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TPD
Journals/Guests
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Sun, 12 Jun 2005
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 Susie/Cancer Project
Welcome to Susie's journal. We hope you enjoy
reading about her journey. Please do not post
comments or questions here. They should be
directed to our Guest Book or in an email to
travelingpez@hotmail.com .
Thank you!
-TPD Staff
Posted 06:50
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57 comments
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Susie in Philadelphia
Hello, Susie here. I arrived in Philadelphia safe
and sound for my first adventure. I had a few
days to rest before Wayne, Christine, and I had
to leave for the 33rd Annual ACS Bike-A-Thon. The
American Cancer Society is an organization that
is very dear to me, so I was happy to participate.
We arrived at the Ben Franklin Bridge on Sunday
morning (7/10/05) at 6:30 AM. Over 4,000 riders
were present! What a rush! At 7:00 AM sharp, the
ride began. Cancer survivors were the first to
cross the bridge. At the first rest stop, we saw
a few of our fellow “PEZHeads” (Laura, Rick, and
their son, Casey) holding “Go Susie” signs and
cheering me on! We stopped for some pictures and
words of encouragement, and then headed on our
way. We still had over fifty miles to ride! We
stopped at the other rest stops along the way so
we could stretch and grab something to eat.
Around 12:45 PM, we arrived in Lenape Park in
Mays Landing, NJ. We did it! The three of us
posed for pictures at the park entrance. We ate
(again!) and rested near the lake.After we
arrived back in Philadelphia, we toured some
historical sites in town. We stopped by
Independence Hall, where the Declaration of
Independence and U.S. Constitution were created.
Next, we stopped by Betsy Ross’ house for a
visit. She agreed to pose for a picture with me.
By now, it was pretty late. We had a very long
day, so we headed back to Wayne’s house. Right
now, I’m getting ready for my next stop…
Minnesota! I’ll write again once I have arrived.
Bye for now!! Thank You, Wayne & Christine!

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Rock on Susie!
Thanks for the nice visit, Wayne and Christine! I
arrived in Mankato, MN and immediately hopped in
the car to ride 250 miles to Walker, MN. Northern
MN is beautiful with all the lakes and birch and
pine trees. I stayed at a cabin on Crooked Lake
and watched some beautiful sunsets! With
temperatures in the 90’s, the lake was a great
place to hang out. After relaxing at the lake for
a couple of days, I headed out to Moondance Jam,
a big four day rock music festival. I heard that
there were 50,000 people there this year! I
helped out my host, Susan, working in backstage
hospitality. We got up early every morning and
cooked breakfast for the bands and their crews.
Then we had the rest of the day to listen to
music and enjoy the festival. One of the perks of
working backstage was that I got a backstage
access pass, which let me hang out backstage and
see some of the band members. The first day of
the music festival I had a nice chat with Rickey
Medlocke, a guitarist from Lynyrd Skynyrd. Do you
know that we both have the same favorite cookie?
Cranberry walnut oatmeal……mmmmm! I had my photo
taken with Rickey and even got him to sign my
autograph book! Speaking of that, I’m really glad
I remembered to bring my camera and autograph
book. I got some of the band members from
Journey, Tesla, Cinderella, and Lynyrd Skynyrd to
sign my book. I also got a special pass to go to
the meet-and-greet for Cheap Trick and had my
photo taken with them. I got some other souvenirs
as well, including a guitar pick from REO
Speedwagon and, of course, my backstage pass :-)
Don’t worry, I’m not turning into a rock star
groupie, but it sure was fun meeting some of the
bands! I heard some fantastic music over the four
day event. This year they built a special raised
platform above the stage which they
nicknamed “The Treehouse.” This was a great place
for about 30 people to watch the bands up close.
What a fun place! I took lots of photos of the
bands from up there. Some of the music highlights
this year: Lynyrd Skynyrd, .38 Special, Cheap
Trick, Tesla, Journey, REO Speedwagon, Grand Funk
Railroad, Loverboy, Twisted Sister, Firehouse,
Ratt, Cinderella, Blackfoot, and Whitesnake. My
favorite band had to be Grand Funk Railroad....an
AWESOME band who put on a fantastic show! People
that I talked with about my Breast Cancer
Awareness journey were all intrigued and many had
a story to share or a positive comment of
encouragement about my fund-raising trip. I hope
that I am able to touch many more people on the
rest of my journey! Tomorrow I hit the road,
heading for Pittsfield, MA.
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Susie in the Berkshires
Thanks Susan for such a great Rock fest! --- Now,
I've arrived in Pittsfield, MA. Pittsfield is in
the heart of the Berkshires in Berkshire County.
There's a lot of history around here and some
beautiful foliage in the fall. In addition to the
changing seasonal colors of all the leaves in the
fall, this area is also greatly known for the
Tanglewood Fesitval which takes place all summer
long hosting the Boston Symphony Orchestra and
other musical guests. --- While taking in the
beautiful weather in these rolling hills, I got
to spend some time with Dale and his
CollectingPez.com collection of dispensers. What
a great bunch of pals I got to meet. Dale wanted
me to visit Pittsfield because of his
appreciation for the support of Cancer research.
His grandmother and father are cancer survivors.
He knows that if it weren't for the countless
efforts of those to try to find a cure for all
cancer, that he might not have such a fortunate
life to share with those he loves. Glad I could
stop by, Dale - - Thanks for hosting my visit and
showing me around your neighborhood. --- Dale and
his family took me to all kinds of places. Some
of them are featured in the photo journal, go
take a look when you get time. We started out at
the Wahconah baseball park. It's the location of
the first recorded baseball game. It still hosts
games today, too! I found out it's only one of
two known ballparks in the country to be facing
the wrong way! The batters stare directly into
the setting sun every night across center field. -
-- From there, we traveled just fifteen minutes
to the Hancock Shaker Village. This is an
authentic historical village dedicated to the
original life of the Shakers. We saw amazing
inventions and learned so much about how the
Shakers formed the lifestyle we currently enjoy
today! Dale's wife, Brenda, brought me to her
office at the World Headquarters for KB Toys! I
got to see what HOT new toys might be coming this
Christmas, but I was sworn to secrecy...
sshhh... --- Before we wandered down to the
Norman Rockwell Museum, which was absolutely awe
inspiring by the way, we stopped by the Herman
Melville house. Sitting in this house, now a
museum, is where Mr. Melville sat, looking out
over rolling hills, and wrote the novel of Moby
Dick. I mentioned to Dale how much I enjoyed the
Betsy Ross house that Wayne and Christine showed
me in Philly. He took me up to see the Susan B
Anthony house in Adams, MA. I just love learning
about important women in history. --- Entering
any of these locations in a search engine gives
you much more detail and official websites of all
the great places I've traveled! --- Thanks again
Dale for my visit with you and CollectingPez.com.
Now, I'm on my way to see Chris’ Mom, Dorothe in
NY. I can't wait to see what's next!
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Susie on Long Island
Wow! After a glorious time with Dale, I arrived
in Rocky Point, NY on Friday, 8/05/05. It is
located on the north shore of Long Island,
approximately 85 miles east of New York City.---
Long Island has a very high Breast Cancer rate.
A few years back a study was conducted to
determine the areas with the most cases, but it
did not stop the population growth here.---Before
I went to see Chris (also in Rocky Point) I
stayed at Dorothe's house. She is not a PEZ
collector, but lost her mother and a cousin to
Breast Cancer and is therefor interested in our
cause.---Because the weather was hot & humid the
whole time, she took me to the "hot" spots on
Long Island. First we went to the beach of
course. We drove to the south shore where the
best beaches are, to Captree, which is the east
end of Jones Beach. From there we drove about 70
miles east to the famous "Hamptons" where the
rich & famous have summer homes. We had lunch in
Sag Harbor, a quaint village located on an inlet,
called Three Mile Harbor.---On we went to the
furthest eastern tip of Long Island, Montauk
Point with it's lighthouse. There is a museum
there and one can climb to the top, which we
didn't, I am afraid of heights.---On the way back
we stopped for some wine tasting in one of Long
Island's many wineries, called Duck Walk. I had
a great time, thank you Dorothe!
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Susie in NYC
I was stsying with Chris' Mom on Long Island when
Chris decided to kidnap me and take me with him
to New York City! The Big Apple! He showed me
the Empire State Building and I was hoping to see
King Kong on top but he wasn't there.---After
that he took me to a magic shop! I met two very
nice magicians there. They are the ones who
demonstrate the tricks in the shop. The name of
the place is Tannen's and has been supplying
ameteur and professional magicians with their
equipment since 1927! David Copperfield, as a
boy, went in there to buy a ventriliquist dummy
and got hooked on magic instead!---Then Chris
took me to a candy store named Dylan's Candy
Bar. I LOVE CANDY!!! They have everything you
could ever want and then some! I met some young
PEZheads there and I met the nice lady Myra, who
takes care of the PEZ Wall. It's huge!---From
there Chris showed me the famous Madison Square
Garden. So many great events have occured
there. I wish I could make it back to see a rock
concert there!---Chris will be bringing me to
Minnesota tomorrow where we'll be attending a PEZ
Convention. I'll let you know in a few days how
that went!
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Susie at the MNPEZCon 10
Wow! Chris took me on an airplane and we flew to
Minnesota to go to a PEZ Convention. I met many
future hosts and they were so nice to me. I also
got to meet Susan Roberts, Wayne Wacker and
Christine Jones there. We reminisced about the
fun we had when I was visiting them a few weeks
ago.---The Gaydos Family brought my sister there
too. I hadn't seen her for a while! She was the
contest prize and her name is C.W. When I had no
name, Jennie and Chris held a contest to get me
one and the Gaydos family won. My sister was the
prize. I'll be visiting them all in a few weeks.-
--I never saw so many PEZ dispensers in my life!
Even at the PEZ factory there weren't that many!-
--I was supposed to meet up with my next host
there and go home with him but my shedule was so
busy and we didn't meet up at the right time.---
So, I'm writing this from New York! Chris took
me on another plane ride. I'll meet up with that
host in a few weeks but in the mean time I'll be
getting ready to visit Laura. I met her at the
Bike-A-Thon a few weeks ago. I can't wait to see
her again.
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Susie in Pennsylvania Dutch Country
I'm in the heart of PA Dutch Country. So many
farms & barns with Hex Signs. Learned about
different designs & their meanings. Along with
the fine PA Dutch folks, I met a nice Amish
couple and got a picture of their horse & buggy,
& heard about their plain & simple lifestyle.
Also went thru 1 of 5 covered bridges in the area-
Kutz's Mill Bridge. PA had the 1st one built in
the US.--Went to nearby city of Reading,
pronounced Red-ding (made famous by Monopoly).
Saw a pagoda! --Laura's a volunteer for the ACS
for 7yrs. She has lobbied at state capital for
better insurance coverage for cancer screening.
Met with local ACS staff that are dedicated to
eliminating cancer, just like me ! --Next Casey
took me to visit my long lost relatives at the
Easton Museum of PEZ Dispensers. WOW, they have
some awesome Fantasy Pez. Jeannie & Zep gave me a
tour. Everyone was so nice. Hope I can come again
soon. Now I'm off to visit my next host-Laura's
mom!
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Susie in Sinking Spring, PA
Met up with my new host, Peggy, and her husband
Dennis, at Cabela's--World's Foremost Outfitter.
That is one BIG store, with lots of stuffed
animals. There's even an airplane hanging from
the ceiling ! There are 100's of fishing rods, a
huge aquarium and a NO FISHING sign--hardly seems
fair! Peggy & Dennis then took me to their home
in Sinking Spring. Yes, there are sink holes
there. I met their adorable dogs-2 adopted golden
retrievers, Foley & Blitz. Peggy is a volunteer
at the Delaware Valley Golden Retriever Rescue
(DVGRR) in Adamstown, PA. --Went to work with
Peggy & met one of her coworkers who lost his
mother to cancer. He bought one of my sister BCA
pez in her memory. After work, I helped Peggy
exercise, play & cuddle with the dogs at the
DVGRR. The next day she took me to the Tom
Sturgis Pretzel Store to learn the history of
pretzels. Barbara Sturgis graciously donated a
gold pretzel pin to my souvenir collection.
Thanks Barbara. I got my picture taken with a
giant pretzel! One of the store employees,
Lindsey, was very excited to hear about my
journey. They had yummy pretzels in many sizes &
flavors. I never saw so many.--- Went down memory
lane at a place called Flashbacks Pop Shoppe. It
is full of memorabilia along with artwork from
local, young artists. Owners Robear & Shelly had
a nice warm welcome for me. It was alot of fun. --
Laura peznapped me & took me to the Purple Cow at
Renningers Antique Market in Kutztown. Ralph
Riovo caters to pez collectors & has the nicest
selection in town. He is a big supporter of the
Relay For Life and it was a pleasure meeting he &
friend Patty. Later I was invited to celebrate
Peggy & Dennis' 35th Wedding Anniversary. Had a
chance to meet the rest of the family. It was a
wonderful ending to my visit in Berks County.
Hung out with Hope, Angel & Survivor, Relay For
Life bears before my next adventure --I'm off to
Michigan in the morning!
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Susie at Small Town - Davidon MI
Hi everyone, This is Susie, and I just arrived at
Small Town Coin's and Collectible's Store in
Davison, Michigan.---Dave met me at the door and
showed me around the place.---
Here is a picture of me Standing on Dave's Truck
outside the store.---
Lot's to see here, So many PEZ brother's and
Sister's I could'nt believe it.---
I got my Picture taken sitting in this really cool
1920's Fire Truck, what a hoot that was.---
Then we took a short trip over to the 50's DINER,
got to play the Juke Box and spin around on the
swivel chair's.---
I'm having a great time here in Davison, but I'm
anxious to get back to NewYork again.---
So stay tuned and follow my travel's...
Susie...
David Hall ---Small Town Co
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say Ren-suh-leer :-)
Well, I had a relaxing visit to Pam's house. She's beaten
cancer twice already and wants me to tell everyone 'thank
you' for helping to raise money to fight cancer.------ I got
to have my picture taken with photos of Pam's
grandparents. Both of her father's parents died of lung
cancer when she was young. They sure were a handsome
couple! ------ I also got to mee most of the Ugly Army!
The group that shows off their color variations was missing,
but the other guys were there. I was really scared at first,
but they turned out to be a bunch of old softies. :-)
------- On the last night of my visit, we got the news that
Julie, lead singer for Eddie From Ohio (one of Pam and
Caragh's favorite bands) was just diagnosed with breast
cancer. She's a firecracker and we don't plan on losing her
to any crummy breast cancer! Please keep her in your
thoughts.------ I get ot travel again today! I can't wait to
meet Cindy - Pam says she's really neat.-------- Leaving
Rensselaer, NY for Oxford, NY......
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Susie's Visit To Chenango County
9/15/05 This is Susie reporting in from O
xford,NY. Cindy is my host. When I got here C
indy put me to work in her scrap room. We made a
couple of PEZ tags for my goodie bag, and I t
ook a nap in her ribbons!---9/16/05 It rained a
ll day today here in Oxford, so I just posed f
or some pictures around Cindy's house..It looks l
ike a Candy Store Exploded in here! She c
ollects M&M's, Coca-Cola stuff, American Flag S
tuff, advertising tins..and My Favoirte PEZ.---9
/17/05 We went to Norwich NY, They had a
"Safety Awareness Day" at the Chenango County f
airgrounds. They had a Medi-Vac helicopter t
here from Scanton, PA. I got there just in t
ime to get my picture taken with Sienna, h
olding me as the Medi Vac Helicopter was going t
o lift off. I had my picture taken with C
henango County Sheriff Deputy..S. Howe, and I g
ot a NY State Junior Deputy Badge!---There was a
911 Memorial prayer for all the Fallen Heros. O
n the way out I had my picture taken again with S
ienna..(Cindy's Neice) with the Oxford, NY Fire T
ruck. We also stopped at the booth for t
he "Breast Cancer Awareness" and Cindy signed u
p to be a part of the 450 women from Chenango C
ounty NY,sponsored by "Avon"to get a mammogram i
n 2005..she was #422. Her father died of Brain C
ancer in 1998, and her cousin taken with breast c
ancer many years ago---I"ll report back again s
oon for more advertures. 
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The Big E Fair.. Meeting The President of PEZ and other Adventures
I'm back with more exciting adventures of my
travels..I relaxed around Cindy (PezScrapper) &
Rodger's house a couple of days as we were going
on a mini road trip to Massashusetts...."To The
Big E Fair"-----The CEO of PEZ was going to be
at the fair on Wednesday 9/21/05, and I wanted
to meet him and have him sign my Celebrity
Autograph Journal.----We left Tues. 9/20/05 and
got a hotel room, so we could be at the PEZ
Booth 1st thing in the AM.---The booth was
in "The Connecticut Building"...which is
located on the Avenue of States on the
fairgrounds.----We didn't know when "The PEZ
Prez" would be there for sure.----The PEZ booth
was really awesome looking, it was set up like a
Farmers Market, and tons and tons of PEZ were in
market baskets. Cindy got lots of pictures of
the colorful candy setup.----I first got to meet
Shawn Peterson, he had his picture taken with
me, he sold Cindy lots of the great New PEZ
Dispensers, and he signed one of his price
guides for Cindy. Then I met Bud Danburg, he
is "The Vice President of Marketing at PEZ
Candy, INC. I got my picture taken with Bud a
few times and he signed my Celebrity autograph
journal, he was so nice, he signred some PEZ so
they can be used to raise money for "Breast
Cancer Awareness"-----Cindy and I hung around
the PEZ booth waiting for the PEZ President, Mr.
Vittoia to arrive, He's a very busy man.----We
got to meet Mr. PEZ Himself and he
was "Outstanding", Cindy told him about my
cause and we talked for a long time----Cindy
gave him a letter sent by Chris...PEZ D.
Spencer..explaining all about The TPD Project,
he put the letter in his shirt pocket, then he
signed my Celebriting Autograph Book, He gave
Cindy's husband his PEZ Tie and he autographed
it and told Rodger he wanted a picture of him
wearing that tie.-----Rodger just got his
picture wearing the PEZ Tie, and he is donating
the tie to the TPD Project.---Whoever ends up
with that tie, Rodgers says "He wants a picture
of them wearing it" LOL----"The PEZ" signed a
few more items, one of them was a long sleeved
denim shirt with "PEZ" over the pocket, Bud
Danburg also signed the shirt.---Cindy will be
offering the Autographed Shirt SZ XL for sale
someday and all the proceeds will go to the
Hospice of Brazos County, TX.----Another PEZ
collector, Gerri Claxton,was taken care of by
these wonderful people of Hospice, after a
tragic accident last November...She was Cindy's
sister. Cindy has 2 other PEZ collectors in her
family...Sienna her neice, and her 1st
Grandchild Mason who was born May/05-----the
most beautiful thing about "PEZ" are all The
Collectors...They are so giving and generous to
strangers, people they never met, and most
likely will probably never meet either----
"Hannah's Project" is one of them and this
project "The Traveling PEZ Dispenser" Susie!
I've met so many wonderful caring people and
will meet so many many more. (((HUGS To
Everyone)))-----Just a few more things I got to
go to a magic show at the Big E and the
magician"Peter Gossamer" used a PEZ Witch
Dispenser in his show....I got my picture taken
with him and he made me float in the air..and
Cindy just happened to be carrying a Witch PEZ
so she had him sign it and it's going to be
donated for the "TPD Project"..I also had my
picture taken with Conn. State Trooper TFC.
Wendy Delenhanty, and with Conn. State Trooper
Dwyer with his Dog Britt.-----So much excitement
for 1 day.-----We stayed overnight one more day,
and we went to the Yankee Candle Store in South
Deerfield, MA.---thats where there headquarters
is..I got my picture taken there and stood in
some of their displays : )------One last fun
thing...on the way back to NY We stopped at a
Mall, Holyoke and we went into a craft store..AC
Moore...and Cindy and Rodger were looking
through the PEZ and one of the sales Associates
says to them "Another PeZ Collector" her name
was "Jen"and she and her son collect PEZ, she is
in charge of the scrapbook section, she tells
Cindy she has something to show her...a Magazine
that just came in "Paperkuts" and it has 15
pages of layouts featuring a "Wonder Woman PEZ"
Cindy was so Thankful for Jen pointing out the
article in that magazine as she never bought
that particular magazine before.----Cindy's a
scrapbooker and and I had fun playing in her
paper & ribbons and making something for the TPD
goodie Bag....I gotta pack up now and catch my
ride to Washington DC, to visit Mandrake and
Friends..Thank You .....Susie and Cindy
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Welcome to Washington DC!
9/27/05---Arrived in Washington DC today at
Mandrakes house. Hope to get out and see some
sights this week!-Susie---9/30/05 - I went to
work with Mandrake today and met his co-workers
who were very nice. Tomorrow Mandrake has
promised to take me to see the sights! - Susie----
10/1/05---Wow! What a nice day! This morning we
stopped by the "Breastival" at American
University where there were all kinds of events
going on to raise money and awareness for Breast
Cancer Research/Awareness. I grabbed a poster
for my scrapbook! Later in the day we went down
to the Washington Mall and saw the Archives -
where the Declaration of Independence,
Constitution and Bill of Rights are. We saw the
White House and Hirschorn Museum of Modern Art! -
Susie----10/4/05 - Making my way to New Jersey
Next! Can't wait to see John Laspina and all his
cool PEZ! - Susie
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Susie Visits John Laspina
10/9/05-John Laspina finally picked me up from PO
Box 435 and brought me home with him. I got to
see all his PEZ and toys and of course, Pezzy,
his Labador Retriever. Later that night, John
brought me to the NY Yankees & California Angels
Playoff Baseball game! We were rooting real hard
for the NY Yankees, but they sadly lost 11-7.
John was sad, but I was happy to see Yankee
Stadium. It was my first playoff game (John's
been to many).----10/10/05-John & I got into a
car with a few of his friends and drove to
Cleveland. We stayed right down the road from
the Holiday Inn in Independence, where the
Pezamania Convention was held. We got to stop at
many rest stops along Rt. 80.----10-11-05-John
brought me to the Cleveland Browns & Chicago
Bears Football game. We are not Browns fans, but
we rooted for them anyway. It was a close
game 'til the end, but the Browns won 20-10! :)
We also went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
WOW! That was a lot of fun to see all of the
best Rock n Roll in the world. I didn't want to
leave! Oh, the best part of going to the Brown's
game was seeing the 50 people all wearing pink
ribbons and pink shirts & hats, holding the
American Flag in the middle of the field. They
all were supporting Breast Cancer Awareness!
Thank you to all the PEZ Collectors who
contributed to this cause.----10-12-05-Not much
going on today. It's back to the box for me, to
be shipped away again. I will see you all soon! -
Susie
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Chris again!
10/13/05-Wow! I had no idea who I was going to
see next. It was Chris again! I forgot he's
taking me on the Race For A Cure in New Jersey
where I'll be meeting Craig Donnellan! Craig is
the person who talked the PEZ Company into making
me and my sisters so we could raise money for the
Susan G. Komen Foundation For Breast Cancer
Research. Little did I know then that I would be
traveling so much raising money for the American
Cancer Society too! It has been so much fun
meeting so many interesting people!----10/14/05-
Chris took me to work with him today and I got to
see him building things. He looks so happy when
he's working. I can tell he loves what he does.--
--10/15/05-Chris spent most of the day practicing
his magic tricks and doing things on the computer
for TPD. Tomorrow we will take a road trip to
the Race For A Cure. I'll be meeting up with
Laura Adams and her husband Rick again! But best
of all, I'll get to meet Craig. I can't wait.
It has been a nice rest here on Long Island but I
really need to get moving again and spread the
word about how awful Cancer is and see how much
money I can raise for the fight against the
disease.----10/16/05-Oh, I'm sad today. The Race
For A Cure Event was canceled because all the
rain we had last week flooded much of the
course. They felt it was too dangerous to have
people race. I hope all those people still make
their donations. I'll try to be there again next
year. So, I won't get to meet Craig this week
after all but hopefully I'll get to meet him in a
few weeks when he presents the "big check" to the
Susan G. Komen Foundation. I did get to go to
meet Dorothe again. Chris took me to see his Mom
and she's always fun to be around. All in all
this was a very relaxing weekend and I got the
rest I needed! I had the chance to unload some
of my souvenirs which were getting pretty heavy!
I'll be holding on to a few though. Tomorrow
Chris is sending me to stay with the Gaydos
Family for a few days. I met them in MN at the
PEZ Convention. They're the ones who take care
of my sister C.W. I can't wait to see her!
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Susie in Indianapolis
10/21/2005 - I finally arrived in Indianapolis,
just in time to see the foliage at its
brightest! C.W. was waiting at the door when I
came in. It was so wonderful to see her again.
We spent the day catching up, as I told her
about all my traveling adventures thus far.
(C.W. has a boyfriend! the blue eBay heart named
Josh, how cute is that?!) She also introduced
me to the Pez she hangs with here, a really
friendly bunch, I might add. Tomorrow is the
big day in Indy and I can't wait.---10/22/2005 -
I'm so glad yesterday was a sunny day because
today there was a haze in the air. That didn't
stop me from having an enjoyable time. We
started at the Circle Center Mall, where C.W.
found a gorgeous skirt. No luck for me, but we
can share, being the same size and all. After
that Joe took me to see the RCA Dome and Conseco
Fieldhouse. Maybe next time I'll get to see the
Colts play. Then Brenda insisted a trip to Indy
wouldn't be complete without seeing the Art
Museum. We finished the evening off with a
little classical music with the Symphony
Orchestra, featuring a Cole Porter tribute. (I
think Brenda enjoyed it more than Joe. Luckily
for him, next time he gets to see Bugs Bunny on
Broadway).---10/24/2005 - Today was completely
different, I got to live like a college student
at IUPUI. Paige and I left at 10am and didn't
get home until 9pm (I think this is her only
long day). Paige showed me all the different
schools. The campus has quite a bit of art work
by students all over, it was absolutely
brilliant to see! It was really interesting to
watch her Communications class get into a debate
over the control and effects the media has here
in the U.S., especially compared to other
countries. Maybe when I finally settle after my
traveling I'll take some classes myself.---Well,
bye for now, I'm getting ready to visit with
Rick and Cindy down in sunny Florida!
|
Sunny Florida!
10/28/05---I went to work with Rick. He took me
to many different places. I saw him unlock many
safes for different people and different places.
He is really fast!-----One of the places we
stopped to have fun at on his day off was the
Ocala National Forest. We had lots of fun
there. We ran in the woods like animals. It was
a great trip. Next he took me to the Great
Sunshine Skyway, which is a very big bridge in
Tampa. It was wonderful. Next we went to
Daytona Beach. We watched a race at the Daytona
International Speedway. That was lots of fun.
Now we are headed to South Carolina to Myrtle
Beach. It is soooo great. On our way there we
had a blowout. I watched Rick and his sister
change a the tire. We got back on the road.-----
So far I have met some great people on my trips
and I'll be meeting many more!-----PS- Always
have FUN!
|
Another PEZ Convention!!!
11/4/05 - Today I left Rick and joined up with
Wendy aka "The Snapple Lady". She told me the
reason she finally made it to the PEZ Convention
in Myrtle Beach this year, after being absent for
the last 3...is because now that she lost around
50 pounds doing that Celebrity Fit Club Show on
VH1...she was ready to put on a bikini and hang
out on the beach since NO ONE is around to see
her!!! Only Pezheads...but they are too busy
wheeling and dealing to even notice her! In the
meantime, we went to a load of rooms today and
Wendy has already dropped a bundle on all sorts
of dispensers. She really needed to catch up
after being a no show for a while. She loves
seeing old friends and meeting new ones too,
especially fans of PEZ, so today she's a happy
camper. I am completely loving this weekend.
Great convention Ricky! Hope to see you next
year!
|
Susie meets Richie
11/6/05---Boy Oh Boy! It was really nice to
spend time with Wendy The Snapple Lady at The
Myrtle Beach Convention. Now I'm going home with
Mary and Richie Belyski, he hosted the convention
and he writes PEZ Collectors News. Bye Wendy!----
-11/7/05---Gee, this isn't fun today. I sat
around the house while Richie worked on the
newsletter. Oh wait, he's finally done. Look!
Here comes the cover page out of the printer. He
took my picture! OK, it's fun here. I was
outside in the yard, near the lake, with a little
PEZ girl that told me all about Nascar Cafe. See
her holding the flag! So I told Richie to take
me there.-----11/8/05---Cool-Today we had lunch
at the Nascar Cafe. I got one of those little
flags. We looked at the cars and met Ray Morin
for lunch. Ray is another PEZ collector. Later
we rode around looking at Myrtle Beach. Planet
Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe then we went to the
Target Store to buy the new Christmas PEZ on
Card.-----11/9/05---I stayed around the house
today helping Mary clean up after the
convention. Putting clothes away and unpacking.--
---11/12/05---Went shopping with Mary. We went
to Pier 1 Imports. Nice store. She bought a
pink candle that support/honor survivors of
Breast Cancer - Komen Co-Survivors. How nice was
that? We also stopped off at Fostering Hope, the
Myrtle Beach Covention Charity and gave them
hundreds of PEZ dispensers and $3500! The women
were so happy they were crying! It's cool how
they help kids there.-----11/15/05---Went back to
the hotel where the convention was. Spent too
much time there.-----11/17/05---Took Richie's dog
Buddy to the Vet, so he can be ready for the long
ride to the PEZ factory-Yipee!-----11/18/05---
Went to the Myrtle Beach International Airport to
drop off Mary so she can see her family for
Thanksgiving! Bye Mary!-----11/20/05---YAWN! Up
very early before the sun came out and we were on
the way to NY. Stayed at Momma Belyski's house.--
---11/21/05---Again another early day. This time
we are on the road to Connecticut. We are
stopping to see the hotel where the Northeast PEZ
Gathering is going to be-nice place! Maybe I'll
come back in April. Ooh-next stop, The PEZ
Factory Tour!!!
|
Susie goes to PEZ!!!
Hi, this is me, Susie. I just visited PEZ Casndy
Inc. in Orange, Connecticut. It was really a
dream come true! It even smelled good. I think
my friends Dylan, who is another PEZ dispenser
for EB and the TPD staff, who came came with me
were candy-coated afterwards. We met with
the "PEZident", Joe Vittoria, in his office to
talk about Cancer Awareness and supporting the
cause. I think we all agreed everyone loves PEZ
and everyone wants to find a cure for Cancer.---
We met the VP of Marketing, Bud Damberg too. He
walked us through the factory and we saw many
different people and tons of candy. There were
lots of different dispensers being packed to go
out to the stores on their own adventures.---
The candy shooting out of the machine was like
little warm bricks. There are machines to mix
the flavors and sugar, wrap the candy, package
the dispensers with candy and send them out so
everyone can have fun. We should all have fun
and we should all help each other. Sharing and
caring makes life sweet, just like PEZ and just
like helping to make everyone well. We can do it
together. Follow my journey for awareness,
support, love, fun and a cure!---I hope to see
YOU soon and I'll let you know where I go next.
Bye for now!---PS - I think I'll become a PEZ
Collector now!
|
Susie and Wendy Snapple Again!
Comment:
Okay then...since I had such a great time with
Wendy Snapple in Myrtle Beach, I wanted to hang
out with her again. So I'm back with her in New
York City. I'm a bit bummed though. For years
I've been hoping to find my Prince, so when I
found out Wendy had tix to see "The Little
Prince", I thought my prayers had been answered.
She sold the darn tickets though. So, I'm stuck
at her home for the evening 'cause we fly to
Texas tomorrow. I'll keep dreaming though.-------
---A rather wonderful trip tp Texas. We were
picked up by a limo and taken to this enormous
office in Plano. It's the home office of Cadbury
Schweppes. Americas beverages which not only
includes Snapple, but also Dr. Pepper, 7-UP,
Motts, Nantucket Nectars, Mistic, Stewarts,
Sunkist and Canada Dry. It was awesome! Anyway, I
met everyone at the office and took some photos.
There was even a bake-off where I got to try all
the cakes cooked with all the drinks mentioned
above as one of the ingredients. IT WAS
DELICIOUS! But, very fattening. The highlight of
the trip though was meeting and posing for pics
with the CEO Gil Cassagne. He's so cute ;) and
nice too! :)----------It's off to Beverly Hills
today. To the Beverly Hilton. I heard they had a
major renovation and that it's fabulous now and
it turns out it is. Plasma TV's in all the rooms,
great beds & fantastic bathrooms. I'm gonna
really like it here for the next few days.--------
--Wendy had a great day visiting friends with me,
but my highlight of the day was meeting all these
really great United States Air Force people at
the hotel. Huge convention and there was a ball
at the hotel which Wendy and I visited for the
Air Force Association. We both spent some time
meeting all these new friends and taking photos.
Great night!----------I finally got to meet the
VH1 Celebrity Fit Club Crew. Although we had to
schlepp all the way to Riverside (over an hour
away) to meet up at this go-kart camp, Wendy and
I had a great day. We started with a big
breakfast that Wendy treated everyone to at the
hotel in the morning. It was especially hilarious
when Harvey Walden IV from Celebrity Fit Club
came and mentioned that he couldn't believe he
was actually meeting Wendy at a buffet! How this
happened, no one's sure, but it was laugh out
loud funny. We drove to the set with Wendy's
friend Leslie and Dr. Ian Smith who is a riot.
Too bad he's married or he could have been my
Prince Charming! ;) Everyone on the set was so
nice to me and even took the time to sign my
journal. Chastity Bono was especially nice too.---
After we got back to the hotel, we both had to
take a nap. We were both a bit tired. Later we
met up with the Celebrity Fit Club panel -
Harvey, Dr. Ian and Dr. Linda at Trader Vic's,
where we ate again. All this eating is starting
to get to me. I can't wait 'til Thanksgiving is
over so Wendy and I can get back on her eating
and exercize plan. BURP!!!--------- -Well, we
flew home all day yesterday and there's so much
to catch up on. Phone calls, emails and
contracts. I think that's what Wendy is up to the
next few days since Thanksgiving is this week. I
know the plan is a lot of eating. We are going to
Wendy & her husband Steve's cousins Ellen &
Ronnie for a feeding frenzy and they are all
having a sleepover date with the kids and cousin
Wilma. I keep hearing that the quantities are
going to be enormous re: what is being served.
All I know is it sounds delicious and I can't
wait.----------It's the day after Thanksgiving
and I can hardly breathe I'm so stuffed and we
have brunch happening soon! Ugth! I'm well fed
but terribly sad that today is my last day with
Wendy. We went shopping this morning at Andels
Appetizing and Costco and the brunch went
spectacularly. I'm so tired I'm going to take a
nap. But, before I do, I am sending Wendy off
with a huge hug! She's giong home with her
husband and I'm off to see Chris' brother Dan
tomorrow. It's been a blast!
|
Another Thanksgiving Dinner!
11/26/05-----I’m back in Rocky Point, Long
Island. I spent the day with Dan, Chris’ brother.
His family had a big Thanksgiving dinner today
because they all couldn’t be together on
Thanksgiving Day. Dan was telling me he goes to
school and works, so today he took it easy. We
watched some movies and some college football. I
took the time to reflect on my experiences and
all of the wonderful people I’ve met. Words can’t
do justice to the amount of love and dedication
I’ve witnessed and received on this journey.---
Everywhere I’ve gone has been a blast and I learn
more and more how supportive people can be for
each other and I’m so glad to be a part of it
all. If I could give thanks on a day like today,
it’s thanks for allowing me to stand up for a
cause that could bring so many people together in
such a powerful way. I’ll never forget how
beautiful this world could be if we all just had
a PEZ to share. Well, it’s time to eat! Please
pass the Cranberry Sauce in a can!
|
Susie Visits A Neighbor!
11/27/05 Well, I’m still in Rocky Point after
this wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! I can’t
believe how gorgeous and breath taking the
weather has been for a late November day! Today’s
a day I decided to spend outdoors due to the
spring-like climate. I’m feeling great this
afternoon and I thought I’d spend time in the
yard, so I raked a bunch of falling leaves and
then I assisted a friend John who was working
under the hood of his jeep. I sure hope Chris
would stop by today. It would be great to say hi!
It feels like Spring!
|
Susie in Munich, Germany
12/11/05-----A new and big adventure!!! I
traveled to Germany to visit Chris' relatives.
Most of them live in Tutzing, and nearby. This
is a small town south from MMunich, the capitol
of Bavaria. It's located at the "Starnberger
See", the famous lake where "Konig Ludwig", the
Bavarian King died. I stayed at the house of
Uschi & Klaus, the cousin of Chris' mother and
her husband.---Unfortunately I stayed only 5
days, so I had to hurry to visit all the Greman
relatives and to see several "Christkindel
Markte", which means little markets. Almost all
towns have them in the time before Christmas. At
those markets they sell almost everything from
toys, to Christmas ornaments, even clothing and a
lot to eat and drink. They play Christmas songs
and the people meet to have a talk.---In Munich,
there's one of the biggest markets of all and I
had a lot of fun being there. I saw
the "Frauenbirche", the famous Munich church,
the "Rathaus", "Stachus" (where in the winter
time an ice parlor is located} and so many other
things...too much to mention!!!---What a
surprise!!! I met Dylan in Munich and we had a
lot of fun. Can you imagine, for example, that
the windows from the warehouse "kaufhof" are all
decorated with "Steiff" animals? All these toys
animated in a Winter Wonderland and a crowd of
people standing and staring. We made pictures
because it's hard to explain.---The weather was
pretty chilly, but it was also romantic with a
little bit of snow, and the sun shining.
Hopefully I have a good trip back home, because
they told me about blizzards and flight delays in
America. I'm looking forward to come back to
Germany because it was a great experience.
|
Susie's Christmas in Sandy Hook, KY
Merry Christmas! Dylan and I have had a great
holiday visiting with Jennie's family in Sandy
Hook, Kentucky. My favorite part was building
the gingerbread house. Dylan was so silly, he
wanted to live in it. I told him we still had a
lot of traveling to do, but he wasn't satisfied
until Jennie's mom told us we'd get sticky if we
tried to live inside. Then we went to Jennie's
Aunt's house. She is a survivor of Breast
Cancer, and is doing great! She's so gracious
to open her home to the crazy Williams' family!
(She should know, she's a Williams too!) I
loved all the decorations at the house. The
lights on the tree always get me in the
Christmas spirit! Too bad Christmas is only one
day...I think it should be all year. The fun
isn't over yet though, we'll be on our way to
Okinawa, Japan tomorrow!
|
New Years in Okinawa, Japan
The flight to Japan was very long, but it was
worth it! While we were there, we saw so many
things! We visited a HUGE Buddah statue, a giant
cave, saw a traditional Ryukyu song and dance,
Cape Kyan (The southern-most tip of the island),
a pineapple factory, and went exploring on some
of the surrounding islands. We even got to
celebrate New Years on the beach. Japan is such
an amazing place. Hopefully we'll get to visit
there again!
|
Susie visits Ipswich, MA
Susie here-- from Ipswich, MA! I arrived on the
doorstep of Erika and Josh Bouchard and was made
to feel right at home! I got to meet the other
Pez in Erika's collection-- she has over 600!
She said that she knows that other collectors
have far more than she does, but I reassured her
that she was off to a good start! I also met
her cat, Sonja, who spent most of my visit
asleep in various places in the house. Erika
told me about her cousin Jennifer who died from
breast cancer 3 years ago this very weekend--
she couldn't believe I was here for that
anniversary! It made this project all the more
meaningful. Erika said that Jennifer would have
appreciated all the work that I have done to
spread awareness and support of the disease. I
am just glad that I could help!------------------
January 21, 2006 -- What a busy day we had!
Josh and Erika took me on a tour of Boston!
What a beautiful city! We visited the U.S.S.
Constitution, or "Old Ironsides," the country's
oldest naval ship which is anchored at the Navy
Yard in Charlestown, MA. (part of Boston) It
is still guarded by naval officers! The boat
derived its name from the days (way back when)
it was used in battle -- sailors said that the
enemy's cannons couldn't penetrate the ship's
walls-- they were like iron! After the visit to
Old Ironsides, we visited "Cheers!" the tavern
from the t.v. show! I was also able to visit
Boston Common, and soon after that we made our
way to Fenway Park! What a neat place!
Unfortunately, the Red Sox were not playing, but
I had my picture taken in front of a statue of
Ted Williams. After our visit to Fenway, we
went to the New England Aquarium where we met up
with Erika's parents, Hobie and Meredith. They
loved the story about the breast cancer project
and told me that I was doing a great job! I saw
lots of fish and sea life, and even got to meet
a special turtle representatitve! It was quite
a full day and I have had a great visit with the
Bouchards. I am looking forward to my next
trip -- Virginia here I come!!!
|
LESS THAN JAKE!!!
1/26/06---Hi everybody! I got to see my favorite
Ska band tonight!!! Less Than Jake! Vinnie the
drummer and Rog Twig the bassist are big PEZ
Collectors and they invited me onto their tour
bus to meet them and the reat of the band, Chris
the guitarist, J.R. the Sax player and Buddy
Goldfinger the Trombone player.-----I got to the
Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale, NY and started
looking for someone who knew how I could get to
meet them. As soon as I walked in there was a
great guy named Drew who was the LTJ merchandise
vendor and he greeted me with such warmth I felt
like we'd been friends for ever. He made a call
and the next thing I knew, their tour manager was
escorting me onto their tour bus!-----I was very
nervous to be entering the bus. I've heard
stories about what goes on in these rigs. I'm
not a big party girl but I just had to meet
them! They turned out to be some of the nicest
bunch of guys I ever met. They were all gathered
around checking me out and they all had very nice
things to say about me and the TPD staff.---
Vinnie and Rog Twig love PEZ so much they even
have PEZ tattoos! At their shows fans throw PEZ
up on the stage.-----I brought a bunch of PEZ
dispensers hoping they would sign them for future
TPD Auctions and they did! They thought the
auctions were a great idea.-----I told them about
Dylan and EB and they said they look forward to
meeting him at a future gig down the road. I
know they'll like each other. He's loves Ska
too!-----Their show was amazing! They really
know how to get the entire crowd jumping. Even
the bartenders and the bouncers were having a
good time and dancing when they could. I was
invited to check out the sound booth and I fine
tuned Rog Twig's bass! I know the crowd
appreciated the thunder!!!-----I mingled with
some of their fans and they were all excited to
meet me. Two ladies, Sarah and Deanna were
really cool and they said they really hope I win
the fight against Cancer. Deanna is a great
photographer and said she'll help TPD down the
road however she can. What a sweet lady! It's
great how the age varies from young teens to
senior citizens. All focused on the great Ska
beat and all treating each other with kindness
and respect. While LTJ is an amazing act, their
fanbase is really something to behold.-----Well,
now I'm rushing off to Virginia to visit another
friend of TPD! Bye for now!
|
Susie in Virginia
1/27/06 - Friday --- Hello from Virginia! First
I want to thank Erika and Josh for such a great
time. Give Sonja a big hug for me! I'm visiting
Denise & Gary Campbell here in the historic
Fredericksburg VA. They told me I have much to
see while I'm here so I'm so excited! Spent the
day with Denise at work and met some of her
friends and co-workers. Two of the ladies in her
office, Cassey and Roberta, even have PEZ on
their desks. Of course, Denise does too! Road
trip tomorrow - gotta go to bed now. -----
1/28/06 - Saturday --- We start the day early
because Denise and Gary have appointments at the
eye doctor. While Denise is with the doctor, one
of the ladies notices their PEZHEAD license plate
on their truck and asks Gary about it. When
Denise comes out, she hears them talking about
PEZ and starts laughing. They introduce me and
tell her my story and guess what! She donates
$20! Thanks, Dianne! What a great way to start
the day! ---My tour begins at George Washington's
boyhood home. Denise tells me he was the first
president of the United States and is also known
as the Father of Our Country. Wow! Did he have
that many kids?? --- Next we went to the
Fredericksburg National Cemetery. More than
15,000 Union soldiers killed in and around
Fredericksburg during the Civil War are buried
there. What's even sadder is the indentities of
85% of them are unknown. I learned that the city
became a focal point during the war because it is
midway between Richmond and Washington. We have
such a nice walk in Old Town Fredericksburg. The
weather is wonderful! Can you believe in the
60's in January? Then we're off to the
Chancellorsville Battlefield. This was where
Stonewall Jackson was mortally wounded. That is
in Spotsylvania County, where Denise and Gary
live. ---- Next we go to Montpelier, the home of
James and Dolley Madison. For those of you that
don't know, he was another president. See? I'm
getting good at this history stuff! Along the
way we stop at WaWa and a few CVS drug stores.
Denise is looking for Valentine hearts that kinda
look like me, but they have white stems. She
told me that I'm special though. That was
sweet. Montpelier is in Orange County - next to
Spotsylvania. Such a grand house in the
country. Very peaceful. Started to see the
mountains there. The mountains is where we
stayed for the night. We could see the snow on
the mountain tops at the ski slopes. Denise and
Gary talked about their ears popping. Glad I
didn't have that problem! We stayed in
Harrisonburg and did more PEZ hunting and had a
nice dinner to celebrate their 32nd anniversary.
Happy Anniversary!--- 1/29/06 - Sunday --- We
woke up to rain, but we have to head back home
anyway. There was no rain when we got back to
Spotsylvania, so we went to Caroline County to
where Stonewall Jackson died. The young man that
worked there was so nice and he was glad to meet
me. We got back to relax and unpack. Denise's
PEZ hunt went well. She only needs 5 more
hearts! She asked me if I wanted to ride their
horse, but he's way too big for me! --- 1/30/06 -
Monday --- Spent the day with Denise at work
again and said goodbye to her friends. She works
for Spotsylvania County, so she took me across
the street to see the Courthouse and General
Lee's Headquarters. --- Had a great time! Wish
it could be longer, but tomorrow I'm off to
California!!
|
Susie In Sunny California!
2/3/06---I've arrived in sunny Southern
California. My flight was nice. I traveled
first class! Actually Priority! My first visit
was with my friends in Rob's display. I think
he's taking me to the wood shop next. Luckily I
don't have any digits!-----2/9/06---Ivan has
arrived. It seems these 2 talk a lot about PEZ.
They really need to get a life! Anyway, the last
few days I've been helping Rob prepare for the
charity auction. Camp Ronald McDonald Camp For
Good Times. I'm glad I was able to help him as
he is the most unorganized scatter brain I've
ever met. MEN!!!------2/10/06---Today we, Ivan,
Rob and myself, leave for Pamona, CA. We will be
attending the NHRA Winter Nationals. They tell
me the cars are very loud. Luckily they brought
me ear protection! I think I'd rather talk to
Betsy Ross, but Rob says a weekend at the Drags
can't be beat...unless it's a PEZ Convention!-----
-2/12/06---We're back! Oh my goodness. These
cars are so fast and I can still smell the
Nitro. I think the fuel may have affected my
plastic makeup. Truly it was a fun weekend, but
it's nice to be back. Now it's prep time for the
next big weekend! PEZCIFIC! Go Cory Mac!
|
The PEZCIFIC Convention!
2/15/06---Wow! We made it to the hotel. It's a
beautiful day here in Long Beach. The big fun
today was bag stuffing. Yeah, it doesn't take
much to excite these PEZHEADS. We got Ivan
settled into his room and it's back home for the
night. Did you know I have an IMC 1? PEZCIFIC!
PEZCIFIC! PEZCIFIC!------2/16/06---Finally! Let
the fun begin! I can tell Rob's excited. He did
90 mph on the way to the hotel. Not to worry. I
was buckled and wrapped in bubble wrap! The
convention is in full swing. We're talking room
hopping and lots of laughter!------2/17/06---
Well, I've learned a lot on this trip. Most
important lesson, Don't sit at Rob's table for
Bingo! That guy has zero luck. I still had
fun! Got to play Bingo, see some special awards
and of course more room hopping. I've also
learned that PEZHEADS laugh more the later the
night gets and they're not very thirsty. Because
they're drinking out of very small cups!
STRANGE!------2/18/06---Today is the day of the
big show. Man, there are a lot of my dispenser
friends here. 1,000's! Nice to see everyone.
My favorite part of the day was the auction.
Seems my Dad, Craig, donated one of my sisters
for charity. Nice gesture but a strange concept
to me. Dad signed her inner sleeve..."Check your
boobs. Boys too!". Had everyone rolling!------
2/21/06---It's that time. The convention is
over. We just took Ivan to the airport and it's
time for me to head out. Rob says I'm headed to
Wisconsin. I hear the Green Bay Gathering is a
blast, so I'm excited! Must go tell Rob to get
off his butt and pack my bags.---Susie
|
Susie In Green Bay!!!
3/1/06---Boy! I’m starting to really like this
priority mail thing! What a way to travel!
Bryan took me to work today, I met his boss and
co-worker and told them all about Breast Cancer.
What a boring day! Watching a computer screen
really is a bore! To top it off I had to sit by
Darth Vader for half the day. When we got home I
was able to meet Jacob and Tammy. I guess Jacob
is my host next week!------3/3/06---Bryan’s mom,
Debbie, arrived today. She’s joining us for the
weekend. She gave me a funny look but was happy
to hear what a great cause I’m doing all this
traveling for! Oh, and Dylan arrived today
too!!!------3/4/06---Today is the day of the big
show, The Green Bay Pez Gathering! Dylan and I
were able to meet everyone as they came in and
bought tickets for the raffle. We both talked up
our causes and had a blast! Bryan says that
there were about 60 people there. They raised
$110 for Jessica and Dylan and $578 for Special
Olympics. I noticed that Debbie has a much
larger appreciation for all this Pez stuff after
today. Good for her! We then enjoyed a great
dinner with the Zellmers, Brumetts and Krafts.
What a tiring day!------3/5/06---We drove Ron
Jones to the Airport and had lunch. When we got
home, Jacob received Dylan and I for the rest of
the week. Thanks Bryan for such a great time!
|
Susie and Jacob!
3/7/06---Jacob took me to Daycare today. When we
arrived they asked that we go home because they
didn’t have the room to legally watch us.
Something about not enough teachers. It was
quite neat to meet the kids that Jacob plays with
all day.------3/10/06---Bryan and Tammy haven’t
been much fun today, they keep talking about a
puppy. I think we might be making a road trip
tomorrow.------3/11/06---Here we go! Jacob has
Dylan and I strapped in! He says we get to go
get a new puppy. It was an hour drive to
Wittenburg WI, We drove up to about 50 dogs in
large pens outside. A very nice facility! Jacob
was overwhelmed by the amount of dogs that were
there. They showed us four beagle puppies.
Adorable! They bought a female. We’ve had a
great time playing with Pebbles!------3/12/06---
Today we visited Lambeau Field. What a huge
place! We took a tour of the stadium and took a
couple of pictures. I met a guy named Vince
Lombardi, he was pretty quiet and bronze. Too
bad there wasn’t a game. I’d love to sit in that
crowd. I guess I’m leaving tomorrow. I get to
visit Dwight Lutsko! That will be great fun! I
hope Chris is keeping track of my miles, I bet
I’ll be able to go to Tahiti when I’m done
traveling! - Susie!
|
The Lutskos
3/17/06
Dwight and Tina Lutsko unpacked me on St.
Patrick's Day. WOW was it cool to be
at their house. We got T-shirts, oops that's
Dylan and I, mine is from the Heart of America,
Adrian Michigan. Can't believe we played a slot
machine,"Tina's" and won. This will cost Dwight!
Took a tour of Adrian, saw the sights, went to
Cabelas in Dundee, Michigan. Traveled to Marian
Gomall's house, another Pezhead, another beautiful
collection. WOW, what a busy 3 days. Saw lots of
old Pez friends and 2 more new ones. We are off
to Chris' again for the CN Convention. More Pez
Heads and more friends! What else can I say?
Check Dylan's book, because we traveled this trip
together. The "Heart of America" Adrian,
Michigan, was cool, not cold, but truly beautiful.
My thanks to Dwight and Tina Lutsko, for their
hosting us. We loved everything we did.-----
Susie xoxoxo
|
Seeing Dadddy Again!
4/3/06---I just came back from the North East PEZ
Collectors Gathering in CT with Craig Donnellan-
WHAT A BLAST-As usual, a great time was had by
all who remember! I saw many of the dealers from
all over the US and the world! As well as many
of my PEZ buddies! I'm not exactly sure how much
I helped raise, but I think it was close to
$1000!------Now off to the Post Office to get
back to Chris to continue mhy mission! PS-Craig
gave Chris quite a scare on Saturday at the
convention when he said I was mistakenly sold by
his daughter Delaney. Come on Chris, What day
was it?! APRIL FOOLS!!!
|
Dogs Get Cancer Too.
4/10/06---Hi Everyone! I'm back on Long Island
and decided to stop to say hello to Roseann and
her pet family. Dylan was here last week and had
a nice time. I especially wanted to meet
Roseann's White Shepherd, Natasha. She's large
and sweet. I feel badly because she is sick
too. I didn't know dogs can get Cancer too. Her
paw has a tumor inside of it and it has made
Natasha tired. She limps around but still has a
big smile on her face! See you next stop!---
Susie
|
I'm going to walk the Red Carpet!
4/18/06---I am in Savannah, GA hanging out with
the people who are making PEZheads! The Movie.
Yesterday I got a walking tour of downtown
Savannah and then I got to be on camera! Oh, and
I forgot to tell you that Dylan's here too! We
got to be in a movie together! Some guy named
Chris had a funny beard and he talked all about
us. We hope the movie really helps to spread the
word about our causes. Today Chris brought Dylan
and I to class with him. I always wondered what
art school was like. And then later today I hit
the road again. Gotta go visit someone else.
Gotta keep movin'. Gotta spread the word.---
Adios, Susie
|
RELAY FOR LIFE!!!
4/21/06---Oh my goodness! I cannot even begin to
tell you what an exciting day today has been! As
soon as I arrived I was helping Jennie and Brooke
Ballard (the co-chair's for Morehead State's
Relay) get things ready for the big night. We
were busy, busy, busy! It was supposed to be
held outside, but unfortunately, there were lots
of storms coming through the area, so things had
to be moved inside to one of the basketball
gyms. First things first, we had to set up the
campsite. This year's Relay theme was Ho Ho
Hoping for a Cure, so everything was Christmas
themed. The Delta Gamma Sorority Team (Jennie
and Brooke's sorority) set up a great tacky
Christmas tree! Everyone loved it, including
me! After everyone had finally made it to Relay,
the fun was about to begin.---There was a
presentation of medals to Survivors and a speaker
from the university-next up, it was time to
present the check! Jennie and I were so proud to
present the 794.47 check that everyone who
participated in the Traveling Pez Project help to
raise on behalf of TPD. Jennie was especially
proud to have her Aunt Carole (a breast cancer
survivor) and her mother (who lost both her
mother and one brother to cancer) in attendance.
You can see pictures of them in the photo album-
it was so great to meet them.---This Relay was
especially fun because there were all sorts of
games like Cornhole and a woman-less beauty
pageant!! There were boys dressed up like
girls! It was so hilarious!---Relay lasted from
7pm-7am! I was worn out, but cancer never
sleeps, so why should we? Overall, the Relay was
a success-the small university of Morehead State
raised over $12,000.00! I was so glad that I
could help out with it, and will even get to help
out next year when the money we raise from Jan.
2006 - Dec. 2006 gets donated! I can't wait to
travel some more!---Love,
Susie
|
The Crozier Ladies
This is the last night that I am going to have
here. Tomorrow I am being sent to Corbi in PA. I
have had a very fun time here. The youngest
daughter named Maya turned 5 on Friday - We ate a
lot of cake. LOL! Traci introduced me to her
PEZ and asked me to give a speech. She had such
a nice bunch of PEZ. The first day I arrived I
went work with Traci and she introduced me to a
few people. That got a little scary LOL! You'll
all see the pictures. I had a lot of fun and
found out a few things about the town. The
neighboring town is Lewiston. Lewiston was the
first capitol of Idaho and no I didn't see one
potato farm! It is very close to the Rocky
Mountains. So pretty!------Thank you, Susie.
|
Bloomsburg
5/15/06
Well I got some much needed rest here. Corbi had
to work all but one day while I was in
Bloomsburg. So I spent alot of time chatting
with all her PEZ. It was fun here because her
collection is downstairs and her son Jacob has a
collection upstairs. I finally did get a tour of
the Town. I got to see Bloomsburg University
where Corbi went to school. I went to the top of
Mt.Olympus on campus too, then went downtown and
saw a big fountain, then a covered bridge that we
drove through twice. Finally we went through the
Town Park and then drove along the Susquehanna
River and back to Corbi's house. I spent Mother's
Day hanging out with a bunch of other PEZ hearts
while Corbi was at work, then we ate dinner at
Denny's since they were't packed. It's back to
the box and on the road again for me. I'm off to
Minnesota.
Talk to you later,
Susie
|
Orange County Chopper
I made a little detour and visited the guys at
Orange County Chopper from the TV show American
Chopper. Paul Sr. was out of town so Paul Jr.
and Mikey took some time out to play with me and
Dylan. They were proud to show us their latest
creation. A bike built for PEZ! It looked
amazing! I was a little scared of them at first
but they turned out to be really nice guys.
Mikey took good care of me and was proud to help
out in the fight against Cancer. Thanks OCC!!!
|
Susie takes a trip with Geri Sullivan
May 18-22--- Minneapolis! (the one in Minnesota)
------Susie here. I was supposed to visit Geri
Sullivan in Wales (the one in Massachusetts), but
when the time came, it turned out she was going
to be in Minneapolis. I jumped at the chance to
join her there! Geri was staying with her dear,
dear friends -- Fred, Susan, and Gavi Levy
Haskell -- in south Minneapolis. No sooner had I
arrived there than I was whisked away to see Gavi
in her 7th grade school play."This is a Test" by
Stephen Gregg was hilarious! Everything that
could possibly go wrong when taking a test did go
wrong. Even if it did turn out just to be a bad
dream, seeing the play made me very happy that I
don't have to take tests to show what I've
learned in my travels. I'd much rather just write
about it!------On Saturday, I went to lunch with
Geri and Karen Johnson, then to a meeting of the
Minnesota Science Fiction Society! I even joined
the organization, which was as easy as signing
the attendance book! I met many friendly people,
including Felicia Herman, who participated in the
Koman Twin Cities Race for the Cure on Mother's
Day. Even though membership in Minn-stf is open
to all sentient beings regardless of planet of
origin, I was the only non-human there.-----Next,
Geri and I were off to a music party, where Geri
confirmed our plans to visit Karen Cooper, La
Duchess of PEZland, on Monday.------We were out
very late Saturday night, then up early Sunday
morning to go to the Minneapolis Farmer's Market
with Susan and Gavi. That afternoon we visited
still more friends! I watched while Gavi ironed
fabric and Susan sewed drapes for their new home.-
-----Geri and I took two of her design clients to
lunch on Monday, then back to their office for an
afternoon of work. They enjoyed meeting me, and I
enjoyed showing them my poster from the
Breastival. We all laughed at the marvelous
games: Pin the Boob on the Babe, How Many
Jellybeans fit in a Double D Bra, etc. Cancer
isn't fun, but learning about it can be.------
Then we were finally off to see La Duchess! Karen
welcomed me, wearing her PEZ bracelet, and then
introduced me to the many denizens of her PEZ
choir. Bullwinkle has such a deep voice! He was
surprisingly shy, but Little Orphan Annie more
than made up for him.------Much as I've enjoyed
Geri's company, we've been on the run so much
that I'm looking forward to settling into my
comfortable box and snoozing for a few days en
route to Allentown, PA. I should have caught up
on sleep by the time I arrive at Karen Freed's!---
---Thank you, Geri! Thank you, Fred, Susan, and
Gavi! Thank you, La Duchess! Thank you, Minn-stf!
Thank you, Minneapolis!
|
Allentown, PA
5-24-06---
Arrived at Karen Freed's house safe and sound.
We spent the rest of the day with Karen's four
legged furry kids, Sadie & P. J. (which stands
for Pezhead Jr.). Got a tour of her gardens and
even got to see 4 baby birds that are in a nest
in the garden.
-----5-25-06---
Karen says there's only 7 more shopping months to
Christmas, so we better get started with our
shopping. She wouldn't leave her driveway until
I was fastened in my seatbelt. She bought me new
slippers because she says it still gets cold at
nights here in Allentown. I got new shoes,
purse, necklace and a Dooney & Porke shopping bag!
-----5-25-06---
We started out the day by visiting Lost River
Caverns. The girls there were so happy to see
me! We took a walk along the nature trail and
saw a deer! Many squirrels were along the trails
and lots of bugs, too (Yuck!). I got to see lots
of stones and minerals, it was very interesting.
From there, we went to the Crayola Factory! Wow,
it sure was bright with colors! I got to play
with the stuffed crayons and roll around in bins
full of brightly colored crayons. They have the
world's largest crayon ever made, weighing in at
1500 pounds! I got another squished penny there!-
----
Karen is sad to see me go, there's so much more
she wanted to do, but she says I have to go all
the way to the West coast from here to visit with
Valerie Miller and all her friends!
|
Susie in CA again!
Here I am at Val Miller's in Palos Verdes
Estates, Ca . I arrived in plenty of time for the
Los Angeles PEZ meeting. Penny, the PEZ Cowgirl,
lives here with her small herd of PEZ Ponies. I
enjoyed relaxing with Penny in the evening after
all the stable chores were done. We discussed how
exciting it would be if her dream of new PEZ
Ponies would come true. She swore me to secrecy
but I can say she will be continuing the PEZ Pony
Project even after the 1 year anniversary in
August 2006. Saturday was sunny & warm. The
perfect day for a PEZ meeting. By the way it was
also the 8th Anniversay of the Los Angeles PEZ
meeting. I enjoyed posing for pictures withe
incdedible EB fundraiser quilt. After I helped
sell $100 in raffle tickets we all settled back
for several hour of PEZ talk. I always enjoy time
spent with a group of PEZ people. Now I'm headed
back across the country to the south this time. -
Susie
|
Nine Inch Nails
6/8/06---Last night David and his friend Skot
took me to see the Nine Inch Nails concert. We
even got to hear Trent Reznor and Peter Murphy do
a couple of songs together before the show.------
6/13/06---The rest of the weekend we hung out
with Nathan and David's girlfriend Neilie. We
watched a lot of World Cup Soccer amd saw tons of
animals in the woods. The groundhogs were the
coolest. I've got to get off to Chris Jordan's
house now but I had a great time with David, his
family and friends.
|
The Jordans
6/17/06---I got to come to the Jordan's house in
Kearney, MO! I arrived just as they were
getting ready to go to the St. Louis National Pez
Convention. Wow - there are a
lot of pez in their house to be checked and
cleaned and priced! Boxes and boxes
of new pez and older pez! And then there are
even more pez in their
collections!------I helped build displays and I
got to e the first pez to sit in one. It was
pretty neat seeing the displays being built -
they take a lot of work!------6/18/06---I got to
see the collections that Chris and Kyle have.
Lots and lots of pez!
Kyle has a lot of display boxes and even
cardboard boxes that pez are shipped
in. I never realized that people liked
collecting the paper stuff and old
shipping boxes!------6/19/06---I saw Dylan's TPD
quilt while I was at the Jordan's. They were
taking it to St.
Louis to be displayed and it is beautiful! I had
to climb into my traveling box
on Tuesday so we could load up to go to St.
Louis. We went to Children's Mercy
Hospital because Kyle was hurting but they are
really nice to kids there! Then
we drove to St. Louis on Wednesday.------6/21/06--
-When we got to St. Louis, Kyle took me to
Michael and Ronai so that they could
show me the convention. My stay with the
Jordan's was short but they sure were
busy while I was there. It was fun!------Now I
can tell you about my adventures with the
Brumetts!
|
St. Louis PEZ Convention 2006!
Kyle brought me to the Brumetts hotel room at the
St Louis Convention. WOW! They have 4 kids- Joey
(10), Ellie (8), Stuart (6) & Nate (4). Nice Kids-
-----Michael and Ronai took me room hoping right
away so that I could meet all the nice pezzy
people there. I stopped by Reds room and got to
take a picture with him and “Little Red”. I met
Dave Hall & got to take a picture with his Disney
Soft Heads. WOW!! That was exciting!------It was
really great to meet John and Marian Devlin. They
are fabulous convention hosts. I got to sit in on
the seminars that Ronai and Michael gave. For
someone that doesn’t like public speaking,
Michael did a really great job. Ronai got a
little choked up as she was trying to explain her
project. Her dad is very sick with colon cancer
and when anyone buys a PEZalicious.com logo t-
shirt, the proceeds will go to colon cancer
research. If caught early enough, colon cancer is
very curable. Everyone please get checked!------I
got to go swimming with Ronai and the kids. Kyle,
Bethany & Todd Jordan were there. Those Brumett
kids really know how to have a water fight. This
is where I met Chelsea Welch & Joey Gilligan.
They are really fun kids. Chelsea introduced me
to her dad David. Michael says he is like the
Yoda of PEZ Collecting.After that I got to meet
more new people and see some old friends. I took
lots of pictures. Tom & Lisa Zellmer, Mike &
Yvonne Chadwick, Bill Heltemes, Sherill & Noot,
Gary Plunkett and Tina & Dwight Lutz, to name a
few. (I helped Ronai make a bracelet for Tina) I
got to meet Adam (El_Kabong) and take a picture
with his awesome Pumpkin collection. Adams friend
Joel Okum let me play Bingo with him. It was so
fun! He brought his 80s Space Gun and tons of
lemon flavored ammo. Joey, Ellie & Chelsea
started a major candy war with the Jordans table.
The kids also kept asking me why everyone would
cheer when they called out “O 69”, but I am not
telling.------BINGO! I finally got to call it
out! Joels sheet got a Bingo. I let him keep all
the prizes though as I was really just his muse.
After Bingo there was lots more room hopping and
seeing more friends. Jeff & Linda Gilligan, Shawn
Peterson & his parents, Russ McKimmey, Sue & Dave
Hearly, Joe Paravati and so many more…------
Saturday was the big convention. Ronai & Michael
got up very early so that they could bring all
their shirt boxes down to the convention hall.
WOW! There were a lot of them. I got to help sell
12 PEZalicious.com logo shirts to help colon
cancer research. WooHoo!! I also really enjoyed
helping Ellie sell original artwork created by
her and Alyssa Kraft. Her prices were really
reasonable, “Name your price or free!”. She and
Alyssa did quite well. We were really busy at our
table right up to the end of the show. Michael
also met a nice man named Mark Thomas. He had a
great Mr Ugly MOC as well as a couple FEBs and a
Lamb MIC. Michael was very happy that Mark let
him buy them. Michael was so happy he messed up a
couple shirts. Hahahahaha It was pretty funny.
Also Russ McKimmey won my friend the TPD Mrs.
Clause and Shawn Peterson won my other friend,
the Full Body Santa. Congratulations guys!! You
are helping to support a great cause! ------We
didn’t stay for the charity auction because
Michael & Ronai promised to take the kids and me
to the St Louis Arch. Going up in the Arch was
really fun. I met a new friend in Ronais purse- A
Mr Ugly 3.9 thin foot on an orange stem. He was
supposed to be a surprise for Michael when they
got back to MN, but I just couldn’t wait that
long so I helped him out on the trip to the top
of the Arch. Michael was very happy!
We stopped back at the hotel to say our good-byes
& to find out how the auction went. Michael was
shocked to find out that the Astronaut prop he
made sold for $900! WOW!!
What a great convention! Thanks Devlins!! Well,
my fun with the Brumetts doesn’t end here. I get
to road trip it home with them!
|
On Vacation with The Brumett's
That was a really long car ride. I had a new
adventure. Instead of getting a hotel room, half
way home we drove until 2am then we stopped and
slept in a rest area parking lot for 4 hours. 6
People and me in a mini van, who would have
thought? We got to their house in Maple Grove MN,
Sunday afternoon. After unpacking the trailer and
getting the kids settled in, it was time to look
at all the convention goodies. WOW, what a haul!
(I think that is the real reason we slept in the
car last night hahaha). ------Monday I got to
help Ronai make 4 batches of homemade Raspberry
jam. Mmmmmmm! Good stuff! Wednesday the Krafts
came over and I got to take a picture with their
nice family. Saturday we were finally off. We
were all very excited to be heading out again. We
drove all day and finally stopped in Kadoka,
South Dakota, at a hotel. We got up this morning
and went to the Petrified Garden in Kadoka. They
have this awesome room that has fluorescent
rocks. A black light shows amazing colors on the
rocks. Then we went outside and saw all the
petrified logs and some beautiful Rose Quartz.
Ellie picked up some small stones to go in my
box. She is so thoughtful! Michael found a
beautiful Rose Quartz stone in the shape of a
heart for me… isn’t he thoughtful too!------
After the garden we drove to Wall Drug. It is a
funny litt;le town in South Dakota know for
giving away free ice water. I took a picture with
the Brumett kids and a huge Jackalope. They also
have a huge T-Rex. It is a must see, but only
every 12 minutes.------After Wall Drug we drove
to Mt Rushmore where I was able to take a picture
with the presidents. I had to do it quick because
it started to rain on us. We hiked for a while in
the rain but it cleared up pretty quick. We got
back in the car and drove on to Douglas WY. I got
to meet Ronai’s sister Dana and her husband
Michael and their 4 kids. The next day we drove
on to Martins Cove Wyoming, where I met Paul
Turley (PhotoPaul), his wife Laurie and their two
little girls Amanda and Jessica. What a nice
family! They drove all the way from Ogden Utah
that morning just to meet me. OK,… maybe they
wanted to see the Brumetts also. Around 5 pm I
finally got to meet Ronai’s parents. They are
serving a church mission here in Martins Cove,
which is why we came out here. It was so good to
finally meet them especially her dad. I’ve heard
so much about him as he is currently fighting
cancer.------July 4th we went to Martins Cove
with Ronai’s family (8 adults and 12 children).
We did a 5-mile handcart trek! WOW, was I happy
that I got to ride in the handcart and they
didn’t make me pull it. Ronai and Michael said it
was a lot of hard work but well worth the
experience. Way out here there weren’t any
fireworks, but I did get to climb Independence
Rock. What was really cool is that we found a
name scratched into the rock that someone did
July 4th 1850. 156 years ago to the day!! That
was cool!------We said our goodbyes to Ronai’s
family and headed back to MN. On the way back, we
stopped at the Black Hills Caverns. That was
pretty cool. At one point we were 225 feet
underground. It is a long car ride back but the
Brumetts like to stop at weird places along the
way so it doesn’t seem so bad. We stopped in
Murdo South Dakota at the Pioneer Auto Show. That
was well worth the stop. The place is packed with
stuff! Ronai and I got to sit in the General Lee
from the Dukes of Hazard and honk the horn. If I
had known I would have packed my Daisy Dukes.
Hahahaha------Several places along the way we
stopped at antique stores and found some good
stuff. We also drove past the Corn Palace in
Mitchell which is decorated with corn cobs and
husks. Strange!------We also made a great stop at
Maryann Kennedy’s house. Maryann has one of the
premier collections of my fellow PEZ. It was
amazing being among all those vintage rare
pieces. Maryann was a very nice person and a
gracious host. I will be visiting her again
soon! ------Finally home again to the Brumetts1
After a trip like that you would think I needed
some rest. Nope, not me! I am off to New York to
raise more awareness for Breast Cancer Research!
Thanks Brumetts!
|
Susie meets Cancer
"Cooperstown or Bust" appears on the windows of
many of the cars driving around here at the
northern edge of the Catskill Mountains in NY.
Minivans from around the country arrive with
baseball fans and players coming to play at
Cooperstown Dreams Park, or to visit the National
Baseball Hall of Fame.------My host family,
Michele Disco, Jeff Harris, and their son Miles
came here for the opera! Jeff is the Lighting
Director at Glimmerglass Opera, which operates in
the summer. I have heard some beautiful singing
on my tour of the backstage.------Michele is my
first host currently undergoing treatment for
breast cancer. With her, I saw treatment up
close. Michele was diagnosed in December of '05,
had a lumpectomy in January. The tumor was very
small - yea for early screening, she is 41! She
had chemotherapy at NYU Hospital in New York
City, where they live the rest of the year. Now
she is having radiation at Bassett Hospital here
in Cooperstown. Radiation is five days a week
for 33 treatments, a little over six weeks.------
Every day Michele takes Miles, 3-1/2 to Brookwood
school. The kids in the class like to check out
the new fuzz growing on Michele's head! After
dropping off Miles, she parks the car near the
hospital and takes a walk. The doctors say
regular exercise helps stave off the fatigue that
hits radiation patients. Michele thinks this is
nothing compared to chemo fatigue!------Only ten
minutes walk away, we found the Baseball Hall of
Fame. We saw beautiful Lake Otsego, the
headwaters of the Susquehanna River. There's
been a lot of rain and flooding up here lately,
but fortunately things are drying out. We
stopped for a break with Bruce, the "parking lot
maven" by Doubleday Field. We had some ice
cream, and Bruce took our picture in front of his
baseball memorabilia shop.------Back at the
hospital, we waited for Michele's turn. I
checked out the radiation machine. It's a little
bit scary, but Diane, Don, Fred, Ray, and the
other technicians at Bassett take very good care
of her. I got to manage Michele's ipod during
the treatment. Her favorite radiation tune is
Pat Benatar's song "Hit Me With Your Best Shot."
Fire Away!------On one of the days I visited,
Michele had an infusion of Herceptin, which she
will get every three weeks for the next year. I
saw she had a bracelet for Epidermolysis
Bullosa. Miles and Jeff both have a mild form of
EB, and Dylan visited here last week. She had a
breast cancer bracelet that said "HOPE," but it
broke apart after only two months. The EB
bracelet has been going for over a year. Hmph!---
---It's time to keep going and raising
awareness. Thank you to my hosts!
|
St. Petersburg, Florida!
07/23/06---I arrived in Largo, Florida Friday
afternoon. I came on a busy weekend, but still
got to see some cool things. Saturday, I went
wedding dress shopping. Unfortunately, they had
nothing in my size! After that, we went to the
mall. A storm came and I really didn’t get to go
see any of the sites. ------Today I got to see
St. Petersburg. I went to The Pier, which almost
looks like an upside down pyramid. From the top
the The Pier, you can see the city of St.
Petersburg. I also went to Tropicana field where
the Tampa Bay Devil Rays play. I went to the
University of South Florida, where my hosts
Kristin and Kevin go to school at.------Kevin’s
mother had a scare once with breast cancer. After
staying with Michele and seeing her dealings, it
does pay to get checked early and often. Now I’m
notff to another Florida city. What could
possibly be bad about a place called Niceville?
|
Niceville, Florida IS Nice!
07/28/06 Greetings from Susie in the 'Ville!
And it's nice indeed - if not a bit too warm -
bit it is the middle of summer, after all! In
the first picture of my Niceville vacation, here
I am with my friends the "Katrinas" and "Montie"
(another BCA dispenser) posing on a windowsill in
the lobby of Kathleen's workplace, Powell &
Swanick, Attorneys at Law - which is where I
arrived this morning. "Montie" is the namesake
of Kathleen's dear friend Montie Martin, who lost
her battle with breast cancer four years ago.
She is greatly missed...This evening Kathleen & I
are going to a birthday party at the Boathouse
Oyster Bar, on the Harbor in Destin, for her
daughter Lauren's 26th birthday. We'll be back
in touch on Monday to share with you an account
of our weekend on the beautiful Emerald
Coast!..........Before heading out for the party
in Destin later today, I ran errands with
Kathleen on her lunch hour & had my photo taken
at several spots in Niceville - in front of the
Niceville water tower; at Giuseppi's Wharf; at
Lions Park on the Boggy Bayou; on a swing at a
little neighborhood corner; an on top of the
Powell & Swanick sign on Partin Drive. My gosh,
I am a tiny thing & hope y'all can see me in
these pictures! Back at ya later....Susie &
Kathleen.........07/31/06 Hi again, this is the
day I leave to go visit Tina in Red Bluff,
California. She lives on Electric Avenue! I
wonder if Eddy Grant is her neighbor (he's the
guy who wrote that song - I Googled the lyrics
for you, Tina). My pictures will be ready on
Wednesday & Kathleen will forward them to
everybody ASAP. I had lots of fun on my vacation
here & look forward to many more!
Affectionately - Susie
|
The Goo Goo Dolls & Counting Crows!
Wow! Chris took me to a concert tonight! We
were invited by Robby Takac to see his band, The
Goo Goo Dolls. He's the bass player. They were
playing at the Jones Beach Theater in NY. They
opened for the Counting Crows.------He left us 2
tickets at the gate! They were amazing seats.
Chris was given a pass that alowwed him to take
pictures from right in front of the stage! While
he was doing that, I was wandering around the
stage and I ran into Dylan and Elsa! They were
being escorted by Peter Pez! We met some great
people in the audience too. Everyone was so
excited for the music to begin------The sun was
setting and the band came out. Wow! The energy
in the place was amazing! Everyone was up and
dancing! When John Rzeznik, the lead singer,
sang Let Love In, he was looking right at me!!!---
---After their set, we went to get some water and
we stumbled upon a great charity organization.
You can visit them on our links page. They
collect canned foods and give them to different
shelters around the country. They are at every
show on this tour. So far they've collected over
500, 000 thosand cans of food. This fod feeds
homeless people, displaced families due to
disasters and domestic violence, abandoned
children and more! I really like what they do.
Their name is Rock and Wrap It Up Inc., They also
collect all the unused food used for the band and
crew and bring it to local shelters so people
have meals that night.------After meeting more
people, I made my way back to the seats just in
time to see the Counting Crows perform. Their
band is amazing too! Adam Duritz puts on an
amazing performance.------On the way home, Chris
told me he is arranging for me to be at another
show on this tour where I'll actually go back
stage and meet Robby! I can't wait! Robby has a
great PEZ Collection too. He must miss it when
he's on the road, because on one of his amps on
the stage are 2 Giant dispensers! Homer and Bart
Simpson. Well, time for me to rush to another
PEZ Gathering! I'm going to help out with The
2006 PEZ Quilt Raffle!
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Dairyville! Population 160!
This entry will be added very soon. Photos will
be posted shortly too.
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MNPEZCon 11
8/12/06---The Minnesota PEZ Convention #11! This
was the site of my first convention last year!
My, how time flies! This is also the 2nd
anniversary of Chris being back in the hobby.
Ironicly, it was a Cancer tragedy that brought
him back, after being out of it for close to 10
years.------I was upset to learn that Juli Kraft,
the hostess of this event was recently diagnosed
with Breast Cancer. When I saw her though, she
had higher spirits than I ever saw before! I
know she's going to beat this. She begins
treatment in a few weeks.------It was great to
see all my old friends and TPD supporters. I
also made some new friends too.------Ana Jurjevic
came all the way from Slovenia to be here! There
used to be a PEZ factory there! I made special
friends with her and I can't wait to visit her in
Slovenia. Her father is a big PEZ collector and
I met him earlier this year when I visited Rob
Yarak. His name is Ivan.------Dylan was there
too! He was busy working all weekend raising $
for the EB Quilt Raffle which ended here. They
raised over $2000.00 for Dylan Harris! He's the
boy Dylan was named after.------Well, it's time
to travel again! Thanks Dana & Juli Kraft!
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One Of The Very First PEZHEADS!!!
Sept 3, 2006---I am in Marshall, MN and so is
Dylan. Friday we got to hang out in Maryann
Kennedy's Pez room and did some photo shoots with
her Pez doll that used to travel to conventions
to and some other Pez. Saturday in the rain we
toured the Red Baron Aviation Museum-owned and
operated by Schwans, Inc. who's headquarters is
in Marshall, Mn. Also sat at an old fashioned
working soda fountain. Was a couple interesting
days and I am even signed in on the guest
register at the museum. Now both Dylan and I are
off to Washington-Cheers-
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Susie meets the Hammonds!
I arrived at Sylvia’s just in time to be whisked
into the car for a quick trip to Seattle.
We spent the day getting Sarah’s (Sylvia’s
daughter) room for college. It was sort of an all
work and no play trip. If you look at the TPD
website you will see that I kept busy by reading
up on the University of Washington football team.
I was hoping they would win their first game, but
it was not to be. When we got back to the
farmlands of Sylvia’s home in Ephrata, we took it
easy hanging out in the garden and looking at the
bounty of the harvest season. Peaches, grapes,
hay, potatoes,
apples, wheat, onions, peas and other crops that
grow in the fertile Columbia Basin, as the area
is called……. I learned that Sylvia and Sarah are
very interested in promoting breast cancer
research. Two of Sylvia’s friends are breast
cancer survivors. One of those friends has a
daughter who is Sarah’s friend. Her name is Mary.
While Mary’s mother is a survivor, her aunt and
both of her grandmothers died from breast cancer.
Although Mary is only 18 she gets breast exams
and mammograms every year because of her family
history. She is even considering genetic testing
and pre-emptive surgery. We are all hopeful of a
cure that will make that unnecessary. So now I
am on to my next adventure and my goal of
increasing breast cancer awareness
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Lacee aka Lori Ryan
Today I landed on the doorstep of the Ryans!
They live in Plainfield, IL which is a suburb of
Chicago. Lori is the PEZ collector of the family
and she also has Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB).
John is Lori's husband and Megan is their
daughter. Megan is an Elementary School Teacher!-
-----Lori made me feel right at home as she
showed me around her house. She even gave me a
ride on the electric scooter she uses in the
house to get around! That thing goes FAST!!!-----
-Lori showed me her PEZ collection and it
wasgreat to see some of my pld friends again!
They all welcomed me and invited me to have
dinner with them! I was starving! A steady diet
of PEZ is great but I needed some comfort food!
My PEZZY friends pulled out all the stops and
made a wonderful meal! They even had a booster
seat for Mini Centipede so he could reach the
table!------Megan had been to the Annual Wizard
of Oz Festival in Chesterton, Indiana just before
I got to her house. This is an event that Lori
and Megan go to almost every year. They had lots
of Oz memorabilia for sale, along with an Oz
parade and visits from some of the original
Munchkins! They make a new Oz poster every year
in honor of the festival and I( had my6 picture
taken with this years poster. Lori has all of
her posters framed and hanging on her wall in the
den. This year's poster makes #13 for her! I
also had my picture taken with some Oz candle
snuffers. They look like a fun bunch of people
to hang out with!------Now it's time to bid Lori,
John & Megan goodbye and I'm off on my next
adventure! I'll see you all again soon! Susie
signing off!!!
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