We cherish these toys that once sparked imagination and play in Veronica. It's amazing to have a part of her with Ella and Jude (and me) always!Love,
Tonda
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Passing down memories
We cherish these toys that once sparked imagination and play in Veronica. It's amazing to have a part of her with Ella and Jude (and me) always!Love,
Tonda
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
"You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman (to Veronica, love Rene)
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
If you've got troubles, I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
But none of them will ever love you
The way I do, it's me and you
Boy, and as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
When the road looks rough ahead
And you're miles and miles
From your nice warm bed
You just remember what your old pal said
Boy, you've got a friend in me
Yeah, you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
If you've got troubles, I've got 'em too
There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you
We stick together and can see it through
Cause you've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
Some other folks might be
A little bit smarter than I am
Bigger and stronger too
But none of them will ever love you
The way I do, it's me and you
Boy, and as the years go by
Our friendship will never die
You're gonna see it's our destiny
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
You've got a friend in me
Monday, December 21, 2009
Giving
As it is the holidays, I thought I would share what a wonderful giver I think Veronica is. She continues to inspire my thoughts and actions whenever I think of her, which is daily.
But she was also an excellent gift giver! I know we exchanged Christmas and birthday presents for several years, and I loved everything she picked out! It might not be so interesting to someone else, but to me the gifts were perfect and thoughtful. I distinctly remember my 19th birthday gifts consisting of skull and crossbones earrings, lotto tickets and a Jack Daniels jigger (sorry mom!). Then, for my 20th birthday, Veronica got me to drive to Knoxville on New year's eve because she even had me a birthday cake and the Weeds season 1 dvd!
This picture shows the cake, and Verny's passion for books in the background haha :)
This was the first time I saw her apartment there, and we had an awesome weekend together. Last year, I was in New York for my birthday. Sadly, Veronica didn't join me, although I know she would have LOVED that, but I know she loved that I experienced her favorite city at its best.
Veronica was always giving. I also know she inherited this trait from her sweet mother. I hope all of you have a great holiday!
Love, Brittany
Living Firework
With finals finally out of the way, it is time for a much-needed post. I hope that others also find the time to post a memory or a thought.
I had spoken before about Veronica's generosity, but I thought I'd elaborate further on the amount of care and concern she had for others, no matter how close or distant she was from them.
Several times Vern showed me up as a sister. My twin brother lives in the Nashville/Murfresboro area, and any time there was a tornado or extreme storm, guess who'd call? No, not my brother, even though he'd be riding his bike out in the stuff, but Verny would call and give me all the details and tell me to make sure he was alright. It was so funny that she seemed to pay more heed to his welfare than me!
Steve, said brother, also had a car break down on him pretty close to Knoxville one late night. Veronica opened up her apartment to him, so that he could get some rest, and the next day she drove him all the way back to Nashville, no strings attached. When she dropped him off, Steve called me, excited about the ride he'd had with Veronica. We'd all spent some time together before, having gone to the beach a few times, hanging out in the treehouse behind my father's home, and other miscellaneous sleepovers when I was a young teenager, but Steve had of course never had exclusive time with Veronica until this car ride. To him, it was like a sort of enlightenment. He was simply blown away with her company--her smarts, her passion, her sheer vitality towards whatever topic they brought up during the ride--and he said it was different than all the times before. It felt like instead of her just being my best friend, to him it felt that she was now his friend, too, and he had an absolute blast on that car ride.
I didn't hear too much from Verny about it, but of course her amazingness is nothing new to herself. I was glad that Steve had experienced that very special side of Veronica, where it is just the two of you talking about whatever, and at the same time feeling this feeling of such relaxed significance. Think about your own. For me, it didn't matter what we were doing--if Verny and I were together, we were having fun.
This past 4th of July, people at my work had said that there would be fireworks at the racetrack. If you are one in every two people in Bristol who went to the track and waited for them, you'd know that, well, that was a total lie, and there were no fireworks. But Verny came in for the 4th, and we went over there, and once we realized that, well, a lot of time had passed and there still weren't any fireworks? Of course, we had a dance party on top of the hill and played music with her phone. And you know what? That 4th of July will forever stand out to me, because instead of watching fireworks it was like we were fireworks...and I suppose there is more symbolism to that now than there was then.
I had spoken before about Veronica's generosity, but I thought I'd elaborate further on the amount of care and concern she had for others, no matter how close or distant she was from them.
Several times Vern showed me up as a sister. My twin brother lives in the Nashville/Murfresboro area, and any time there was a tornado or extreme storm, guess who'd call? No, not my brother, even though he'd be riding his bike out in the stuff, but Verny would call and give me all the details and tell me to make sure he was alright. It was so funny that she seemed to pay more heed to his welfare than me!
Steve, said brother, also had a car break down on him pretty close to Knoxville one late night. Veronica opened up her apartment to him, so that he could get some rest, and the next day she drove him all the way back to Nashville, no strings attached. When she dropped him off, Steve called me, excited about the ride he'd had with Veronica. We'd all spent some time together before, having gone to the beach a few times, hanging out in the treehouse behind my father's home, and other miscellaneous sleepovers when I was a young teenager, but Steve had of course never had exclusive time with Veronica until this car ride. To him, it was like a sort of enlightenment. He was simply blown away with her company--her smarts, her passion, her sheer vitality towards whatever topic they brought up during the ride--and he said it was different than all the times before. It felt like instead of her just being my best friend, to him it felt that she was now his friend, too, and he had an absolute blast on that car ride.
I didn't hear too much from Verny about it, but of course her amazingness is nothing new to herself. I was glad that Steve had experienced that very special side of Veronica, where it is just the two of you talking about whatever, and at the same time feeling this feeling of such relaxed significance. Think about your own. For me, it didn't matter what we were doing--if Verny and I were together, we were having fun.
This past 4th of July, people at my work had said that there would be fireworks at the racetrack. If you are one in every two people in Bristol who went to the track and waited for them, you'd know that, well, that was a total lie, and there were no fireworks. But Verny came in for the 4th, and we went over there, and once we realized that, well, a lot of time had passed and there still weren't any fireworks? Of course, we had a dance party on top of the hill and played music with her phone. And you know what? That 4th of July will forever stand out to me, because instead of watching fireworks it was like we were fireworks...and I suppose there is more symbolism to that now than there was then.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Pet-Sitter Break-In
Over the last few months, I have continued to call, text, and message Verny, I guess to reassure myself in some way, but sometimes when I'm not in a rush I just look at her name in my phone, with her number beneath it, and I feel perplexed. It says, simply, Verny Belitz. Verny Belitz. It has been that way on every phone I've had, though I've only been using cell phones since I was 19. Seeing her name on my phone was never such a big deal, but now it leaves me feeling at odds because of all of my contacts that I could call, I'll never be able to reach Verny in the same way again. I think Verny always had a sixth sense about my calls, because whenever it was just a casual call it would go to voicemail, but when I was truly in need she'd always answer.
That case was similar one night this summer, when I was staying in Veronica's old room at her parents' house. Vern's dad had informed me that they would be out of town for a few days, it being race week and all, and that a pet-sitter would drop by in the morning to check on things. I said OK, I mean, I could handle that, not to mention I'd be at work most of the day anyways, so I could avoid whatever awkward conversation having a pet-sitter over might entail. He told me, in fact, just before I was leaving for work, and I wouldn't be back until about 10:30PM, just in time to hit the hay so that I could be back to work by 8 the next morning.
I was already strung out about race week, because the night before I'd been held up by this NASCAR semi-truck parade, which decided to commence right as I was leaving work that night, and lasted a grooling 45 minutes. That had left me in an iffy mood. This night, thankfully, I remembered the secret roads Vern had shown me to get to her house, and took those instead of the parkway. I couldn't see all that well, but I made it OK, and was in bed by 11.
Well a few hours later, at about 1 in the morning, the dogs began to bark and scamper around upstairs. Something was up, and I grabbed my mace off of the nightstand, my cellphone under my pillow, and bolted up. Car lights scanned across the windows: someone was in the driveway! I sat there for a while, hoping they'd turn around, but I heard them slam the car door. Uh oh, not good--someone must know the folks aren't in and is taking advantage of it! I was very scared, and then terrified when someone tried the doornob, and I burst out of the bed and went to hide in Veronica's shower. I was sure my end was near, and I didn't have a way to get in touch with Vern's folks, so I texted Vern and told her someone was trying to break into their house.
Well, Verny called me immidiately, and the first thing she said was "Rene, are you OK?" I whispered back yes, but I didn't know for how long and someone was trying to get in. Verny told me to call the cops, but being in panic mode I'd forgotten the number to 911 (honestly, I didn't even think about 911!) and was feeling really helpless in her bathroom. She told me to stay calm and hide, and that it would be OK. "I can't believe this is happening! I knew it...you stay quiet and I'll call the cops, OK?" I said OK, we exchanged I love yous, and hung up.
Verny did in fact call the cops, and to make sure I kept quiet we texted about what was going on. I wigged out and texted to her that they had made it in the upstairs door, and now I was doomed! I listened carefully and texted to her, telling her that it must be someone who knows her parents, because they knew the names of her dogs, too. Not much later, the perpetrator left in the unidentified vehicle, and I received a text from Vern saying, "Oh great, it's the pet-sitter. I already called the cops..."
We texted more about what was happening--the cops arrived shortly after, searched all around the house and knocked roughly on the door. I told Vern I didn't want to answer it but she said go ahead so I did. I said everything was OK, and her parent's neighbor was over having a look at things, too. We concluded that it was, in fact, the pet-sitter, who thought it would be a genius idea to stop by at 1 in the morning, after some race event, to check up on the dogs. I was a little more than perturbed, as it was truly scary, and whatever she had come over to do I could have done just as easily! I could hardly sleep the rest of the night, but it was OK because me and Verny texted about it and made jokes.
This is just one of countless examples of Vern's valiance, compassion, and dedication to those she loves. She was hanging out with friends that night, but she went out of her way to make me feel OK and even to call Bristol authorities, all the way from Knoxville, about what turned out to be a pretty silly incident. She assumed the role of hero without any questions asked, in many more situations than this, serious and humorous alike.
Vern was a true leader if there ever was one, and even if she sometimes didn't feel like saving the world (which was a rare occasion at that), she has from day one been my unstoppable hero, just by being herself.
That case was similar one night this summer, when I was staying in Veronica's old room at her parents' house. Vern's dad had informed me that they would be out of town for a few days, it being race week and all, and that a pet-sitter would drop by in the morning to check on things. I said OK, I mean, I could handle that, not to mention I'd be at work most of the day anyways, so I could avoid whatever awkward conversation having a pet-sitter over might entail. He told me, in fact, just before I was leaving for work, and I wouldn't be back until about 10:30PM, just in time to hit the hay so that I could be back to work by 8 the next morning.
I was already strung out about race week, because the night before I'd been held up by this NASCAR semi-truck parade, which decided to commence right as I was leaving work that night, and lasted a grooling 45 minutes. That had left me in an iffy mood. This night, thankfully, I remembered the secret roads Vern had shown me to get to her house, and took those instead of the parkway. I couldn't see all that well, but I made it OK, and was in bed by 11.
Well a few hours later, at about 1 in the morning, the dogs began to bark and scamper around upstairs. Something was up, and I grabbed my mace off of the nightstand, my cellphone under my pillow, and bolted up. Car lights scanned across the windows: someone was in the driveway! I sat there for a while, hoping they'd turn around, but I heard them slam the car door. Uh oh, not good--someone must know the folks aren't in and is taking advantage of it! I was very scared, and then terrified when someone tried the doornob, and I burst out of the bed and went to hide in Veronica's shower. I was sure my end was near, and I didn't have a way to get in touch with Vern's folks, so I texted Vern and told her someone was trying to break into their house.
Well, Verny called me immidiately, and the first thing she said was "Rene, are you OK?" I whispered back yes, but I didn't know for how long and someone was trying to get in. Verny told me to call the cops, but being in panic mode I'd forgotten the number to 911 (honestly, I didn't even think about 911!) and was feeling really helpless in her bathroom. She told me to stay calm and hide, and that it would be OK. "I can't believe this is happening! I knew it...you stay quiet and I'll call the cops, OK?" I said OK, we exchanged I love yous, and hung up.
Verny did in fact call the cops, and to make sure I kept quiet we texted about what was going on. I wigged out and texted to her that they had made it in the upstairs door, and now I was doomed! I listened carefully and texted to her, telling her that it must be someone who knows her parents, because they knew the names of her dogs, too. Not much later, the perpetrator left in the unidentified vehicle, and I received a text from Vern saying, "Oh great, it's the pet-sitter. I already called the cops..."
We texted more about what was happening--the cops arrived shortly after, searched all around the house and knocked roughly on the door. I told Vern I didn't want to answer it but she said go ahead so I did. I said everything was OK, and her parent's neighbor was over having a look at things, too. We concluded that it was, in fact, the pet-sitter, who thought it would be a genius idea to stop by at 1 in the morning, after some race event, to check up on the dogs. I was a little more than perturbed, as it was truly scary, and whatever she had come over to do I could have done just as easily! I could hardly sleep the rest of the night, but it was OK because me and Verny texted about it and made jokes.
This is just one of countless examples of Vern's valiance, compassion, and dedication to those she loves. She was hanging out with friends that night, but she went out of her way to make me feel OK and even to call Bristol authorities, all the way from Knoxville, about what turned out to be a pretty silly incident. She assumed the role of hero without any questions asked, in many more situations than this, serious and humorous alike.
Vern was a true leader if there ever was one, and even if she sometimes didn't feel like saving the world (which was a rare occasion at that), she has from day one been my unstoppable hero, just by being herself.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
"Picture Fun"
I couldn't find the tattoo picture Verny sent me, but I found this one amongst our very few email exchanges, and I used the subject title of the email. They were few because Verny so hated letter writing. Thank goodness for AIM--instant response gratification, so Verny and I could keep in touch! :P Anywho, enjoy.
Monday, November 9, 2009
Ireland
Ok, I guess I've put this off long enough. As most of you know, our freshman year in highschool we went to Ireland with the band. Well, I was fortunate enough to be with Veronica the WHOLE time. We roomed together while there, were on all of the same planes, same bus, everything. When we got to Charlotte to get on the very first plane (Veronica had never flown before) our plane took off a lot later than the other groups planes did (there were 3 groups) Well, this was when Veronica and Kyle were dating (I think, they were off and on more than a light switch haha) so she wanted to go and hang out with him before his plane left and we had plenty of time so we did. As his plane was boarding we got up to leave and Veronica walked off leaving her passport and airline ticket sitting on the bench beside her. I quietly grabbed it and kept it with mine but never said anything to her about it. We got back to our gate and waited for our plane for a while talking and laughing with everyone that was in our group. As they called for us to board the plane Veronica got up and got in line and she started frantically searching for her passport and ticket. I started laughing and pulled it out and handed it to her and said "looking for this?" and she thanked me and we laughed about how she almost didn't even make it out of the country all the way to Ireland.
Ok, the 2nd Ireland story I have from Ireland is after we had gotten to London Hethrow airport (which happens to be the largest airport in the world I think) and the chaperones just let us go do whatever we wanted to in the airport during our layover. I can't remember exactly what all we did, I'm sure we ate, shopped, did whatever we could find. Well it was getting close to time to board and Veronica and I started looking for our gate. Now, at this airport, you have to take trains to different sections of the airport. My dad always laughs about how they were getting worried because Veronica and I weren't there yet. The people that were at the gate on time had been boarding for about 5 min and when Veronica and I finally showed up there were only about 10 people in front of us left to board. So again, we almost didn't even make it to Ireland.
Everything was always an adventure with Veronica, as the rest of these stories on here portray. I'm pretty sure almost every memory I have of Veronica we were either in trouble, should have been in trouble, or were about to be in trouble. Never for anything bad, just goofing off like two teenagers would do.
I also remember a time, I think it was the 7th grade band trip, Veronica and I roomed together. Somewhere one of us had figured out that if you put water on a light bulb it would explode. Well, Veronica being Veronica wanted to try it. So we busted the light bulb and ended up getting in trouble. We ended up having to sit on a bench the entire time we were at a zoo in whatever city we were in. We always joked about how the only thing we got to see was a peacock because it happened to walk by where we were sitting. We actually talked about this the last time I got to talk to her.
I'm sure I'll think of more later and I'll try not to wait so long to post them.
-Katie Carrier
Ok, the 2nd Ireland story I have from Ireland is after we had gotten to London Hethrow airport (which happens to be the largest airport in the world I think) and the chaperones just let us go do whatever we wanted to in the airport during our layover. I can't remember exactly what all we did, I'm sure we ate, shopped, did whatever we could find. Well it was getting close to time to board and Veronica and I started looking for our gate. Now, at this airport, you have to take trains to different sections of the airport. My dad always laughs about how they were getting worried because Veronica and I weren't there yet. The people that were at the gate on time had been boarding for about 5 min and when Veronica and I finally showed up there were only about 10 people in front of us left to board. So again, we almost didn't even make it to Ireland.
Everything was always an adventure with Veronica, as the rest of these stories on here portray. I'm pretty sure almost every memory I have of Veronica we were either in trouble, should have been in trouble, or were about to be in trouble. Never for anything bad, just goofing off like two teenagers would do.
I also remember a time, I think it was the 7th grade band trip, Veronica and I roomed together. Somewhere one of us had figured out that if you put water on a light bulb it would explode. Well, Veronica being Veronica wanted to try it. So we busted the light bulb and ended up getting in trouble. We ended up having to sit on a bench the entire time we were at a zoo in whatever city we were in. We always joked about how the only thing we got to see was a peacock because it happened to walk by where we were sitting. We actually talked about this the last time I got to talk to her.
I'm sure I'll think of more later and I'll try not to wait so long to post them.
-Katie Carrier
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Our Coming of Age Adventure
One day, as we were being driven to Lori's house and going slow over the speed bumps, we were looking at the mountain that overshadowed the neighborhood in which Lori lived. Of course, it had always been there, but this time it really stuck out to me that it was so big, right next to Lori's flat neighborhood. "I wonder if anyone has ever been up there," I said."Like...it is right there, right close by...wouldn't it be cool to look out from the top?"
Veronica know where I was going with it, and I hardly had to begin stating my idea before she was already bouncing in her seat, ready for an adventure. "...think we could climb it?" I asked, looking up out of the window in the now parked car. Veronica looked thoughtfully at it, as if measuring something, but I could tell it wouldn't matter either way. Adventure was calling and she was ready to go on a backyard journey, with or without a goal. We were both excited. Lori thought we were just joking around, but as we began walking through the field of high grass, it was pretty obvious: We were going to hike the mountain!
We got to the edge of the field, and were surprised to find that, wouldn't you know it, Beaver Creek separated us from where the mountain began. "Aw man. How are we going to get passed that?" The water looked like it was going pretty fast, and was a little higher than I was comfortable with.
Without saying anything, Veronica stepped down into the creek bed and began trudging along through the water, like the leader she always was. Lori and I looked at each other, and she took off her shoes and went across. I was last, taking off my new sneakers, but keeping on my socks. Who knew what the purpose there was. Hey, at least I had sneakers: the other two wore flip flops and sandals!
When we finally conquered beaver creek, congratulating one another, we looked over and lost a little bit of the excitement. The mountain face was almost completely vertical. What we thought would be a steep hike, it turned out, was going to be more like climbing ladders that looked like trees. We hesitated, but when I say we I mean me and Lori; Veronica was already on her way up, leaving her shoes behind!
And so began our Lord-of-the-Rings-type journey. The mountainside was damp and mossy, covered with leaves that had fallen from years ago and had slowly been making there way down the mountain. In fact, there was a good 6-8 inches of this foliage before actually touching any soul, and subsequently we followed in suit of brilliant Veronica in leaving our shoes behind. This climb required the sort of digging and grasping that only toes could provide. It was also slippery, since the trees above had shaded the area from sunlight, thus kept it damp for many moons after snows and rainfalls. The topsoil was also so fragile that some small trees we tried to grab would simply come out from where they were growing, occasionally causing us to slide down the side of the mountain. Thankfully we'd either catch one another, or manage to grab on the a sturdier tree on the slide.
Finally we hit a summit...or so we thought. Being on the inside of the mountain made it look so huge, that when we saw a slope we couldn't see over we figured that was it. We finally reached an area we could stand at...for about 15 feet worth, and then the mountain shot up again with an even steeper incline. Wow was what we all thought as we walked it out for a little bit, breathing hard. We'd been climbing for about an hour and a half just on this one mountain! Lori and I considered the idea of going back, but Veronica quickly refuted it. "I didn't come all this way to not get to the top!" That phrase described her in so many ways, and we began our climb again.
About 3/4 through this final one, we looked up and didn't see Verny anymore. "Where'd Veronica go?" asked Lori. And then we saw her, perched calmly on this strange looking tree that grew sideways for about 6 feet, and then shot up towards the heavens. It was a big, sturdy tree with soft, peeling bark. We joined her on it, and looked out towards where she was looking, towards the sunset. We talked about things for a little while. Boys and ambitions and food. You know, 14 year old stuff. And without making a conscious, collective decision, we continued our climb, feeling a bit more serious about it.
My face was looking at the ground, carefully monitoring where I stepped. I looked back briefly, and knew that if I slipped now there was no way I could stop, let alone attempt to make it up here again. I started feeling a little scared, but then I heard Veronica, laughing and shouting triumphantly. I looked up and saw Lori getting up onto a flat surface, and a smile sneaked on to my face.
When we finally got to the top, Veronica was running back and forth with her hands in the air, as if she'd won a marathon. She had this big smile on her face. I looked down and saw, to my dismay, a trail: Yup, apparently people had been here before, so much so that there was a trail. I felt half of my accomplishment leave, knowing that we couldn't claim it as our own now. Veronica didn't seem to be affected. "But somebody's already been here!" I said.
"So! We made it!" She paced one more time, and then came to a stop and put her hands on her hips. I was behind her, about 20 feet away. She turned around. "I'm hungry...let's go get pizza now," she declared.
Lori and I looked at one another and then back to Vern. We only just got up here! It was, however, getting late, and after 4 hours on this mountain we were all really hungry. I looked out, and then back down. The bottom was really far away, in fact, I couldn't even see it. "So....how do we get down?"
Once again, Veronica schooled us without even meaning to. We were all, as you can imagine, very tired at this point. We sat down at the ledge. Bonzai! Verny began sliding down the mountain face on her tush, using her hands on each side for steering and feet as breaks, which as far as I could tell she wasn't using at all (go figure!). We all slid down on our behinds, and even though we were in shorts and there were twigs and sticks to bruise and cut our skin, at that point we didn't care. We couldn't feel any of it, whether it was from the exhaustion of climbing the thing or from the exhilaration of sliding for hundreds of feet. Thankfully we didn't run into any trees!
In the end, we all got down in one piece, except that Lori lost her shoes. We went back to Lori's place like soldiers coming back from battle. You can only imagine how filthy we all were by then. Without any questions asked, we got down to our skimpies and sat in the big jacuzzi-like tub Lori had, as if we were in a sauna, and the luke-warm water coming down like hard rain on a hot day couldn't have felt more relaxing. With tired eyes we sat there in the tub, relaxing and mostly reflecting instead of talking.
I can't testify for what everyone else's thoughts were that evening, but sitting there in the tub, with my two very best friends, all of us in our undies with cuts and bruises like war honors and not even thinking twice about it all...I could feel something inside changing, like our adventure had illustrated something, but I didn't know quite what. I thought about how all of this made me feel like we were the chicks from Now and Then, and how so much was changing in our worlds and one day we wouldn't be able to reach moments like this again. For now, I was glad and content to be living in this moment right then and there...and shortly after we ordered pizza, watched Moulin Rouge, and had a Cheerio fight.
Veronica know where I was going with it, and I hardly had to begin stating my idea before she was already bouncing in her seat, ready for an adventure. "...think we could climb it?" I asked, looking up out of the window in the now parked car. Veronica looked thoughtfully at it, as if measuring something, but I could tell it wouldn't matter either way. Adventure was calling and she was ready to go on a backyard journey, with or without a goal. We were both excited. Lori thought we were just joking around, but as we began walking through the field of high grass, it was pretty obvious: We were going to hike the mountain!
We got to the edge of the field, and were surprised to find that, wouldn't you know it, Beaver Creek separated us from where the mountain began. "Aw man. How are we going to get passed that?" The water looked like it was going pretty fast, and was a little higher than I was comfortable with.
Without saying anything, Veronica stepped down into the creek bed and began trudging along through the water, like the leader she always was. Lori and I looked at each other, and she took off her shoes and went across. I was last, taking off my new sneakers, but keeping on my socks. Who knew what the purpose there was. Hey, at least I had sneakers: the other two wore flip flops and sandals!
When we finally conquered beaver creek, congratulating one another, we looked over and lost a little bit of the excitement. The mountain face was almost completely vertical. What we thought would be a steep hike, it turned out, was going to be more like climbing ladders that looked like trees. We hesitated, but when I say we I mean me and Lori; Veronica was already on her way up, leaving her shoes behind!
And so began our Lord-of-the-Rings-type journey. The mountainside was damp and mossy, covered with leaves that had fallen from years ago and had slowly been making there way down the mountain. In fact, there was a good 6-8 inches of this foliage before actually touching any soul, and subsequently we followed in suit of brilliant Veronica in leaving our shoes behind. This climb required the sort of digging and grasping that only toes could provide. It was also slippery, since the trees above had shaded the area from sunlight, thus kept it damp for many moons after snows and rainfalls. The topsoil was also so fragile that some small trees we tried to grab would simply come out from where they were growing, occasionally causing us to slide down the side of the mountain. Thankfully we'd either catch one another, or manage to grab on the a sturdier tree on the slide.
Finally we hit a summit...or so we thought. Being on the inside of the mountain made it look so huge, that when we saw a slope we couldn't see over we figured that was it. We finally reached an area we could stand at...for about 15 feet worth, and then the mountain shot up again with an even steeper incline. Wow was what we all thought as we walked it out for a little bit, breathing hard. We'd been climbing for about an hour and a half just on this one mountain! Lori and I considered the idea of going back, but Veronica quickly refuted it. "I didn't come all this way to not get to the top!" That phrase described her in so many ways, and we began our climb again.
About 3/4 through this final one, we looked up and didn't see Verny anymore. "Where'd Veronica go?" asked Lori. And then we saw her, perched calmly on this strange looking tree that grew sideways for about 6 feet, and then shot up towards the heavens. It was a big, sturdy tree with soft, peeling bark. We joined her on it, and looked out towards where she was looking, towards the sunset. We talked about things for a little while. Boys and ambitions and food. You know, 14 year old stuff. And without making a conscious, collective decision, we continued our climb, feeling a bit more serious about it.
My face was looking at the ground, carefully monitoring where I stepped. I looked back briefly, and knew that if I slipped now there was no way I could stop, let alone attempt to make it up here again. I started feeling a little scared, but then I heard Veronica, laughing and shouting triumphantly. I looked up and saw Lori getting up onto a flat surface, and a smile sneaked on to my face.
When we finally got to the top, Veronica was running back and forth with her hands in the air, as if she'd won a marathon. She had this big smile on her face. I looked down and saw, to my dismay, a trail: Yup, apparently people had been here before, so much so that there was a trail. I felt half of my accomplishment leave, knowing that we couldn't claim it as our own now. Veronica didn't seem to be affected. "But somebody's already been here!" I said.
"So! We made it!" She paced one more time, and then came to a stop and put her hands on her hips. I was behind her, about 20 feet away. She turned around. "I'm hungry...let's go get pizza now," she declared.
Lori and I looked at one another and then back to Vern. We only just got up here! It was, however, getting late, and after 4 hours on this mountain we were all really hungry. I looked out, and then back down. The bottom was really far away, in fact, I couldn't even see it. "So....how do we get down?"
Once again, Veronica schooled us without even meaning to. We were all, as you can imagine, very tired at this point. We sat down at the ledge. Bonzai! Verny began sliding down the mountain face on her tush, using her hands on each side for steering and feet as breaks, which as far as I could tell she wasn't using at all (go figure!). We all slid down on our behinds, and even though we were in shorts and there were twigs and sticks to bruise and cut our skin, at that point we didn't care. We couldn't feel any of it, whether it was from the exhaustion of climbing the thing or from the exhilaration of sliding for hundreds of feet. Thankfully we didn't run into any trees!
In the end, we all got down in one piece, except that Lori lost her shoes. We went back to Lori's place like soldiers coming back from battle. You can only imagine how filthy we all were by then. Without any questions asked, we got down to our skimpies and sat in the big jacuzzi-like tub Lori had, as if we were in a sauna, and the luke-warm water coming down like hard rain on a hot day couldn't have felt more relaxing. With tired eyes we sat there in the tub, relaxing and mostly reflecting instead of talking.
I can't testify for what everyone else's thoughts were that evening, but sitting there in the tub, with my two very best friends, all of us in our undies with cuts and bruises like war honors and not even thinking twice about it all...I could feel something inside changing, like our adventure had illustrated something, but I didn't know quite what. I thought about how all of this made me feel like we were the chicks from Now and Then, and how so much was changing in our worlds and one day we wouldn't be able to reach moments like this again. For now, I was glad and content to be living in this moment right then and there...and shortly after we ordered pizza, watched Moulin Rouge, and had a Cheerio fight.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Verny, Certified Kitty Travel Agent
Rare was the moment in which Verny was not in some way around an animal. If she wasn't, you were guaranteed to have at least one moment in which she'd either be talking about them or looking at pictures of them. Verny just adored all sorts of life, but as pets her cats were slight obsessions. OK let's face it, she absolutely went bonkers over kitties, and me too.
If you visited with Veronica while she was in Bristol, you are mostly likely aware that she always brought Sadie along for the car ride. Even if Verny was down just for the day, sure enough that cat was with her somewhere. Sadie has some social anxiety issues, so Verny gave her a bedroom all to herself when they were in visiting with her parents, but I think that if Sadie had been more people friendly, Veronica would have dragged her out to everywhere she went!
Verny even brought Sadie to the beach when we went to Chincoteague Island last year. We had a great time, and I guess Sadie did too, even though when she finally managed feline courage enough to come out from under the bed, well, it was the day we were leaving, haha.
Though I don't think I know of every incident, there have been others. For instance, when I was 15 and Verny was 14, she sneaked little Gizmo over for a sleepover at Lori's house. She asked her mum if he could go, and her mum said no. As in true Verny fashion--compelled by some strange of harmless rebellion that I can only find as sweetly and entirely Verny--she put Gizmo in a duffel bag with her things and TADA! We had Gizmo for the whole night! Also like Verny fashion, I hadn't realized she'd done this until we got in the van and I heard a husky "meow" come out of nowhere. I thought somebody was joking around, but no: Vern had truly brought Gizmo!
I think that one day, when I'm able to finally live in a place where I can have a pet, I will have a ridiculously fluffy kitty cat, and I will tell it all kinds of stories about the incredible Vernycakes, providing herself as a guide to kitty cats of all leagues who want to go out and sees the world, or just take a day adventure. My kitty will probably think it is some age-old legend, like the Epic of Gilgamesh, but little doth he know...
*insert Verny and kitty picture here*
If you visited with Veronica while she was in Bristol, you are mostly likely aware that she always brought Sadie along for the car ride. Even if Verny was down just for the day, sure enough that cat was with her somewhere. Sadie has some social anxiety issues, so Verny gave her a bedroom all to herself when they were in visiting with her parents, but I think that if Sadie had been more people friendly, Veronica would have dragged her out to everywhere she went!
Verny even brought Sadie to the beach when we went to Chincoteague Island last year. We had a great time, and I guess Sadie did too, even though when she finally managed feline courage enough to come out from under the bed, well, it was the day we were leaving, haha.
Though I don't think I know of every incident, there have been others. For instance, when I was 15 and Verny was 14, she sneaked little Gizmo over for a sleepover at Lori's house. She asked her mum if he could go, and her mum said no. As in true Verny fashion--compelled by some strange of harmless rebellion that I can only find as sweetly and entirely Verny--she put Gizmo in a duffel bag with her things and TADA! We had Gizmo for the whole night! Also like Verny fashion, I hadn't realized she'd done this until we got in the van and I heard a husky "meow" come out of nowhere. I thought somebody was joking around, but no: Vern had truly brought Gizmo!
I think that one day, when I'm able to finally live in a place where I can have a pet, I will have a ridiculously fluffy kitty cat, and I will tell it all kinds of stories about the incredible Vernycakes, providing herself as a guide to kitty cats of all leagues who want to go out and sees the world, or just take a day adventure. My kitty will probably think it is some age-old legend, like the Epic of Gilgamesh, but little doth he know...
*insert Verny and kitty picture here*
Monday, October 12, 2009
The Greatest Aunt
I have so many amazing memories of Veronica at various ages in her life. They are with me daily. :) However, one of my fondest occurred in May 2006. Charlie and I drove home to Bristol, TN to visit, celebrate Father's Day, and share some exciting news. Thankfully, Veronica and Jesse were in town as well.It was a typical cookout. Dad opened his Father's Day gift, a shirt and book. Glenda picked up on the title of his "Grandparent's Legacy" book immediately. She knew our secret. Veronica soon followed, but Dad was clueless. Being true to her nature, Veronica tried to tell me "Nuh-uh" and "No, you're not." Of course, her scientific mind needed proof. When she saw the ultrasound picture and knew that she was becoming an aunt, she began crying. Bawling may be a better word. Veronica's reaction helped Dad finally get it. We are having a baby!
Veronica's pure emotion was so heartfelt. I treasure the video we have of that moment and adore this picture that captured it as well. She is with Ella and Jude in all we do. From toys to pictures to memories, we are forever linked with love.-Tonda Belitz Reynolds
Saturday, October 10, 2009
A Mousey and Maisie
This is an update on the tale of the mouse in the bandroom and the hamster in the wall.
Ronnie is sure that Veronica named the little mouse Fievel after "An American Tail." I think he's right. I just remember that this little fellow had been tossed around the band room, Veronica stepped in and rescued him, and he lived at my house until Chandler and fate intervened.
Now, for the rest of the story about Maisie the hamster. Maisie did disappear and ended up in the wall, but she managed to work her way to the electrical panel in Veronica's room where we rescued her. She lived for a while after that before going to that big hamster cage in the sky.
Ronnie is sure that Veronica named the little mouse Fievel after "An American Tail." I think he's right. I just remember that this little fellow had been tossed around the band room, Veronica stepped in and rescued him, and he lived at my house until Chandler and fate intervened.
Now, for the rest of the story about Maisie the hamster. Maisie did disappear and ended up in the wall, but she managed to work her way to the electrical panel in Veronica's room where we rescued her. She lived for a while after that before going to that big hamster cage in the sky.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Just Reminiscing
The following post is based on my own perception. Everyone has his or her own, and I would love to hear yours.
Veronica was my very best friend of all time. She is (was?) the most unique person I know. People tell me I'm unique pretty often--weird, eccentric, off-the-wall, you name it--but they have no idea what unique is until they meet Verny. They also have no idea how much of that uniqueness was gifted to me in knowing Veronica so closely.
Verny was an extraordinary person to know. Everything she did was always with her full effort and attention, and she didn't expect anything less than that of herself. It was like, if she was going to put her name on something she really wanted to show her true colors in it, and fully represent her capabilities. There was no "sort of" in Veronica's vocabulary. She didn't talk about doing things, she just did them. An example of this is when she decided to get a tattoo. I was surprised, because she'd never even mentioned the idea of a tattoo to me, and one day I check my email and find a picture of it! She loved it to bits and never regretted it for a moment. Of course like any young woman, she was also jittery about making sure her parents didn't see it, which they, of course, did. I find those moments cute about Verny, when she is caught doing something innocently rebellious. She might get super worked up about it, but an hour or two later it is all in good humor, and we get to laugh about it.
I will miss Veronica's presence, at least the sort that we are familiar with, until I take my last breath. I am sure that I will think about her in those last moments, and maybe I will even see her translucently standing beside me with a hitchhiker's thumb as we take our last hike into the next life.
What things do you see, experience, smell, think of, etc throughout your day, or even on occasion, that remind you of Veronica? I'll bet several of us, including myself, see Veronica in just about everything we encounter. But especially I am reminded of her when I see animals, or movies that we liked (especially Disney movies, as it wasn't uncommon for us to be belting the songs when riding in her car), and when I am in serene places near water. We loved exploring nature, as if we were on some Animal Planet show looking for the next new species.
That's all from the Ne. I hope everyone has had a charming Wednesday.
Veronica was my very best friend of all time. She is (was?) the most unique person I know. People tell me I'm unique pretty often--weird, eccentric, off-the-wall, you name it--but they have no idea what unique is until they meet Verny. They also have no idea how much of that uniqueness was gifted to me in knowing Veronica so closely.
Verny was an extraordinary person to know. Everything she did was always with her full effort and attention, and she didn't expect anything less than that of herself. It was like, if she was going to put her name on something she really wanted to show her true colors in it, and fully represent her capabilities. There was no "sort of" in Veronica's vocabulary. She didn't talk about doing things, she just did them. An example of this is when she decided to get a tattoo. I was surprised, because she'd never even mentioned the idea of a tattoo to me, and one day I check my email and find a picture of it! She loved it to bits and never regretted it for a moment. Of course like any young woman, she was also jittery about making sure her parents didn't see it, which they, of course, did. I find those moments cute about Verny, when she is caught doing something innocently rebellious. She might get super worked up about it, but an hour or two later it is all in good humor, and we get to laugh about it.
I will miss Veronica's presence, at least the sort that we are familiar with, until I take my last breath. I am sure that I will think about her in those last moments, and maybe I will even see her translucently standing beside me with a hitchhiker's thumb as we take our last hike into the next life.
What things do you see, experience, smell, think of, etc throughout your day, or even on occasion, that remind you of Veronica? I'll bet several of us, including myself, see Veronica in just about everything we encounter. But especially I am reminded of her when I see animals, or movies that we liked (especially Disney movies, as it wasn't uncommon for us to be belting the songs when riding in her car), and when I am in serene places near water. We loved exploring nature, as if we were on some Animal Planet show looking for the next new species.
That's all from the Ne. I hope everyone has had a charming Wednesday.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Protector of Creatures pt.2
That is a great tale, but unfortunately I also do not remember the name of the little mousey. Does anyone know if it was domestically born, or was it just some random mouse?
That reminds me of a little hampster Verny had as well, though again Verny has had so many pets that is truly is hard to keep up with the names. Anywho, this little guy managed to escape from his cage (how I don't know--do you?) and make his home in the wall. Over the years, anytime me and Verny have been in her room together we mentioned him, and the feeling about it was bittersweet because it was funny that he lived in the wall for a while, but sad that he wasn't retrieved.
There was a special place in Verny's heart for cats (and dogs, but I noticed that less since I don't like them!), but honestly Verny just loved all sorts of lifeforms, big and small. When she came to visit me in St. Louis in 2006, we took a day trip to the free zoo there, and it is a great zoo if you ever get the chance to visit. We had an absolute blast. Being around Vern in the company of animals was like a personal paradise for her that you just happened to sneak into. Waiting to hear more stories about this....
That reminds me of a little hampster Verny had as well, though again Verny has had so many pets that is truly is hard to keep up with the names. Anywho, this little guy managed to escape from his cage (how I don't know--do you?) and make his home in the wall. Over the years, anytime me and Verny have been in her room together we mentioned him, and the feeling about it was bittersweet because it was funny that he lived in the wall for a while, but sad that he wasn't retrieved.
There was a special place in Verny's heart for cats (and dogs, but I noticed that less since I don't like them!), but honestly Verny just loved all sorts of lifeforms, big and small. When she came to visit me in St. Louis in 2006, we took a day trip to the free zoo there, and it is a great zoo if you ever get the chance to visit. We had an absolute blast. Being around Vern in the company of animals was like a personal paradise for her that you just happened to sneak into. Waiting to hear more stories about this....
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Veronica, Protector of Creatures
Does anyone remember the mouse Veronica rescued from the band room? I have tried and tried to remember the name she gave it, but I can't. I do remember that it met its demise when her cat Chandler knocked its home off Veronica's window ledge while she was in the shower.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Troublemakers
I guess it's my turn, life gets busy sometimes so it's been hard for me to collect my thoughts on this. I'll share my best story first...
Around this time 4 years ago, Veronica came back to Bristol from UT for a weekend. The weather was getting cool, leaves were turning, and Halloween was in the air. So she and I (and our boyfriends at the time) decided to go on a ghost hunt in the tri-cities. We left out of our houses after dark and headed to Kingsport to the Sensabaugh Tunnel. I don't think we found any ghosts, I'm sure we scared ourselves more than anything!
Since we weren't having much luck, we drove to Johnson City so Veronica could see my dorm on campus. At this point it was about 3 in the morning so we decided we better get back home and (sneak) in. We were all tired, if you can imagine Veronica lacking energy.. that night she did! So I drove us back in her Bravada. I must have been in a hurry to get home because soon there were flashing lights behind us. I believe I was going about 65 in a 45... When we got pulled over the cops thought we were drinking or something, which set Veronica off because we really weren't doing anything wrong! Soon the cops called all of our parents and had them come get us (even though Veronica was over 18). They wouldn't even let Veronica drive her car back, her parents had to take it home!
Of course this wasn't very funny at the time, and we all got in a bit of trouble, but I will always remember that night (and I know our parents will too!)
~Brittany Duckett
Monday, September 21, 2009
Verny and Moulin Rouge
Hehehe, alright, so back in the day at our sleepovers, anytime Verny was around, which was often, we would HAVE to watch Moulin Rouge. So for about a year straight, almost every weekend I would have to watch Moulin Rouge, which I didn't really like in the first place, but I surely enjoyed pretending like we could all sing, let alone know the words to the songs. Verny knew all the words, of course. And the thing is, with all of my acting, I could never keep character the way she could! She would go straight through it, with the perfect amount of detachment and effort to maintain the "seriousness" of the situation. Nothing could make me laugh the way Veronica could. I'd have endless fits of laughter with her, and my face would really hurt for a while.
That is all for today, just something short and sweet. I'm looking forward to hearing other stories... :)
That is all for today, just something short and sweet. I'm looking forward to hearing other stories... :)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Melinda, the School Ghoul
With my favorite holiday approaching (Halloween) I thought to share a story that took place long ago, in an alternate universe full of creeps that brought terror and nightmares to all: Vance Middle School.
In 7th grade, Veronica, Lori Gallimore and I were all on the "county" girl's basketball team. Don't ask me how fate planned this one out, as just the year before I had played for AAU girl's basketball in Tennessee, but I just see it as another nudge of divine intervention to allow me to further develop my relationship with what was then to be my new best friend, Veronica.
Verny, Lori and I were the cut-ups on the team. I think that part of why we were on that team in particular was that we couldn't take the game seriously. Where other girls would grit their teeth or stare intimidatingly, we would make funny faces or contain laughter until we exploded. It wasn't that we didn't put effort into it, of course we did, but we played for the fun of it and not for the competition.
I ever-so-faintly recall a rumor around Vance about some kid who died by falling off of the side where the upper basketball court was, which of course was probably a cheap rip-off of the legend of the chick who died in the Tennessee High bell tower, and we figured for sure we could one up that. We three thought it would be a novel idea to create a new legend, and we crafted a ghoul that went by the name of Melinda, who died in the girl's locker room by something really obnoxious, but unfortunately my memory fails me as to what that was. Was she allergic to participation? Did she drown in toilet water? No one knows, but we chose for her stomping grounds to be the showers, since they were dark and off to the corner, and no one used them anyways. Together, we came up with a theme that we would continue to recite for the rest of our time at Vance, and even occasionally thereafter:
Oh my Gosh! Melinda's right behind you!
Oh my Gosh! Melinda's gonna bite you! (repeat to no end)
Once in a blue moon we would tell our tale to a fellow locker roomer who would actually get spooked at our little theme song. Sometimes we even spooked ourselves a bit, but for the most part it was good fun and jolly nonsense, and always we would keep up the act when we were in the locker room. Did you hear that? I think it was her! Oh no, I just saw her face behind you! Where did my gym shorts go...Melinda stole them!
Many years have passed since that time, in fact it has been nearly a decade, but I kid you not that we never forgot Melinda, our School Ghoul, and even only this year Verny and I were driving in the car, discussing our ghost brain child and harassing the air around us with the bone-chilling lament of Melinda.
In 7th grade, Veronica, Lori Gallimore and I were all on the "county" girl's basketball team. Don't ask me how fate planned this one out, as just the year before I had played for AAU girl's basketball in Tennessee, but I just see it as another nudge of divine intervention to allow me to further develop my relationship with what was then to be my new best friend, Veronica.
Verny, Lori and I were the cut-ups on the team. I think that part of why we were on that team in particular was that we couldn't take the game seriously. Where other girls would grit their teeth or stare intimidatingly, we would make funny faces or contain laughter until we exploded. It wasn't that we didn't put effort into it, of course we did, but we played for the fun of it and not for the competition.
I ever-so-faintly recall a rumor around Vance about some kid who died by falling off of the side where the upper basketball court was, which of course was probably a cheap rip-off of the legend of the chick who died in the Tennessee High bell tower, and we figured for sure we could one up that. We three thought it would be a novel idea to create a new legend, and we crafted a ghoul that went by the name of Melinda, who died in the girl's locker room by something really obnoxious, but unfortunately my memory fails me as to what that was. Was she allergic to participation? Did she drown in toilet water? No one knows, but we chose for her stomping grounds to be the showers, since they were dark and off to the corner, and no one used them anyways. Together, we came up with a theme that we would continue to recite for the rest of our time at Vance, and even occasionally thereafter:
Oh my Gosh! Melinda's right behind you!
Oh my Gosh! Melinda's gonna bite you! (repeat to no end)
Once in a blue moon we would tell our tale to a fellow locker roomer who would actually get spooked at our little theme song. Sometimes we even spooked ourselves a bit, but for the most part it was good fun and jolly nonsense, and always we would keep up the act when we were in the locker room. Did you hear that? I think it was her! Oh no, I just saw her face behind you! Where did my gym shorts go...Melinda stole them!
Many years have passed since that time, in fact it has been nearly a decade, but I kid you not that we never forgot Melinda, our School Ghoul, and even only this year Verny and I were driving in the car, discussing our ghost brain child and harassing the air around us with the bone-chilling lament of Melinda.
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