Louisiana writes a rather lengthy letter to her friend in northernmost Alaska, Sikik Grace Eegeesiak. She is sorry for not writing sooner.
Weds., June 22, 2005, 3:16 p.m., C.D.T.~
Dear Sikik Grace~
Hello! I am hoping you aren't mad at me, but I haven't written because things have been chaotic at best. When you last wrote, I was due to have surgery on my back, and Johnny was getting ready to come to Alaska. That was back in March. It's now June. I am sorry for making you worry, but I will be explaining why I haven't written in a while. When you see what has been happening in my life, maybe then you will understand.
First of all, Sikik, YOU try writing when you are raising a village LOL! We now have FIFTY TWO children in our family, and we are getting ready to add ANOTHER child! We adopted a little baby boy (now one year old) and a five-year-old girl from Sri Lanka (their names are Arjun Ravi and Rani Kalpana), and we are going to adopt a little eight-year-old girl from Romania (her name is Janica Kryzstina). We adopted the little Sri Lankan children back in April, just after I wrote to you, and we just found out a few days ago that the adoption of little Janica has been approved! We got a call from Holt International about Janica, to see if we were interested, and of course, when we saw her picture, we couldn't help BUT to say "YES"!! (The only thing we are waiting on now is the completion of Janica's medical exams, and once doctors there give her the "All Clear", she will then be flown to America!) We are so excited; we can't wait for Janica to join our International Family!!
We also had two children in the hospital...Johnny and Ronee'. Johnny had tests, and Ronee' had hip replacement surgery. Johnny's tests went very well (his muscular dystrophy has NOT worsened, much to our surprise!!), and Ronee' was having more trouble with her walking, more than usual for her, so after she saw her doctor, she said that Ronee' 's hips were destroyed, and there was no option but for her to have a hip replacement. If she didn't have it, she would then be confined to a wheelchair, and she would lose her ability to walk, so we had no choice BUT for her to have the surgery. She had it on the 15th of this month, and she is already home from the hospital! She just got out this morning, and she is now in her room, sleeping soundly, her cat right by her head!
We also went to a wedding in Greece...a friend from Finland (who lives in Greece during the warm months of the year) got married to a man she had met while she was working at the Olympics, and the two of them fell in love; and now they are married and are very happy! We were in Greece for a week, and Bill and I had a marvelous time! We are already hoping to go back TO Greece! :)
I also have been very busy at work and with the adoption community...I help other families get started on the adoption process, and I refer them to different (and reliable) adoption agencies, to help them start their adoption journey, and it is very challenging at best. But I still enjoy the feeling of helping other families, and we email each other or call one another on the phone; and we share our experiences with one another, and it is so fulfilling! One of my friends in California, Kendra Williams, just adopted a little girl from Georgia (I THINK!) who has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair, and they are already adding a FIFTEENTH girl to the family, a little girl from Sri Lanka who will be called America Hope! Kendra is excited about America's arrival, as you can probably imagine, and I expect to hear from her any time! :) Add to my already hectic life church business and...there you go. Now you can see why I haven't written to you until now! :)
I hope your father is doing better; if he has passed on, please do accept my deepest sympathies. I recently lost a friend myself...my friend in Del Rio, Texas, Diane Aguilar, died about two weeks ago from brain cancer; she was only in her middle forties when she died, leaving behind a grieving husband and six children, all of them disabled. I have been writing to Hildago, her husband, trying to help him through this tough time, and it is all I can do to keep from crying! How are your brothers and sisters? I hope they are well, too! Please tell them hello from me!
Has the weather warmed up there any? (Probably, seeing it is now summer there! LOL Boy, Louie, you are dumber than a sack of wet mice at times! LOL) Did you see any auroral desplays? We did see a few here, but most were nothing worth writing home about, if you know what I mean! LOL There WERE a few auroral displays that WERE quite spectacular for being THIS far south, but most were too faint to see unless you got away from the city lights. Hope the weather isn't too miserable there; here, it is partly cloudy and delightful, with temps in the 80's, which would be considered "too hot" for you! LOL
Johnny and Barbara are STILL talking about their trip to Alaska, they can't get enough of the Inutpiat music or the memories! They really enjoyed themselves, and I am sure you enjoyed having them there! That was awfully nice of you to invite Johnny and Barbara like that! They will remember this trip for the rest of their lives! Hopefully next year we can come that way, but we will have to do it in the spring, when it isn't so frigid there! LOL We will just have to see what the future holds...
Did you know that Jenna Aurora Doucet and her husband, Michael, had separated for a time? They DID! They weren't communicating well, and they had a big argument, and Michael left...Jenna was extremely depressed, and for a while, I thought she was going to commit suicide; but she wisely did not, and she is now seeing a counselor, to help her weed through her problems. She is doing much better; the last letter I got from her was much more positive, and it was a joy to read her letters (for ONCE!)! Does she ever call you? If so, she hasn't mentioned you in her letters to me. She almost did make an enemy out of Kendra Williams after she said some unkind things to Kendra about me, and Kendra blew up at her, and so she wrote back to me and apologized, and now it seems that we are friends again, thank goodness! :) Poor Jenna has had it hard lately, I feel so bad for her at times...
Well, Sikik, this is about all that is new with me. I do hope you write back; I miss your letters, and I miss hearing from you! Do take care of yourself, and if you ever need to talk or email, I am as close to you as my phone or computer! Remember that!
Take care, and God bless you always!
(((HUGS))) and much love, your (long-lost LOL) Tennessee friend, Louisiana Mayrah Sandusky. :D
P.S.: In case you were wondering, the surgery on my back was a ROUSING SUCCESS! I no longer have the sciatic pain down my legs, and I am walking WITHOUT crutches OR a cane, for the first time in YEARS!! It's been nothing short of a MIRACLE! GLORY!!! :D
~Love, Louie. :D
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Reviewed by Susan Barton
6/24/2005
Louie is a saint! We had our hands full with one son. :)
Exploring the impact of literary icon Flannery O'Connor's noted legacy on the cultural realities of modern-day America, the world, and a certain author.
Yankee Doodle Daddy is a historical Appalachian Family Saga. The story follows a mother's reckoning as she struggles to survive and keep her four daughters alive.
Weds., June 22, 2005, 3:16 p.m., C.D.T.~
