In NYC galloping on a horse...

When I was still very young, daring, and crazy, beginning to forge my way ahead as a theatre set designer with promise, a grand opportunity presented itself for me to take part in a prestigious set design summer workshop in The Big Apple.🍎  So I applied for and was awarded a small grant to get to do this, which was a huge honor.

First, I am about to share with you a proven fact:  those who have the horse passion and/or those who work in theatre always, and I mean ALWAYS are drawn to one another even if there are a thousand other people around.  

So I was in the crowded waiting room to see my doctor one day a few months before going to NYC happened, having brought a book on theatre history with me.  Soon after I climbed into my book, a lady rushed over and sat down next to me.

"I knew it!  Before I saw your book I just knew you were connected to theatre!  My name is Annie, and I'm from New York starring in the play at Actors here!"

"Wow!  I'm Adelaide!  So nice to meet you!  I'm a set designer for the much smaller other theatre here and I love it!  How do you like it here?"

"Oh it's wonderful and people are really nice.  But I miss my friends, and especially my horse.  Will I ever be glad to get back to New York and see him.  I miss the city itself too."

"Uh Annie, you're SO not going to believe this, but I have a horse too!"

"You're kidding?!!  This is amazing!"

We exchanged phone numbers.  Then I invited Annie 

to go riding with me using my friend's horse Rory.  She jumped at the chance.  Said she hadn't been able to get out much.  So one day I took her to The Kentucky Horse Park which was new and then we even paid a visit to Claiborne Farm to see Secretariat too.  

Of course I was keen to know where in NYC one not only kept horses, but where one rode.  In the early 1980's there were still a few stables remaining in the city where one could board a horse located not far from Central Park, with bridle paths just for horseback riding.

Annie asked if I considered taking Selah with me.  At this point taking Selah with me hadn't even entered my mind, because you see only a crazy person would even THINK of taking their beloved horse to NEW YORK CITY too, right?!!

Right.  I wasn't THAT crazy.😂

Besides, board in NYC would be quadruple of what I was used to paying.  Yet more than anything, I had to put Selah first.  After all, I would only be away four months for one thing.  However, Selah had never been anywhere before to experience the massive amount of traffic and noise of the city.  She would be absolutely terrified.  Also she was used to being out in the wide open spaces of the farm I had her at.  In NYC she would be stuck in a dark stall for hours each day.  No way would I put her through any of this.

This didn't deter Annie and her best friend Heather, who also acted and had a horse at the same place Annie did.  A fellow boarder of theirs was to be abroad that summer and he was delighted to have me "adopt" Mugwamp (yep, that's what his name was!) the months I would be there.  So I had a horse to ride in NYC!

And friends.  Annie shared an apartment with two dear and funny as could be guys, and they all insisted there was room for me.  So I had a place to stay too!

Broadway during the eighties was exploding with the Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals, then there was the hit about Little Orphan Annie, and Chorus Line.  In addition, Joseph Papp, who revolutionized theatre, was doing extraordinary things.  It was a very exciting time to be in NYC working in theatre.

After I arrived one of the first things we did was go to the stables so I could meet Mugwamp.  Then Annie, Heather, and I went to Central Park for our first ride.

We had to go a few blocks in the midst of all the traffic, and waiting our turns at the lights.  It was astounding.

The amazement of being in NYC with the gift of having a horse to care for and ride never lost its wonder.  And I was only asked a thousand times, "How DO you get ON your horse?"😂

Mugwamp and I quickly became close.  Soon he would nicker when he saw me coming.  How fun it was to be connected to a horse in one of the most unlikely places in the world!  

The four months flew by.  I absolutely love The Big Apple🍎.  It has indeed been for me an incredible place to visit and work in through the years, but not to live.  For I too, need my open space.  Even so, I miss the camaraderie of all who make the performing and visual arts happen there as NYC is definitely at the very heart of these.

Now that I am living with such rapidly deteriorating health challenges, my chapters in NYC and even galloping on a horse in Central Park, are yet more chapters of my life I am grateful to hold in my grasp because theatre and horse people always, and I mean ALWAYS, find each other.🐎😃🐎💫

A miracle of hope...

The definition of hope in Websters Dictionary is:  to cherish a desire with anticipation of wanting something to happen or be true; to desire with an expectation or belief of fulfillment; someone or something on which hope is centered.

As I have touched on in earlier blogs like the famous "Goldfish Caper," I have had to be hospitalized on Pediatric Oncology wards to receive bone marrow treatments for my dangerously plummeting blood counts during my twenties and thirties.  Similar to those receiving bone marrow transplants now, I too, had to be kept in sterile conditions while a new powerful drug went into my bone marrow making me both vulnerable and desperately ill for a time.

Some of the dearest, most treasured friendships I have ever had have been made on Pediatric Oncology wards.  Regardless of ages, the deep bonds of all being in the fight of our lives together and sick as hell, allowed us to embrace each other in precious ways unlike life outside the ward.  For one thing we were isolated.  Yet one would think life in the ward abounded in despair.  But no...quite the opposite you see.  Because life on the ward abounded in hope.  Faith and love too, but I am focusing on hope here today.  And we need it now more than ever.

Due to my age, yet being little like the kids, I could reach them in unique ways.  Since I was also someone who owned and rode horses, who could draw, play the piano and make laughter happen, I really rated.  But they all loved hearing my horse stories most.  Especially the one when my horse Selah accidentally stepped on my right foot, and they could see the scar imprint of her hoof forever engraved on my foot.  Again and again they would ask for me to tell them this story and show my foot.  And they also loved to hear me tell what it was like to gallop across the fields on my horses, often expressing hope to do the same someday, or when they reached heaven.

Though all most certainly embraced the hope of getting well again, not all did.  There was no way to hide the reality of death on the ward.  Yet the kids embraced their belief of heaven as encouraged to by their parents.  Often their belief in heaven was a very deep and profound one far beyond their years.  The kids talked about heaven a lot.  When I was able to, I was asked to draw a lot of winged horses the children wanted to have for their rooms.  I had shared with them how horses seem to fly when they gallop, and how galloping on my horses felt just like we were flying.  I also told them my hope that when my own time came to go to heaven someday, I would arrive on a flying horse. 

Some say children who have a disease or condition, are angels sent to teach adults a thing or two about having faith and hope.  I believe this.  

Nine year old horse lover Jonny had been fighting leukemia since he was a toddler.  Though many lives are saved now, back then drugs still had a long way to come yet.  While doctors said nothing more could be done for Jonny, his parents kept his hope of getting better burning bright, because he kept telling everyone he was going to get better.  Months earlier his parents promised him a pony if he got well, and Jonny was not about to let go of the hope for his long held dream to come true.

Hope burning bright can sometimes shine forth with a miracle.  I know this, because I wasn't supposed to be able to walk again twice following spine surgeries, but refused to let go of hope.  And both times, I learned to walk again. 

Another huge miracle of hope that brightly blazed forth?  Against all the odds, Jonny went into remission.  It was an amazing miracle.  And the pony was waiting for him when he got out of the hospital.  Jonny told me he named her Selah, after my horse.🙂💕🐎

Hold onto hope and never let it go, my dear ones.

Embrace peace...

It is said horses fly without wings.  This is true, for they do.  With each stride a horse makes when galloping, three quarters of it are spent in the air soaring forward.  So whenever I would gallop my horses and soar, there is that thrilling, exhilarating moment where as one, my horses and I would leave the earth sailing on the wind.  That I was blessed to fly without wings as one with my horses is a treasure I am one of the privileged to hold onto forever.

In such a crazy world these days, let us look at peace, and pause a moment.  The word Selah means peace and pause, which is why I gave my horse Selah this name, because she was my separate peace.  As were 

all my horses.

You see many are living such busy nonstop lives, often as they reach the end the realization hits them of how much they have missed.  For when there is not time taken to get quiet to pause, our psyche does not get the nurturing and replenishing it needs.  We are not able to grasp those little things, which actually are the huge things we need to take notice of and grasp the most.  

Think of this:  if we rapidly plunge through a garden rather than experience a garden by walking, we deeply see so much more because we are taking the time to immerse ourselves in it.  And when we immerse ourselves in it, we appreciate.  We become aware.

We see deeply what the rest of the world may only glimpse.  

Here in the Horse Country region of Kentucky, the quiet rhythms of the horse permeate the human rhythms.  Visitors immediately "feel" this and often do not wish 

to leave this separate peace.  For one cannot help but become quieter experiencing this.  However, the rhythms of nature anywhere bring forth abundant gifts of peace and pause.

If you listen to the rhythmic sound of waves, there is a moment of pause between them.  The same if you stick your head into field grass as the wind blows.  To simply just trying to focus on nature's rhythmic pauses when we quiet ourselves, brings peace.  We are taken outside of ourselves as we do.

When Thoreau paused by going into the woods, 

Walden got written.  Monet painted his famous water lilly series.  Neil Diamond composed his monumental Jonathan Livingston Seagull soundtrack.  T.S. Eliot wrote his poem which eventually became the smash Broadway musical, "Cats." 

And Adelaide left the earth a thousand moments while flying without wings on her galloping horses.

Selah...

Immerse yourselves in peace, dear ones.🐎💫

Why we keep holding on...

                        

The struggle you're in today

is developing the

strength

you need for

tomorrow

Recently being told I SHRUNK...

Most of you probably wouldn't freak out if you lost a tiny bit of height as you aged, right? 

RIGHT. 

So when my dear orthopaedic surgeon had the audacity to inform me I had lost a whole TWO FRIGGIN INCHES IN FIVE YEARS, I VERY POLITELY, RESPECTFULLY, AND TOTALLY FREAKED OUT!😱

I mean, after all, I only have so many inches in height as it is, and I worked very hard to acquire my TALL 4'3" in height!  

As a kid I would hang AND HANG by my arms from 

tree branches, swing sets, rope swings, and various other objects to lengthen the short long bones in my arms, then do the same hanging upside down from the same objects by my legs to lengthen my short long leg bones.  

You see my friends and I had explicit faith I would gain considerable height this way.  So this alone had to give me added height!  And trust me, it's not fun spending so much time hanging from objects like that, especially when upside down, but I was a very determined kid, you see.🤣

Now then, to the moment with my current orthopaedic surgeon, Dr. Havnor...

"Adelaide, since we last measured your height, you've lost two inches and I..."

"WHAT?!!  WHAT DO YOU MEAN I'VE LOST TWO INCHES IN HEIGHT?"😱

..."see from your recent scan your lumbar vertebra have collapsed onto each other and fused.  Inaddition, you're lacking cartilage throughout your body including the spine, so the vertebra throughout the thoracic level are grinding down on each other without anything there to prevent this.  That you are still walking at all with this problem alone is astounding to my colleagues and me."

"OH."

"But look, you're still considered as being a Little Person on the tall side even at the 4'1" height!"

"That's easy for YOU to say!"

"Besides doing the demanding work you did, you've spent your life riding horses!  How many people can ride horses?  I'm 6'4" and horses scare the hell out of me!"

"Have YOU had a scan lately?  What if you suddenly discovered YOU had lost TWO INCHES in five years because your bones are collapsing?"🥴

"OH."

"Ahh well, Dr. Havnor, I'll eventually accept this.  I have no choice.  I have to.  Besides, many other Little People would give anything to be even as tall as this.  Or to just have the normal sized hands and feet I do."

But you see, my dear ones, I really must confess I haven't quite accepted it yet.  I keep forgetting and still write I am a TALL 4'3" Little Person.  Then when I do remember, I keep hesitating to write I am a TALL 4'1" Little Person!  Why?🙃

Obviously my vertebra and other bones collapsing on each other is a huge medical reason why, and is another aspect of living in a body like mine.

However I think just being 4'3" so long since I ceased growing, has had much to do with it too.  I simply can't get used to saying I am a TALL 4'1" Little Person yet.  

Sigh.  I am still a Little Person regardless of shrinking.

I daresay the fact is no matter how short I am (and by now I am likely to be even more shorter!😂) does not make me less a person, because my attitude still remains TALL!  And I am still a force to be reckoned with.🤣  

So my dear ones, the time has come for me to accept the fact that yes, though I may be shrinking physically, this is not true about my attitude or spirit!🐎 

I am Adelaide, and I am a very walking TALL 4'1" Little Person!💫🐎😃🐎💫

A farting situation...

In my blog, "Speaking 101" yesterday, I wrote about my dear friend Nora of many years.  We both were powerful speakers, and had been asked by the Warden of a women's prison to come speak, and were such a hit with not only the women, but the staff as well, we were asked to come back many times.

Apparently the Warden had been raving to his wife about us, because one week Nora got a call from the lady inviting us to come talk.  Days later Nora called me.  "Oh shit, Adelaide!  I nearly forgot!  We have a speaking engagement at some women's group!"

"When?"

"Today, at 4pm."

"Today?!!  How long have you known this?!!"

"Uh, about two weeks."

"Nora!!!"🤪

Kentucky was in the midst of one of its' worse droughts in state history during that time.  Everything was dusty.  Especially my car, since I  needed to feed Selah twice a day.  I had no choice but to keep two bales of hay in my car, besides sacks of feed, and all her other stuff.  With a dress, fancy shoes, and makeup in tow, I rushed out to the farm to care for Selah, and got ready beneath the grove of trees while she ate.

As Nora and I were driving to the address given, I heard rumblings coming from her body.  There is a beloved, well known hamburger chain throughout the eastern and midwest States, called White Castle.  The hamburgers are small, loaded with onions, cheap, and good.  Also open twenty-four hours a day.

"Nora, please tell me you haven't eaten at White Castle in the last twelve hours?"

"Adelaide, I ate at White Castle before the sun came up this morning."

"NORA!  You know those cause you to have gas!  How many did you eat?"

"Uh, eight?  Nine?"🙃

"Nora, I have a bad feeling about this."🥴

We both did by the time we arrived at the address given.  This wasn't going to be just any little women's group.  We arrived at the gate of a rich community with mansions.  HUGE mansions.  And we damn near didn't get in until Security verified with the Hostess, we were who we said we were.  

"Oh shit, Nora!  Look at these mansions!"😱

So we arrive at the mansion belonging to a very wealthy CEO who lived next door to the Warden.  Valets were there to park cars.  You can imagine their faces when WE drove up in a VERY old dusty car filled with hay and horse feed.  Definitely NOT the kind of cars they were used to!🙃

A nice butler dressed fancy then escorted us through many large rooms to the one where the wealthy ladies were.  Each room we passed through, the carpet became deeper, and were more ornate than the previous room.  Obviously the Hostess knew immediately who we were, because an African American and a Little Person did stand out from the rest.🙄

"Oh dahlings, you must be Adelaide and Nora!"  

There were about fifty or sixty women dressed to the nines in furs, dresses, gloves, heels, and expensive jewelry.  A fancy table with tea, coffee, finger sandwiches, and cakes had been laid out.  Since I was not the one who ate a bunch of White Castles and hadn't eaten all day, I helped myself to a few things, and coffee.

The time came for us to speak.  I was first.  The butler had to bring me a chair so I could reach the podium and microphone.  As I spoke, I noticed Nora had begun to squirm uncomfortably.😱 

When I was done the women gave me a rousing applause.

Now it was Nora's turn.  Midway through her powerful story either the effects of riding in a car filled with hay or all the gallons of perfume these ladies used hit her, for suddenly she sneezed unleashing a chain reaction, because when she sneezed the loudest, longest fart in history escaped my dear friend.😳  

Ohhh, it didn't end there either because she 

sneezed again and again and again with the same exact results each time.😱

By this time I was in my seat totally drowning in uncontrollable laughter with tears streaming down my face.🤣

Many ladies unable to endure the White Castle gas bombs exited to another room while maids opened windows and sprayed canisters of air freshener.  The kind butler said he never laughed so hard in his life as he showed us to a bathroom because I was about to pee all over myself.  But thankfully by then Nora's "problem" had cleared up thanks to all the history making gas bombs.🥴

So now if you're clamoring to know what happened next, because Nora was such a powerful speaker, and many ladies themselves had also experienced the White Castle gas bomb phenomenon, they insisted she continue.  In fact we were invited to other mansions and women's groups for several more tea time talks!😃

Only I made darn sure from then on Nora never again had any White Castles within twenty-four hours before we were to speak anywhere!🤣

Just so we know who...

May those who love us, love us,

And those who do not love us,

May God turn their hearts,
And if He does not turn their hearts,
May He please turn one of their ankles,
So we may know who they are by their limping.

                        ~an old Gaelic Blessing

Speaking 101...

Though I have been told boldness is my middle name, and I nailed Acting 101 required in the Scene Design Program, I never imagined I would become a speaker.

ME?  NO WAY!  Not even on my radar.  

But sometimes life takes us to places where what we have learned and our ways of telling these things are discovered and the next thing we know we're at a podium standing on a chair in front of a bunch of people getting inspired by OUR journey.  And laughing too.  Then MORE want to hear us, and BAM, we've suddenly become a speaker!💥

Well, something like this anyway.😂

My dear mentor friend Nora I first blogged about in, "Adelaide Goes To Prison," where Nora who also never thought SHE would become a speaker in demand too, had been asked by The Women's Prison Warden to come speak.

Since Nora didn't drive, she asked him if she could bring her friend because, "Warden, she too has a powerful story to share."

Then Nora called me, asking if I would drive her, which I was happy to do.

And then...

"Adelaide, I uh, told the Warden you also had a powerful story to inspire the women with."

"You WHAT?!!"

"You'll be speaking too."

"But I'm NOT A SPEAKER!"

"You ARE far more than you think by the way people respond to just meeting you...your courage, your humor and charm...and the crazy way you dress."

"It isn't THAT crazy...IS it?!!"

"It's unique and don't you ever change it!  I'm brand new at this speaking thing too.  Look my dear, we both have these stories everyone keeps begging us to tell.  We can do this.  YOU can do this.  Folks are drawn to you!"

"I stand out."

"Yes, but they are being inspired by you.  Or laughing like crazy at your funny stories!  My goodness child, you're only twenty-three years old and here I am almost, uh...forty-nine..."

"Nora, you're fifty-six!"

"That's to be kept between US, my dear!"

"We need to talk about this age thing you ha..."

"As I was SAYING...you already have lots more wisdom and experience and rising above shit than most do at ninety.  Folks WANT to hear you.  Folks NEED to hear you.  Folks adore you."

"As they need to hear you too, Nora.  Okay, I get it!  We can do this.  I hope.  By the way, since this IS a maximum security prison we're speaking at, they can't lock us up if the inmates don't like us, can they?"😂

So off to prison Nora and I went.  

The women, guards, and Warden absolutely loved us.  We were asked to come back many times.  The Warden, guards, and most of all, the women, said we reached them in ways no one else ever did before.  

I think one of my favorite African American writers, Zora Neale Hurston says it best, "You have to go there to know there."  Meaning you have had to walk through it to be able to inspire.  That we weren't talking "at" them with just words, but "to" them as survivors like they could be too. 

Afterwards the Warden told his wife about us.  She had us come speak to her Women's Group, then those women invited us to come to their groups, and it took off from there.  However, I only took on speaking engagements aside from my work as a set designer.

Not always did we speak together, being asked to each speak at other groups.  Through the years I have spoken to doctors groups.  These also involved question answer sessions, like how, when I was nearly paralyzed permanently with only movement to my toes, did I do it focusing hard until more movement happened.  Other sessions were about dwarfism and how to relate to us best.

Becoming a speaker definitely was not something I set out to do, yet sometimes in life when we grab onto treasures in our own lives of survival and learning, we may just be meant to inspire others too if we can.  

The very creation of this blog is because I have been asked through the years to put in writing what I was speaking for not only my listeners to have, but so more too may one day be blessed.  

It is my hope you are.🐎😃🐎💫

 

Thorns have roses...

We can live a life complaining because roses have thorns, or we can live a life looking on the bright side because thorns have roses...

Along my journey I have always strived to keep focused on the bright side of life, rather than 

the negatives as much as possible.   

Ever we seek the best, ever we may find it.  

For instance, believe it or not, there ARE some perks with being a Little Person!

Like with the right costume I can go Trick Or Treating regardless of how old I am, just as long as my car keys don't rattle.😂

Down through the years if I needed to return an item somewhere and could not find the receipt, the clerks said, "No problem, because we remember YOU!"  They probably do not remember their non-height challenged customers as easily!🤣

When as a child, there was a game called "chicken fighting," played in water or on land.  This is where
a kid gets on the back of another, piggy back style.  The object was to then try to knock off the other
piggy back riding kids.  I ALWAYS got to be on someone's back and loved it!  And I got knocked
off just as much as the others did too.🤣

If a whole bunch of us made a human pyramid, I always got to be the one on top!  And I LOVE
heights, which probably is understandable given the fact I reside in this body.  For instance, I do not care for crowds for the obvious reason.  It's because all I can see are crotches and butts!  Trust me, this is never ever a pleasant experience!😂  

Also as a kid, when playing hide an seek, because I was able to always hide in places no one else could, I spent a lot of time waiting to be found!🙂

Some of the other perks I have touched on in a blog, is how meeting the famous always seems to throw the door wide open for conversation, because THEY are so intrigued!

Still, some of the best perks I have discovered with being a Little Person, are when people who are overwhelmed by life and its challenges who heard me give a talk, or even to just converse with me in a grocery store, and their spirits are lifted.

It is always so meaningful to hear how touched or inspired people are by my journey.  For these are the best, most wonderful perks of all.  The ones of just knowing how my very challenging life made 

a bright difference to someone, and maybe even leaving some of my footprints upon their hearts too.

Life is especially challenging out there for us all no matter who we are or where we are.  Yet as much as possible, keep on the bright side, remembering this:  thorns have roses.🥀

The day I used my excellent tact...

We have all surely had these moments in our lives at one time or another, and then if we haven't, we must not be opening our mouths or signing with our hands very much.😂 

I am talking about those times when we try to be very tactful but things miss their mark.  And yes, yours truly has managed to have a few zingers too.😳  

Because the show must go on even if the Scene Designer gets thrown into a hospital for a unexpected period, the theatre I would be working for at such a time would very understandably need to hire a replacement.  Then after I recovered from whatever surgery and long recovery, I had to find temporary work, which was never a problem.  

During those intervals I have helped veterans, made signs for businesses, did framing, worked in the offices of horse farms or equine veterinarians, and finally, even worked for a architectural firm, painting what buildings would look like to give clients a visual rendering beyond the hard to visualize plans staring at them.🙂

So this particular failed tact event happened when I was working at the architectural firm.

The small firm was owned by a dear husband-wife team, employing approximately twenty-five men and two women, aside from the owners who were not there often.  

One day out of the blue, the owners suddenly brought in a new Marketing Manager and wouldn't you know, it was their daughter in-law.  In the first place, we didn't even have a Marketing Manager position to begin with.  Some of the guys were uncomfortable with this.  Soon we ALL were very uncomfortable.😱

Unfortunately you see, Ms. Donna brought along with her a problem which immediately began affecting us.  For dear Ms. Donna had a body odor issue.  An intense one.  While the rest of us dressed comfortably, aside from me who dressed like a hippie, Ms. Donna dressed quite impeccably.  She wore expensive business suits with matching high heels.  And she constantly worried about her appearance, but not her smell.🥴  

One day when she needed a ride to pick her car up that had been worked on, everyone suddenly had excuses as to why they just could not give her a ride, except me.  I got caught off guard.  So I had to give her a ride in my car which contained two bales of hay, horse feed, grooming supplies, bridles, lead shanks, halters.  Ms. Donna then drove us crazy, fearing she smelled.  Like a horse.  Believe me, we would have all been very grateful IF SHE DID SMELL LIKE A HORSE after riding in my car, but alas, she didn't.  No way.🥴

Something drastic needed to be done.  Giving her perfume and fancy soaps on her birthday didn't work.  So all the guys, Miss Bailee, and I met after work one evening.  Right away, the guys felt either Miss Bailee or I had to take this task on, because we were of course, women you see.  

Then the conversation went something like this...

"Adelaide, we think you should be the one."

"ME?!!  Why ME?!!"

"Because you're so cute and the owners really like you.  Besides you have something in common with her."💫

"I don't have A THING in common with her!"🙄

"You're near the same age, and she nearly pees her pants laughing like the rest of us when you tell your funny horse, dwarf, or theatre stories!  She never even smiles at any of us."😱

"So please do it for all of us, Adelaide!  PLEASE?!!  We'll EVEN buy you a whole month's worth of horse feed if you do this!  PUH-LEEZE?!!"

They got me on the horse feed.😂

As soon as there was no chance of rain in the forecast so we could be outdoors for my sake, I reluctantly asked if Ms. Donna would have lunch with me at the park.

"Sure.  But I'll drive myself, if you don't mind, and you drive yourself!"

"No, I don't mind!  Not at all!"  

I wasn't about to tell the poor woman how badly she smelled if I didn't have my car with me!🙄

At the park as we were nearly done eating, with 

Ms. Donna at one end of the long table and I way at 

the other, I asked, "Ms. Donna, have you ever had concerns expressed where you previously worked about body odor?"🤫

"No, why?  Are YOU having a problem with body odor, Adelaide?"  [Sometimes people are terribly slow about grasping what one is saying no matter how clearly one expresses it]🙄

"HELL NO!!!  I uh...ahem...mean NO.  But didn't anyone ever express to you the fact YOU have a unpleasant smell?"😖

"Not exactly.  I never worked any place for very long.  I wear the best, most expensive clothing yet people don't like me for some reason."🤪

"Uh, what do you mean by, 'Not exactly?'"🙃  

"Okay!  So I've been told I have body odor, can 

you believe that?!!  How rude people are!  After all, I take my clothes to the cleaners each week, and I bathe [once] every week too, so how could I possibly smell?!!"💥

"Ms. Donna, something is not working, and there is no other way to try to put this...you really smell.  And you smell downright awful.  You must be a very lovely person, but it is so difficult to be around you no one can find this out.  Miss Bailee is getting calls from those you visit to promote the firm, begging to please not have you return."😱

"How dare you talk to me this way!  I don't believe you!"

"Ms. Donna, I'm trying to tell you in the nicest way possible, you flat out stink to high heaven.  Worse than cow shit.  Even rotten eggs.  Maybe not as bad as a skunk though..."🤣

"I've never been so insulted, you...you..."

"Midget?  You've got to admit..."  

"I'm calling my in-laws!"

"...at least I'm not a stinking midget!"💥

I really tried so hard to use my best tact.  I really did.  Yet I think it all fell apart when I mentioned the shit bit to her.🤫

Not surprisingly I soon received a call from the owners.😱  Wanted me to come visit their home right away.  As I left, my comrades in arms were preparing to revolt on my behalf.😃

I went to the mansion overlooking the river where the owners lived.

When they told me they were absolutely thrilled with me, I was speechless.🤣

The gist of it all was first, their beloved son, blinded by love, was immune to his wife's odor issue.  It was destroying the family.  They didn't know what to do.  Besides, the woman couldn't hold any jobs due to this "problem."

But the owners had explicit faith in their amazing employees.👍 

After Ms. Donna lost yet another job, they very sneakily created the "Marketing Manager" position as a way to put Ms. Donna in our midst, hoping WE could somehow put things into motion for what THEY were too afraid of trying to do themselves.  So in effect I then became THEIR catalyst.💥 

As they listened to the very excellent "tact" I used to make Ms. Donna aware of the situation, the owners couldn't stop laughing.  Gave me a huge raise!  Said they were going to give the rest one too.😃

"Uh, may I please make a phone call right away?😳  

I need to stop a revolt from happening..."🤣

The owners had a long talk with their son and daughter in-law, who finally acknowledged she had a problem.  Somehow it all got resolved, she got a brand new job, and the last I heard, was still working at the same place after many years, odor free.👏

And all because of my very excellent tact...😂💥

Daring to be BOLD...

Webster Dictionary's definition for the word  "BOLD" is as follows:  showing or requiring a fearless daring spirit; being assured, confident; adventurous, free; or standing out prominently.

I definitely managed to always have the "standing out prominently" bit nailed.  Some who know me say I personify bold.  Certainly a daring spirit anyway.   

One thing for certain though, when I was a very young age I realized in order to make it in this world at all in MY body, I had to embrace boldness to survive.  Yet what exactly IS bold?

Well, the opposite of bold and what brings boldness
to a crashing halt is fear.  Like the fear of failing.  Insecurity.  Having courage and being bold go hand
in hand.  For there are times one HAS to be bold if
one has no choice but to plunge forth with nothing
to lose and a hell of a lot to gain.

MANY years ago when I was seventeen and had applied to get into the Theatre Set Design program, the Chairman of the Theatre Department, Dr. Ravenall wanted to see me.  Though he said I certainly had the artistic talent by viewing my portfolio, having painted on large flats for high school theatre productions, he had obvious concerns my height challenges would hinder me.

I have a quote I discovered many years ago, which says when we have the courage to be bold, a very amazing thing happens.  We can become a force to
be reckoned with.  So as I plunged forth with the courage to be bold, the very amazing thing suddenly happened.  Oh, did it ever.  Because in a FLASH little Adelaide became a HUGE force to be reckoned with.

Even though I am about the same size standing
as I am sitting, I suddenly stood up in front of
Dr. Ravenall, to my full height of my very VERY TALL 4'3" and boldly let him know just a few 

things about myself.  That it was BECAUSE of my height I would be an asset, as I had more to prove, and I WOULD.  

"Not only THAT," I boldly continued, "I have far more courage than the average person.  "In fact, 

Dr. Ravenall, I am BURSTING with courage."

Oh was I ever on a roll of a lifetime, for my future was at stake.  And so too, was my heart in becoming a Theatre Set Designer.

"Furthermore, I am very talented too," which he agreed.  

"Oh, and one more thing," I blurted out to
Dr. Ravenall, "I own and gallop on my horse bareback flying across fields!  How many people 

do you know who can?!!"

At this, his jaw dropped.  For a moment he was speechless.  Then, with amazement Dr. Ravenall told me he never had ANYONE talk to him before 

in such a way.  Especially a young person facing him eye to eye while standing at her full height!  Then he became silent.  

It was one of those moments of silence which seemed to last ten years.  For a moment I thought, "Oh shit.  I've blown it."

Finally Dr. Ravenall spoke.  

"Adelaide, I am not only going to admit you to the program, but our renown Prof. Emeritus of Scene Painting, Dr. Sonderling, takes only eleven students every other year who have extraordinary talent and character, and because you have just shown me both in spades, I am putting you in his final class this semester."

Wow.  Being one of the few chosen for THAT class
was BIG.  Really big.  So was being admitted to the Theatre Scene Design program too.  Boldness threw the door wide open for me.

The courage which became the catalyst for causing
an amazing thing to happen when I was bold is latent within us all far more than we realize.  We 

all have what it takes within ourselves to embrace this at the place where we have nothing to lose, yet everything to gain.

Strive to be bold, my dear ones, by being a daring spirit to be reckoned with, and stand TALL doing 

it too...💫🐎😃🐎💫

Without losing heart...

The greatest test of courage on Earth, is to bear pain without losing heart.

                                            ~Robert Ingersoll 

                                     

After Aiden passed...

Since I understandably have been asked what happened to Aiden's horse Sierra after he died, 

and about the accident too, I shall touch on these today.  

It is still very emotionally hard for me to revisit the accident even after all these years.

Aiden loved scuba diving.  Like roller coasters, scuba diving was also something we could not do together due to my lack of height, though I so would have loved to do these.  Yet we did snorkel together when we could.

While on a business trip to Florida Aiden stayed an extra day so he could go scuba diving at a place he had been to once before.  He had taken his scuba diving suit along, but of course needed to rent an oxygen tank.

Alone, Aiden was diving not far offshore.  Because he failed to return after the oxygen tank would have become empty, divers immediately went out looking for him in the area he was diving.  

We will never know exactly what happened, but something went wrong with the oxygen tank and apparently he became incapacitated before he could surface and died.  Tears are running down my cheeks writing this.  It's the not knowing what he went through and the terror he must have had. 

Because we were living together the coroner in Florida contacted the coroner in the city we lived, who came to break the news to me, in addition to needing more information.  The worst moment of my life.  It then fell upon me to inform his dear parents.

Aiden's parents lived in another town.  Because 

it was after 10pm and I was alone and not in any shape to make the long drive, I had no choice but 

to call them.  Until I got them BOTH on the phone, 

I tried to sound as normal as I could.  Yet they immediately knew something was wrong by a 

catch they heard in my voice.

It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do.

We broke down.

Somehow in the midst of profound sorrow with 

the blur of days, arrangements were made and a Memorial Service was held.  

Aiden's parents then drove to Florida because they wanted to see exactly where he died and talk to all who were there that day.  And to be taken out in a boat to spread rose petals where he was found.

There was no question BUT that Sierra would remain with Patches and under my care.  Sierra was nineteen at the time.  One day when she was twenty-two I called their names as usual, and only Patches came.  Immediately I knew something wasn't right, and got on Patches to find her.  

I found her laying on her side.  Thankfully Sierra appeared to have gone peacefully, with no signs of struggle, colic or other things.  The vet said her heart just stopped.  She even had a mouthful of grass she had been chewing.  I could envision the two galloping across the stars, and that FINALLY, Sierra was letting Aiden catch her to ride.🤩💫

Obviously Aiden's death was the most devastating on his parents and myself.  Especially when I had to cancel all our wedding arrangements.  The day of what would have been our wedding day a month after he died was especially hard.

Though I remained very close to Aiden's parents, and we would talk each week for the remainder of their lives, soon after Sierra died a theatre needed me, and off Patches and I went for what became my last theatre job and final move due to my failing health.

Aiden's father really had a difficult time with losing his son and as I later learned, grieved terribly for me and the lifetime together Aiden and I were to share now gone, knowing how happy and in love we were.  Four years after Aiden died his father had a massive heartattack and passed away.

Aiden's mother sold the house and moved into an independent care type home.  Later she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and although 

she gave it a hard fight, lost her battle.

My heart still aches with the intense deep sadness of losing the one I loved so deeply and always will.  I am so grateful for the time we had.  

Some have often asked why I don't feel cheated by having had so many heartbreaking losses and challenges my whole life, besides all the physical ones too.  They say I could easily be excused for feeling anger and bitterness.  Perhaps, but I saw at a very young age how anger and bitterness destroy people, causing terrible pain, fear, and anguish for a innocent child and resolved to never let these have power to destroy me too.

And I haven't.  As my journey hopefully attests, no matter what I have lived through and continue to, 

I have borne my pain without ever losing heart.  May all please be proud and inspired to do the same.  

To not lose heart is all about holding onto courage, dear ones.🐎💫

Of within us...

What lies behind us, 

And what lies before us,

Are tiny matters 

Compared to what lies within us.

                       ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

These two things...

As you have probably gathered by now I have packed a lot of living into my life in between all the many hospital stays, knowing there would be a time when my physical battles became more and more incapacitating...which is where I now am.  However, I am exceedingly grateful for being able to have done so much.

There is a great deal of talk about having a bucket list these days.  And for me, there are only two things I would had loved to have been able to do I was unable to get done.

One thing I touched on in a previous blog, was I took flying lessons.  I love flying.  I was about to begin my third lesson, when my blood counts plummeted again and I got whisked off to a pediatric cancer ward for a new bone marrow drug, having to be isolated for a long period of time.  This was during the same time I met Michael who was also on the ward, and we did the infamous Goldfish Caper together I wrote about earlier.

Since I was in the ward so long, by the time I got out, I had life, work, and a horse waiting to plunge back into.  So I never got to complete learning how to fly, and that is something I wished I had been able to finish doing.

Yet even more than that, the one HUGE thing I have longed to do since I can remember, is to combine two of the things I love most, which are horses and beaches.  For I have always wanted to gallop a horse on a beach.  This for me, would have been "The Ultimate" thing to do.

As it is, galloping a horse bareback on a beach 

will have to remain elusive.  And yet, I have been so blessed to be on each of my seven horses bareback, soaring freely across many vast fields without wings. 

I have been able to do a thousand things many 

have never done or have gone to, for I am one 

of the lucky ones who still got to live a life so 

full...so very full.🐎😃🐎💕💫

Being silenced...then a miracle...

That which doesn't break us makes us stronger.

I have touched on briefly the horrors of my childhood, focusing more on the friends and bright aspects of my young journey instead.  Today I am opening that door wider.  Yet what this especially shows is not so much the sorrow of abuse, but the sheer determination I had to not let it define me, and the miracles of my four mentor friends being there when needed most, to love me on my way.  And did they ever.

As a child the way my mother handled my being gawked at, was to constantly "hiss" to me, "It's all your fault!  You're the reason they're staring at us!"  Then she would rush off in anger.

What is a child in my body supposed to do with that?

I had to hear it constantly, and have it pointed out to 

me how it was all my fault, for something I had no way of changing.  I cannot begin to put into words the helplessness and humiliation I felt.  Later when Joseph came up with The Dwarf Card, this is why I was able to free myself and rise above what was instilled so deeply in me.

As I touched on here previously, my father took me deep into a woods in winter when I was five with the intent to abandon me.  When he drove away, he realized what he was doing and returned.  Yet I never forgot that terror and feeling of abandonment because I KNEW he was abandoning me.

The violence through the years was never ending.  Drunken beatings for no reason, and I always felt the dwarfism was why.  Since I never knew the direction my father's rages would take, what may work one time to keep him from as much violence would not work the next, and I lived in constant fear.

When I was young and began crying, his rage became worse, so I made myself stifle my tears.  I was a young adult before my four mentor friends helped me learn how to cry and feel safe crying.  Eventually, I could finally get all the painful sorrow of the years out.

They also had to show me what it was like to be touched GENTLY too, for at first I would literally cringe when touched and pull back.  Yet at the same time, I was starved for hugs and loving words.  Nora, the devil she could be at times, really went out of her way to keep hugging me, determined to free me from cringing when touched, and believe me, she did.  Soon it was hard to believe I ever cringed when touched, because I began making up for lost time hugging them!

I was seventeen when my father went into his last drunken rage badly injuring me.  The more I tried to fight back the worse he became.  As soon as I could I called Ella, who immediately came to get me late at night, and I left.  Since Ella lived out of my school district and I had yet to finish high school, Jackie's elderly mother had a room available so I stayed there.

I believe in miracles, because my art is what threw open the door to the dearest friends I could possibly have who were there when I needed help the most.  Just very special people who cared.  And loved.  They would say I am the reason miracles unfolded in my journey, but I believe they are.

Gibran wrote, "The deeper sorrow carves into our soul the more joy we attain."

Though the often horrific sorrows of my childhood deeply carved into my soul, my courage and resolve with the miracles of four very special mentor friends 

are why I soared and attained joy.  

Oh, so much joy!🐎💕💫

Humor on a tombstone...

Along the way I have gathered treasures in 

wisdom written on tombstones, and some even 

in humor, like the following one inscribed on a 

old tombstone...

Remember, as you pass by,
As you are now, so was I,
As I am now, you will be,
So be prepared to follow me.

Then on a old sign someone creative (not me) attached to the tombstone were these words:

To follow you, I am not content,
Until I learn the way you went.

Little Peon...

First, Little Peon was actually a racehorse.  Second, close friends have often affectionately referred to me by the same name.  And yes, trust me, there is a story here...🐎😃🐎

Thirty-six years ago I was working at a little theatre owned by a company which also owned other theatres across the country.  One weekend our Executive Director had to suddenly be away which happened to be the very same weekend the owner of the whole theatre corporation was coming into town for meetings the following week.  Soooo, it fell upon myself and the Artistic Director, Sam, to show Bob the town all weekend.🙃

So Sam and I very carefully planned out a itinerary of museums, concerts, and the kinds of things we thought Bob would like to see.

However, when Sam and I picked Bob up at the airport, he shot our careful planning all to hell!  Bob wanted to get out and have some fun!  Believe me, museums and concerts DEFINITELY were not on Bob's itinerary!🤔

Of course I would ask, "Have you ever been to horse races?  Would you like to spend time at the track first?"

"Yes!  That's it, Adelaide!  I've never been to a horse race before!  Let's do it!"👍

So we got to the track in time for the second race.  But first Sam and I had to give Bob a crash course in how best to pick horses and place a bet.

Bob had beginners luck by choosing a horse we suggested, and he won!  Bob went crazy with excitement!😃

As I was looking to see who was running in the third race, I saw there was a horse running named...and I'm not kidding...Little Peon, who was a HUGE longshot.  Not expected to win at all.  No way.  Was a very small horse.  

So I immediately placed a $2 bet on him.  The guys thought I was crazy, and they bet on other horses.

As the horses proceeded down the backstretch, the announcer shouted, "LITTLE PEON IS THIRD!"

In the turn, "I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS, FOLKS!  LITTLE PEON IS NOW SECOND!" 

When the horses entered the homestretch, the announcer went crazy!  He screamed, "LITTLE PEON IS IN THE LEAD, FOLKS!  HE'S POURING IT ON!  OH MY GOSH, LITTLE PEON IS IN THE LEAD NOW BY FIVE LENGTHS!  THIS IS UNBELIEVABLE!  AT THE WIRE IT'S LITTLE PEON BY AN AMAZING FIVE LENGTHS!  Could ANYONE have possibly placed a bet on him?!!"😂

Everyone around me tore up their tickets in disgust as they grumbled.  Not ME!  

Because Little Peon was such a huge longshot, my winning ticket paid a whopping $220.00!  And to me that was a lot of money back then!  My only regret was I hadn't taken a plunge by betting $10!🙃

We remained for several more races, having a blast, with the guys asking my advice before each race, and both having good luck.  Bob said, "I've NEVER had this much fun on one of these trips!"

Oh my, after we left the track, Bob kept Sam and I up until the following morning!  But we sure had fun!  Even more so since Bob was paying for everything!

But at the track, I didn't dare place anymore bets.  I wasn't about to lose my Little Peon windfall!😃

So you see, dear ones, never EVER underestimate 

the power of what a LITTLE PEON is capable of accomplishing...🐎😂🐎💫

The blanket of love...

When my dear mentor friend Jackie (with the unique loud laugh) was in one hospital dying of cancer, I was in another hospital struggling to learn to walk again.  So I couldn't be there, nor could I even get to attend her funeral.  For years it left me with a terrible sadness I seldom shared with anyone.  I needed closure, but how?

Several years after Jackie passed away, I was talking with a minister friend about this.  She asked, "What are some of the things you and Jackie did when she was still alive?"

"Well, one thing, we laughed...a LOT.  You know, the kind of laughter where tears are streaming down your face and you nearly wet your pants?  We both had a wicked sense of humor.  And now and then we would drink a glass of wine and talk about the arts, love, horses, sorrow, being on the road, and the things we each still hoped to do someday.  When I came to town I would take her on long drives and she would pour out to me all the things about her cancer battle she couldn't tell her family because it upset them."

"The two of you were really close," said Lori.

"Yes, we were.  She was much older than I, but we had a very close bond.  I was close to her family too.  And they had horses."

Suddenly Lori had an idea.  "This is what I want you to do...and I realize it may seem crazy, but take a bottle of wine, two wine goblets, and go to her grave you have never been to yet.  Pour wine in a goblet for each of you.  Talk to her as if she is right there.  Pour your heart out."

"Are you serious?"

"I am very serious.  Then I want you to tell me what happens after you have done this, okay?"

"Which means I am going to have to do this, huh?"

"Yep, you got it!"

So, this is how I ended up at Jackie's grave pouring wine into two fancy goblets late one afternoon.  As 

I began talking to her, the floodgates opened, and all the grief being held back, came pouring out.  Afterwards, the sky suddenly opened up with a beautiful sunset. 

And you know what?  I felt better...a lot better.  I even felt as if Jackie were there.  Then it hit me, how much Jackie absolutely would have loved being served wine on her grave.  

So before I left, I poured the rest of the wine on her grave...to leave with the grief I had released.  That is the exact moment words she had written to me years earlier came flooding back:  "No matter what happens, know my love will always be your blanket of love, dear child of mine."

Love remains, dear ones.

A set of footprints on my heart...

Some come into our lives and forever leave their footprints upon our hearts.  And I have been very blessed to have many sets of footprints upon mine.

I was seventeen when I began living on my own in my last year of high school.  The same year I was being sponsored at a art gallery as the youngest artist they ever represented.  Also I worked in a busy florist and gift shop too, which became a touchstone of my life for years to follow.

The owner, Ella, discovered very quickly that as a artist I had a natural gift for arranging flowers.  She also had my artwork selling well in her gift shop.

What with the kind of childhood I had, Ella, like my other older, dear mentor friends through these early years of my life, Nora, Joseph, and Jackie, each gave me guidance and support when I needed it most.  For you see, they each showed me what having loving parents was like too.

Including Ella and myself, there were three to five 
others also working in the florist and gift shop.  We each did everything from flower arranging, taking orders, making deliveries, doing weddings, and funerals.

Of course hilarious stories abound.😂

One time when I delivered flowers to a funeral home built like a maze, I went in and there was no one to be found anywhere.  It was dead quiet.  And I couldn't find the room for flowers.

And then...AND THEN I entered a room and saw 

a strange looking man without a shirt on partially sitting up as I so very politely blurted out the following to him...

"Oh dear, please excuse me.  I'm terribly sorry, but 

I can't find the...the...HOLY SHIT!  YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD!"😱  

It was then I heard hysterical laughter coming from a back room.  Then it was HIS turn to be caught off guard when the Director came out encountering a very charming Little Person dressed like a hippie trying to manage a huge floral arrangement as big as she was to be placed on the coffin for the "HOLY SHIT YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD" guy!😂  

Because I managed to make such a very memorable impression upon the Owner/Director of the largest most successful funeral home, he began throwing all his floral needs to Ella, giving her florist a huge boost.  

She never dreamed my charm and very expressive 

word use which could suddenly come pouring out in certain situations like HERS did too, would grow 

her business.🤣

Anyway, we did both large weddings and very small ones too.  At one of the very small ones once, the pianist did not show up, and the couple were quite distraught as would be expected.  Our hearts were breaking for them.

Ella turned to me, "Adelaide, let's help them out." 

So I played the piano for their wedding!  They were deeply touched.  And profoundly grateful.  Yet so were we as it was such a blessing for us TO be able to help them.😃

For decades my dear mentor friends Nora, Joseph, Ella, Jackie, and I remained very close until their passings, as I followed Theatre jobs with a horse in tow, having spine surgeries, many other surgeries, and then faced a dire cancer prognosis shared in a recent blog, when the three of them (Jackie lost her own cancer battle by then) traveled for hours just to surprise and be with me.  

When I was seventeen, using special Japanese brushes and ink, I did three separate galloping horse paintings on heavy paper, each one as tall as me.  Ella had them framed, and two immediately sold.  For some reason though, the third one was not selling.  Then I discovered why.  You see Ella loved that painting and whenever art collectors sought to purchase it, she told them it had been sold.  

I didn't care.  Because she later told me how much the painting meant to her, then explained why, and I will never forget her words. 

"Adelaide, when you came into my life, though you were uncertain and terrified by a world and your parents who rejected you, I saw...I felt...this spirit, this powerful life force burning in you who refused to be broken.  Even though your eyes were filled of sorrow, your inner fire soared free right off the paper in your horses.  Especially in this one I can't bear to part with, because it is everything we love about you, and everything you touch in us, because you...broke...free."

Wow.

Ella kept it with her until her passing.💕🐎

My dear ones...there are always those who come into our lives forever leaving their footprints upon our hearts...and often when they do we are never the same again.🐎💕

  

My friend Mister Rogers...

 

                    Fred Rogers 1928-2003

When I was a child, living in all the instability, sadness, and violence of life with my parents, as well as trying to make sense out of the terrible 

ridicule I had to also endure with being a Little Person, there was someone whose presence helped make a huge difference in my life.  Someone who became a very comforting presence who managed to have an impact on me from the other side of the television screen, and this was Mister Rogers.

Many years later as an adult I wrote a letter to him sharing how much his presence had meant to me.  Most of all thanking him.  I also included gifts of my art prints out at that time too, though I didn't expect a reply.

Well I did receive a reply.  

A very heartfelt letter of gratitude for what my letter, my life, and my art meant to him.  And so began a gift of friendship through the years I deeply treasured.

Everything Mister Rogers is on television, Fred Rogers is in person.  A dear and very gifted man.  A minister and an amazing musician. 

Fred was born on 20 March 1928, and raised in the small town of Latrobe, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh.  He earned a degree in music composition from Rollins College where he graduated magna cum laude.  After graduating from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, he became 

a Presbyterian minister in 1963.  

In 1968 Fred created Mister Rogers' Neighborhood which ran for 33 years.  It was unique for the ways it focused on the emotional and physical concerns kids usually have.

All the trademark sweaters Fred wore during the long run of his show were knitted by his Mom.  At first the sweaters were the button up kind and because Fred would often get the buttons out of sync retakes were needed.  So his Mom began knitting him zipper sweaters instead.  No more sync problems.  Though this did not keep me from affectionately teasing him for being out of sync when later watching reruns. 

Many did not know that Fred's childhood was a very lonely, difficult one because he was so shy and introverted.  He also had a weight problem and bouts with asthma that made him homebound.  Even worse, he too was bullied and ridiculed as a child which is why he so understood what being ridiculed was.  Thankfully though he had very loving parents who were always encouraging him.

So by the time Fred got to High School he had lost weight finding ways to overcome his shyness to

become very active in school.

Because television was still new in the 1960's Fred wanted to find a way to use it to reach children and their families rather than pastoring a church.  So he created Mister Rogers' Neighborhood that began airing nationally in 1968 and ran for 895 episodes.  The shows were taped at WQED in Pittsburgh and then broadcast by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). 

You see it was Fred's gentle, quiet way that has so endeared him to children and adults.  Nothing changed for the entire run of Mister Rogers other than the story lines.  Fred did all the puppets including their voices.  

At age 73 in 2001, Fred retired.  The final episode aired 31 August 2001 just days before 911 happened.  Due to the horror of the tragedy, Fred immediately came out of retirement and did episodes to comfort the children, but which also became a tremendous comfort for adults too.  

Those of us who knew him felt like the horrors of 911 took a toll on him as they did us all.  In the late Fall of 2002 Fred was diagnosed with stomach cancer and passed away on the 27th of February 2003, not long before what would have been his 75th birthday.  

Fred and his dear wife Joanne were married for fifty years at the time of his death.  They had two sons and three grandchildren.  

The legacy of Fred will forever live on though.  

He forever lives on in my heart too.