I am an Art Bell addict. I have been for years. I can still remember when I heard his golden voice for the first time. I was driving through South Dakota in the middle of the night, and I needed something other than country music to listen to and keep me alert. I stopped on a station where the host was talking about aliens and Area 51. Ah, I was "home". When I started out on the internet, I searched around and found an IRC channel (#artbell) and I have never left.
Art has been having back problems and has had a fill-in host, George Noory, who in my opinion is doing a fabulous job! I took the initiative and wrote him a short note last night and to my suprise, this is what was in my inbox this morning:
I would really like to do this...give me a few weeks.i"m been doing doubleshows...but that should slowdown..it'll be fun and you can all help me...grow bit gn
Danielle wrote: Mr. Noory,
I just wanted to write and thank you for doing such an excellent job in taking over for Art Bell. We in the DALnet #artbell channel are enjoying the program immensely.
If you would ever want to come and chat, please feel free to contact me and we could setup a nickname that would let us (the channel operators) know it was you and could moderate the channel during your visit.
Again, thanks for the great shows!
Danielle (kira_nerys) SOP #artbell DALnet
I am certainly looking forward to this! It has been quite a while since we have had an actual "guest" in the channel.
1. Do you have a car? If so, what kind of car is it? - I have a 1998 Kia Sephia. White. Fell in love with it immediately. My first NEW car. It felt so good driving it off the lot. Great gas mileage and never have I had a problem!
2. Do you drive very often? - All the time. I have driven from Florida to Washington State and back, plus from Florida to Canada and back several times. I love to drive!
3. What's your dream car? - As for new cars, it would have to be a Mini, but if we are talking about of any era, it would be a 1957 Chevy Bel Air convertible. Black with red interior.
4. Have you ever received a ticket? - Nope. I have been driving since I was 15 (my restricted DL in Florida) and still have my Safe Driver rating.
5. Have you ever been in an accident? - Not really, my mother did lose the breaks on our Chevy Corvair (1966 or 65 I think.. Nader was a moron, it was a great car!) We had gone thru a deep puddle and the breaks gave out and we rolled into our garage. Didn't do much damage really.
With the arrival of my package, I could not resist the chance to put on my new Gilligan hat and purple sundress and head to the beach. Just thought I would share a couple pics of my day!
It finally got here! The doorbell rang at about noon today and there was a smiling Canada Post employee holding my package from home. Yippe! My mother is just the greatest. Two satin nighties, one black, the other off-white, black beans and rice mix, cajun rice, homemade oatmeal raisin cookies, a "Gilligan Hat", a purple sundress, four dark/blood red goblets, anda cream colored leather purse. Oh! Also, a book, "A Very Gothic Christmas". This boosts my spirits tremendously!
I notice that most of my entries deal with improving myself, and complaining about the bad things in the world and in my life. That is quite interesting to me since I am such a positive person in my daily life. I wonder if I am so positive because I write all the negativity away, or am I negative and I just hide it well until I am able to let it escape.
During my non-internet days, I take time to smell the roses literally. I walk the dog at night and study the stars. Feeling so little yet so powerful. I smile at strangers and always go out of my way to wish someone a good day or hold a door.
The stars bring me the most happiness. No matter what age I am, I still stare up at them with the wonder and amazement of a child. Pondering the existance of life elsewhere, the sheer vastness of this universe, brings me a sense of contentment that I cannot put into words.
Last night, the air was clear and cool, a soft breeze coming in off of the lake which lies two blocks west. I was able to enjoy the feeling of the dew-ridden grass under my feet and the sparkling jewelry box of stars above my head. Distant memories of childhood swarmed through my head, of Bette Midler singing The Rose and adults engaged in conversation and the opening of beer using the pull tabs of days gone by. The sounds of the other children, playing make-believe Dukes of Hazzard, and the comfort of knowing that the world began and ended right there. I was lost in the past for a moment and did a cart wheel, astonishing myself with the gymnastic ability that I still have. It is times like those that you really appreciate life, feel complete. That is how I try to live.
I got an email from my mom today. She said that she sent me a package with some cookies in it!! Ahhh... cookies from home. That is gonna be good. Hopefully she stuck some grits in there too. Can't find them here. These Canadians don't know what they are missing.
I think that it is about time for me to vent about the roommate from Hades. I just received another huge bill, and a few more calls from law enforcement and I am just about to burst from the hurt and anger I feel.
In June 2000, I received a call from a guy that I knew from the partyline. (The partyline is a phone line where I had been calling for several years prior.) I knew him and knew that other than being a bit odd, he was generally a pretty good person. Several people I knew had met him and I trusted his judgement. Anyway, he told me the saddest story about this girl, Kacie from Florida. We all had handles/nicknames on the line. Mine was H.B. Her real name (I think) was Peggy Sue Piepenbrok. Or it may have been Peggy Lecromb. I did not understand the need for her multiple aliases until much later. The gentleman said that she was in a very abusive relationship and that she had been kicked out by her husband. He still had custody of their child, but she needed to get somewhere and start again to get her son back. Looking back at my history of violent men, I agreed to help as much as I can. The next day, she was on a bus headed to Tallahassee and I was about to acquire a roommate.
When she arrived, I was a bit suprised at the way that she looked. I am not generally a person who bases any assumptions on the way that someone looks, but she had told me, and everyone else that she was petite. That could have not been further from the truth. She tipped the scales at more than 400 lbs. She was about five foot eight. Big girl. I met her with a hug and a smile and took her to the motel across from my house where our mutual friend had made reservations. All seemed great. We hit it off immediately. I did feel that my wild (somewhat skimpy) manner of dress caused some jealousy on her part, but other than that, I did not sense anything was awry.
Over the next few weeks, she moved in with me when I moved into my new home. It was a cute little place out in the woods. Quiet neighborhood. We both spent a lot of time on the phone still. Peggy opened up to me and told me that her mother was dying of cancer and that she had been stricken with cancer herself. She was a pro at weaving a web of deceit from day one. She won my parents over and spent many a night at their home. I thought that providing her with a stable environment, she would be able to get outon her own and get her son back. Her stories were horrible. Sexual abuse by her step-father, falling into cocaine abuse, etc. Every bad thing that could have possibly happened, happened to her.
I really felt close to this girl. We had our own private girlie jokes, we went out every Saturday night, we had rockin' parties at the house and had the craziest guys stopping by. Life was good or so I thought.
I knew that Peggy wasn't working, but she always paid the rent. I thought that her friend that had steered her to me was paying her way, and since I am such a trusting person, I never questioned it. She would take my half of the rent and pay. This went on for several months.
One day, Peggy and I were supposed to pay rent, and my half was sitting on the kitchen table. The night before, she had been scheduled to receive some cash via Western Union. The money never came. I was a bit worried, and could not sleep so I called Chris to talk. He was on the phone me when I went out and asked her if she was ready for me to take her to the store. I was about to hang up with Chris when I noticed that my keys were missing from the spot where I was sure that I had placed them the night before. She calmly told me to check in the bedroom, I may haven taken them in with me. I stayed on the cordless phone with Chris while I looked. I was surveying the depths beneath my bed when I heard a car door slam. I looked outside and Peggy was loading her bag into a taxi and yelling at the driver to take off. Oh yeah, and the night before, she had borrowed $50 from my folks to pay for medicine! I completely freaked out. I ran into her room (which she had been spending a lot of time in lately) and was horrified. There were eviction papers that said we had to be out by that day, a urine soaked mattress, human feces in the corner, burnholes in the wallpaper, empty cocaine vials all over the floor!!
How could I have been so stupid?? I kept Chris on the phone while I called my parents and had them come and help pack all of my belongings. I made it out that day in one piece, but the $700 I had set out for rent and utilities was gone, somewhere in Tallahassee. In hindsight, I noticed her odd behavior. I felt so betrayed. I considered her a sister, a friend. She was welcomed into my home as well as the homes of my family and friends. I went to the police and found out that she had been using illegal credit cards, had been previously arrested for abusing her son and poisoning her husband's food, and other offenses that made the rap sheet a mile long. I guess I was lucky. She could have tried to kill me. I talked to her mother, who was as fit as a fiddle, who told me about Peggy's past. She was just plain trouble. There was no abusive stepfather, as her parents are still together. Peggy has never had cancer. I also found out that she had been talking bad about me to everyone. Nobody believed her at all thank goodness.
Here we are, two years later. I just received another telephone bill for $1,276.01 US. The police are still looking for her. I feel terrible for the landlords who had to deal with the human waste, which luckily they understood my position and what had happened. Why are there users like this in the world? I am a great person, with a big heart. I dearly loved this woman as a friend. Instead of just being honest, and working with me through her problems, she decided to stab me in the back.
I am much more cautious with people now, but I refuse to let her ruin it for other people. I will still continue to give when I can. I will still help people out. I am better than that, better than her. I just don't know how I will ever pay everything off. Most of the utilities were in my name, and I would love to take her to court, but I am so far away now, plus the police have yet to find her and arrest her for any of the many offenses they have.
I am using her names/aliases here because all of this and much more is contained in public documents filed in Florida. Plus, if by any chance someone recognizes this person or her name, they can contact law enforcement because she has a violent history and needs to be held accountable for her actions.
Peggy, I doubt you will ever read this, but if by some miracle you do, please know how much you hurt me and my family. We did our best to help you, to love you, to be there for you and you left like a coward. I hope that you can clear up your life, and the first step is to get off of the drugs and take responsibility for what you have done to so many people. D.J. tried to help you by sending you to me, and you led him on with lies and fake promises of love. Now he has passed and was in debt thanks to your greed. May the Gods take mercy on you.
What a relaxing day. It was a "Civic Holiday" here. Not really sure what that even is, and the funniest thing is none of the native Canadians that I talked to could tell me either. The most poular answer was "just a day for the banks to close". Well hey, a day off is a day off. Not like I work in an office or anything, but it had that holiday feel. People doing yardwork, looking in the windows of the quaint shops in the square. Not too hot, nice breeze. Perfect day to take the doggie for a walk.
I have neglected to call my parents again. It is not that I do not want to talk to them. We email on a daily basis. It is just that I do not feel like steering the conversation in the direction that I want it to go as opposed to answering questions that I am not prepared to. My life is not a secret, I just have been feeling a bit private lately. I am trying to get things in order here and sometimes it is easier to delay the inevitable. The emails are great, but I miss hearing the sounds of their voices. I am an only child, so they are the only immediate family I have. Maybe the reason that I have not called is because it brings to the surface all of the homesick feelings that I have been having as of late.
I really do want to go home. If it weren't for Chris, I would. He is the only thing that keeps me here. I always thought that living in Canada would be wonderful. So clean and beautiful. Yes, it is all that, but I would trade it any day of the week for any state in the union. I really have a problem with the politics here and I would never want to become a full citizen. I think that I have bitched about all this before.
I have a lot of housework to do tonight. Garbage and recycling go early in the morning and I want this place spotless. I have a feeling that Chris' mom may come over sometime this week. I hope she does. I am just about as close to her age as I am Chris'. She is about 10 years older than I am and he is just under 7 years younger than me. That makes it very nice. I can really relate to her and hang out. She is one of those new-age type of folks. Herbs and remedies. Self help techniques. I find all that so interesting. Chris will just roll his eyes, but I find it positively intriguing.
Most of you that know me, know that I reside in #artbell on DALnet most of the time. Great place to hang out if you are into the show (Coast to Coast AM) or are into discussions about aliens, paranormal activity, conspiracies, and the just plain weird. We also have a great email list! If you want to join, just follow the directions.
I am so sick of hearing about the whole file sharing issue. I admit it. I download movies. I download music. It certainly doesn't mean that I am not going to buy the movie or music. In fact, we get all the new releases when they come out on video/dvd/ppv. Let's face it. A 21 inch monitor, playing a recorded cam version of a movie is not going to compare in any way, shape or form to watching it at the theatre or on the good ol' telly.
If you came here looking for witty quips and intellectual stimulation, you will be quite disappointed today. I am completely vegetating. Is that even a real word? Well, if it isn't, it should be. A Real World marathon is on MTV and I have had that playing as background noise while I was surfing the internet. Didn't find anything exciting at all.
My day started rather early. I woke up and Chris was up, completely redesigning his site. Looks really good I think. He is really keeping up with it. Doing all his updates. A labor of love I suppose. Anyway, I took the initiative to run out and get us some breakfast. It is not normal for us to eat breakfast, much less do it together and have a nice full one. So, I hopped in my car and drove to a local place called The Burger Bar. Awesome food there. Just a Mom and Pop type joint. As you see in the pic below, the breakfast is very reasonable. Plus, it is Canadian dollars so all you people stateside, it only comes to about $1.80 in greenbacks.
I got the food home without tipping it sideways which is quite a feat for me. I have absolutely no coordination in carrying bags of food... or trays for that matter. Just thank the restaurant gods that I did not decide to be in food services of any kind. Well, I can cook, but the serving has to be left to another, more capable, person.
Chris and I are getting along superbly. It seems really good that we are taking some time out for just us, and also being alone individually on occasion. With me working at home, and him taking classes, we had started to get on eachother's nerves. Never anything bad, just pushing the limits of our relationship I guess. We did grow closer, but now we have something to talk about when we get together in the evening. Before, there was nothing really to talk about since we knew almost everything that the other had experienced during the day.
While Chris plodded away on his site, I took the time to relax in a hot bath. Really spa'd it up. (now I know that is not a word, but it works.) Sometimes a girl just needs to pamper herself. Got the scented candles out, bubble bath, mud mask, the whole nine yards. Felt awesome. It always is great to relax like that. I thought up some lyrics to another song. I really want some good, and if possible, easy software to compose and sing on. I really want to focus on the vocals. If anyone reading this (if anyone even reads this) has any good ideas, please let me know.
