i forgot karen c. sent me this a while ago - bizarre.  and this review from tampa weeks ago, just no time to put them up before.

so i go back to work today and i'm dreading all the "i'm sorry's" and "how are you's".  i wish i  could take a month off to just "re-group", but it's probli better that i go rather than sitting here another day in my pajamas, wishing for what isn't.

i love you katie and am thinking of you.  be very still and listen, he's stlll here and cares just as deeply about you as ever. all last year we kept saying "we have to call katie, we have to catch katie online for a chat", but you were busy getting ready for college and *life*.  i just want you to know you were always on our minds, and he never forgot about you.

i can't believe it's the end of january, this whole month was one long siege but i'm happy to know dickie is free and out of pain.  thank you everyone for all the cards and donations for the plaque. i've received cards and money from people i've never even heard of, which is just amazing to me.  thank you.

if you're planning on coming to the memorial/celebration on february 13th please let me know ASAP. Being Alive would like a final headcount by friday or so.  cue for mark bakalor: "dickie, tell us about Being Alive, what is it again?"  :-)

the plaque we've chosen looks something like this, but with all the lettering embossed.

we know alot of you want to help and/or be involved in some way. if you'd like to contribute to help defray the cost of the plaque, please send whatever amount you want to me (not to dickie's house, his mail has now been forwarded elsewhere) at:

gail navarrete
4414 larwin avenue
cypress, ca 90630

also, if you want to send flowers or something, please donate that money instead to Being Alive in dickie's name.  he was a long time AIDS activist and support group facilitator there, and is sorely missed.

here's some articles and reviews from gainesville (article - hey, it's renata :-), gainesville (article), gainesville (article), gainesville (review) & springfield (article). thanks mike.

AND, the board is up and operational thanks to sherri, who took it upon herself to set it up while the rest of my life was/is in chaos, and to karen c. for helping her test.  thank you (and give craig a hug for me :-) 

dickie died today at 3:25pm, in his sleep, at home, surrounded by love.  his respiratory rate just dropped to 50, then to 40, and then he just stopped breathing. he looked so peaceful, like he was still just asleep, but without all the agonizing gasping that had been going on.  i sat on the bed with him for several hours afterwards, before the mortuary people came to get him.  i traced his face, his hands, his body, burning the memory into my fingertips.  letting them take him away was the hardest thing i've ever done, and yet, i know he's now finally free of this wretched disease that he's carried with him for the last 20 years. he's helped so many people, saved so many other people's lives by educating himself in order to help them all.  i can't say i've ever known anyone like him, nor will i probably ever again.  wait for me dickie, watch for me when i get there - it's a promise we made each other. it will never be really "over" - we have much more to do, just not right here, not right now.  i miss you more than i can say.

i will always love you dickie.

i've been at dickie's all week, he's still hanging on. we've started administering morphine and that helps relieve some of this but... i can't even explain what's been happening, go read bonusround.com.

and where the fuck are the damn boards now.  i need some time to set mine back up, this is ridiculous.

here's a review from tampa - thanks mike. and the first article out of jacksonville - thanks karen.

and karen c. sez playbill sez "the broadway cast of RENT will be on rosie on january 28th. set your vcr's."

here's the first article from tampa - thanks mike!

and karen (blue - 000h, old sonic, heh :-) has too much free time on her hands - look what she found, lol ;-)  actually, i guess it's the people who set up that domain who have too much free time!

from the fountain of knowledge (karen c.):  [Regarding the People's Choice Awards]

"Neil Patrick Harris, whose Stark Raving Mad got the nod as favorite new comedy, claimed to have electronically stuffed the People's Choice ballot box. Two categories (drama series and favorite new comedy) were open to e-mail voting by viewers before and during the first hour of the show. "We absolutely voted for ourselves," said Harris. "Everyone went on the Internet and voted, and voted often. I told my parents, and friends, and they voted too."

and from TV guide:

ABC WANTS MORE DICK!

(it was just an article about Dick Clark hosting the New Year's Eve countdown for the next five years, but what a great headline - LOL!)

we amused ourselves on sonic with this last nite (we're so lame :-). steve's came up as "Bastard, BASTARD, HarbourMastah".  HAHAHAHA! 

please keep praying for dickie, and thanks everyone, who has been all along.  he's having a *really* rough time.

jeez, was there anything here about rent?  oh yeah  - the article! thanks mike :-)

also finally - a review from miami - thanks mike and sue!

guess i'm going to have to take the time to put up my own board again <sigh>. i don't *have* time, lol. cory's are out there - somewhere - sometimes.  i'll see what i can do today.

if any of you have bought a toshiba laptop since 1985, there's a class action suit against them for something (freud's getting $450 AND $225 of toshiba products due to this).  there's a form you can file at fdc settlement. and just for the record, *they* contacted him, he didn't know anything about it.  anyway, if you've had any problems with your toshiba equipment, let them know.

more toledo pictures from stacy will be up soon :-)

and jeez, is miami or florida in general not advertising/reviewing the show at ALL?  mikey?  seasen? nothing in *any* of the papers?

random: has anyone had a problem writing the date as year 2000 on anything yet?  i haven't - i think it's so unique i can't help but be aware of it (altho i did write 1973 on something the other day - wtf?)

sorry i'm not updating much about RENT - check steve's site to find out what's up, and please keep the prayers coming, we need 'em.  we're beginning to feel like the movie "groundhog day".

this is a really nice site (altho i may be just a *tad* biased ;-)

so brent's leaving 2/27 in columbus.   god, i should try to make it to that show, somehow, someway.  who's going?

and i've got a bunch of rebecca's pictures to put up - maybe tomorrow?

steph - your TLS cd is in the mail ;-)

however - i'm on my way back to work - we've got some problems.

welcome home, dickie.  keep the prayers coming, he's still very sick but he made it to 2000 and that was the short goal.  we made it babe.