on GOD to help me stand, and suddenly my right leg went straight. I called 911 and told them I think something was wrong with my left arm and since it was now 3:30 a.m. to please use no sirens.

I calmly walked to the door (we only have one), opened the locks, and sat and waited. At the emergency room, they took an x-ray and looked very strangely at me. They insisted on a strong medication, and I finally agreed to a tiny amount of morphine, They put my arm in a sling, gave me the name of a surgeon and I had to find someone to take me home. I could only remember one friend waking her up at 7:30 a.m. and she reluctantly picked me up. The nurse who lives near me had left her job but was home the next day and took me to the surgeon's office. The x-ray man looked at me in awe. I had no idea why. One surgeon came in and said I was an emergency. Then the head surgeon (all from the Mayo Clinic) came in and said I needed immediate attention. He could operate the next day or the next week. I had him call my son who agreed to come in on that Sunday since I refused to leave my bird alone without anyone to care for her. So, on some pain killers, I just took care of the two of us as best I could until my son arrived on Sunday to take me the to the hospital the next day.

I will not go into details, but it seems I broke every bone from my elbow to my shoulder. Two surgeons operated since they were not sure just what procedure they would take. My son was told the next day that this kind of operation takes about an hour and a half, but three and a half hours later I was removed from recovery to a large private room and finally woke up. It seems the first try did not work, so they performed a second operation immediately.

Now I have a rod in my left arm from shoulder to elbow and now over three years later, and months of therapy not being able to drive for four months , I really have only half use of that arm. All of the "nails" that keep the rod in place have bent to give me constant pain, but no way in hell will I go through that again. I could not eat and lost 12 pounds in ten days. You might say I WAS A MESS!

The worse was trying to find people to drive me to appointments. I had therapy at home until I could drive, and then to a wonderful place five minutes from me But after a year or two, we stopped, since my arm could not move any better. My surgeon is one gorgeous hunk of a man, and we had great "personal" conversations about his life which he wanted to continue, but as much as I enjoyed it, I said no more therapy or operations. But I wanted to walk better since this experience had me loose my equilibrium. So I now go once a month for therapy, but me and my cane hate walking on streets. Smooth surfaces are better. Yes, I lost more weight, but I am holding my own, thank you!

My other friend Frances found someone to take her shopping and she would buy any essentials I needed. Angie was always on the phone as I recovered.

That was July 11, 2005. Of course, in my life things continued to happen so I will leave you here to wait: FOR THE REST OF THE STORY!

Thanks for being so supportive and kind. Your emails and comments keep my spirits alive and well.

Marian