In light of the recent terrorist attacks I wanted to share a letter to the editor I wrote in 2001 

Tuesday, September 25, 2001     Page: 10A

I have recently heard tales of corporations mandating that employees take down flags and other patriotic materials that they began displaying on their desks as a result of the attacks on Sept. 11. I know of condo associations that do not allow residents to fly a flag outside of their homes. 

    In a time when the country is reeling from the loss of lives and destruction resulting from the acts of terrorism the nation watched, there has never been a better time to display the flag. It is a symbol of strength, a symbol of freedom and a symbol of hope. 

    During a tragedy of this magnitude the country needs to have a symbol to look to. Regardless of politics, the American flag is a steadfast symbol of all that we, as a country, believe in, a symbol that masses through the last 225 years have been willing to fight for and give their lives for. 

    I, like many people in the area, have been searching for a flag. The fact that I have been unable to locate one speaks volumes for the people of this country. Instead of prohibiting flags, each and every business, association, and neighbor should be promoting it. Let the terrorists see that when our nation is threatened, Americans band together and show our true colors. 

    Leigh Michele Trimaldi 
    

The past two nights I've had dreams of the dead. My grandmother my uncle my best friend and Elizabeth,my mother was with them.

When I woke this morning I was filled with curiosity as to what these dreams meant. In the dream my grandmother had asked me to do something. This post is the result

My mother and I have never had a very good relationship. And have not spoken for about the last 4 1/2 years. But that's not what the dream was about I was finally given understanding into why our relationship has been the way it has, or at least for me some sense of why it is what it is.

When I was two my mother had been pregnant with twin boys. She delivered one dead baby in the toilet one night and was taken to the hospital to deliver the other one also dead. I know this had a traumatic effect on her. As a two-I did not understand what was going on. I have a vivid recollection of my mother sleeping on a cot in the living room and that's pretty much all. I know that she had guilt over the loss of the boys, who never were given any names my father Fronco told her that she had killed his sons. Two years after she was pregnant with my brother Tony, and 19 months after that she gave birth to my brother Todd. They were the boys who lived.

As I woke today from my visitors, I wonder if this distance was because she blamed me for the loss of the twins. She had been put on bed rest, but there I was a toddler who around the same time had fallen and split open my chin needing stitches. How well could you rest? Maybe she picked me up India felt something went wrong? I don't know.

According to my Grandmother my mother never showed emotion, except one day at Doctor Lake's office. She got her to cry and she sobbed for hours.

I have always wondered why the twins were never given names. Maybe it's because if they didn't have names then they were not real, and maybe that's how she coped. I am just speculating. I know Fronco was horrible through out.... Well honestly ever since I have known him.

These dreams make me wonder if they were for a purpose to finally give me some closure on why there has always been this distance between me and my mother.

People have always wondered why we were not close especially since I was the oldest and only girl. Maybe after the miscarriages she felt if she loved me I would die too. Maybe she felt if I had not been around the twins would not have died. Maybe we were playing and I hit her belly and something happened. I don't know.

What I do know is that now at least I understand why we have never had a good relationship and while I still believe that we are healthier apart, I can let go of the hurt.

I have to take a moment to THANK YOU ALL!  I was amazed when I reviewed the website stats and saw that www.leighmichele.net has had guests from 47 different countries.  

Most Visits From:

United States
Brazil
China
United Kingdom 
Italy

Again THANK YO ALL SO MUCH for your support/  You are my inspiration!

I am watching all this arguing about confederate flags and gay marriage and I am ashamed of all the hatred. I have always been someone who has embraced my differences for they make me an individual.  Why is it right to ban part of our history or condemn people for wanting to be happy with someone they love.    It saddens me to see how intolerant we have become of others. Do you really want to live in a world where everyone is the same, where we only acknowledge "happy" history?  I know that many "Christians" are horrified about the legalization of gay marriage, and that the chant seems to be "Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve'....  How do you know? 

A lot of the things that happened in the bible happened before there was written word. They were told over and over... like telephone hour.  Could maybe the burning bush have started as a spark on the ground?  Maybe the parting of the Red Sea was low tide?  I don't know...  but neither do you.  The bible is the best selling literary work of all time...  It is the greatest story ever told.  Some stories are fact based, some are embellished and some are false,  

I think that it is a book of guidance with may great recipes for life.  I guess the question is If you believe in the bible do you believe in the whole bible or just what's convenient for you at the time?  Yes Adam and Eve are in the bible but I challenge you to show me where it say "Not Steve", Does not the bible also say  “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone..." (John 8:7)  How can you quote somethings and attack others but not live that quote...  Is that not a convenient part of the story so we will ignore that one?  Belief in something is not picking and choosing what you believe it is acceptance of the whole.  You may also want to review: Matthew 7:1  Judge not, that you be not judged.  and Matthew 7:12 So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.

Isn't picking and choosing biblical beliefs the same as picking and choosing what parts of American history to embrace?  NEWFLASH the Confederate War happened, the rebel flag is part of our American Heritage.  We can't pick and choose what we want to have happened - we have to accept it all and embrace it. Otherwise we are feeding a hatred that will destroy us all.

**stepping off my soapbox now**   Have a great Sunday!

About 18 months ago I started going to Eufaula on a fairly regular basis. This morning I was cleaning some files off my phone and came across some footage that I shot to share with some friends. My family had always said that the widening would not and did not, as it has since been completed, change the beauty the street in question. 

Many of you have seen this street in the movie "Sweet Home Alabama". It is a beautiful street with a canopy of trees shading Antebellum homes. I found a video on youtube of the street. Posted below, it will give you an idea of what the area looks like. The street in question is at the end of the video

It's a beautiful town full of southern charm, right?  Who would want to ruin this historic beauty?  Read on, the answer will probably surprise you

Ok, so to not make this a huge tale of all the legal proceedings, etc, I will give you the Reader's Digest version. 

Here are the pertinent facts"

• U.S. 431 (aka North Eufaula Avenue) on the east side of the state is a major route to Florida Panhandle beaches.
  
• Weekends would have stand still traffic jams
• As a major thoroughfare commercial vehicles such as tractor trailers and similar routinely used this road
• The above was not a concern for the great debate 
• The changes did not impact the homes, the property they were on and did not harm or remove any of the trees lining the street in either the median or the swales in front of the homes
• There had been issues getting rescue vehicles to homes based on the traffic jams that had occurred on the street.

To learn more of the story you can read it here  http://goo.gl/zZBAW7

My first trip to Eufaula was January 2014. The street was AMAZING.  When the decision to widen the street was made I have to admit you could see a noticeable change.  As "progress" continued the street got uglier and uglier....  

Finally the judge (U.S. District Judge to be exact) ruled in December that the work would begin.  The Historical Society (often referred to as the Hysterical Society) was beside themselves. Their beautiful street and town were about to be destroyed. The homes in question had survived Sherman's March To The Sea only to be utterly destroyed, DESTROYED I TELL YOU,  151 years later by the widening of the street. ---   Ummmm  wait a minute....   They were only taking a 12" (for those of you who need a visual that's two dollar bills end to end) off the median...  No trees were being removed, the property did not lose land or trees or even have those uber-destructive bright orange paint marks put on the curbs.

There was damage to the beauty of the street though, I have to admit, though it wasn't what everyone was complaining about. I visited in April, aside from the fact that traffic moved better, you could not tell the difference. The new white lines in the center of the street did no detract from the beauty and elegance of the street. What struck me this morning when I was looking at the videos is what did ruin the street, at least for me, a tourist to the area. 

Are you ready?  I know you want to know....

For almost a year during the Great Debate this beautiful street was littered with ugly white and red signs. 

These eyesores were EVERYWHERE They were ugly and littered the street. THIS is what ruined the beauty.

Below are a couple of videos that I hot on my drive up in December 2014  The signs were everywhere.

In case you have not heard... ‪#‎GreysAnatomy‬ is ‪#‎DeadLikeDerek‬. God-Complexed Shondra Rhimes killed off Derek and the show. Who was the driving force who found the cause of the plane crash, who was the one who fought for the purchase of the hospital? Derek. You do not survive a serial killer, a plane crash, seeing your father murdered in front of you, your wife's miscarriage... only to be killed off at an inept hospital... Why he was taken to that hospital is unknown. In a crash of that magnitude he should have been air-lifted.  The responders acted like they did not know who he was. There was a rescue crew SECONDS away, yet no one knew who he was?? Meredith did not call anyone? Seriously?? Plus his face was all over Seattle as the face of Seattle Grace... Anyone remember that? There is NO WAY no one knew who he was. He had his ID and they had his license plate, plus he was known to all the EMS people. Remember how when he kept getting pulled over for speeding Meredith said none of them ticket him because he saved most of their lives?  Sudden;y they all have amnesia?!? If he was going to be killed off WHY NOT AT LEAST BE LOGICAL??? 

I have not watched the show since the 4/23/15 episode. I hear now they are a year in the future? So now they are doing a sci-fi show?   You have got to be kidding me!  

I understand that @PatrickDempsey wanted out, and am happy that he is enjoying life on the racing circuit. I just don't think that viewers like myself who have been loyal to the show for 11 seasons deserved that crappy of an ending.  

There is a reason that 65% of the viewers sopped watching when Derek was killed off. Please join me in contacting ABC (@abc) and their parent company The Walt Disney Company (@disney) that his death was a very poor choice, and the result of it is the death of all of diva Rhimes' shows. Scandal, How to get away with murder and any and all other shows she may come up with in the future.

‪#‎IHateShondraRhimes‬ and ‪#‎iamboycotting‬ ‪#‎TGIT‬
#GreysAnatomy is #DeadLikeDerek #FireShondraRhimes

ARANAR GLASS TECH, LLC is an unethical business run by a scumbag. Jeffrey Diamond of Palm Beach, FL owes former employees in excess of $60,000 in back wages and legal fees. He owes the IRS a significant amount as well due to embezzling funds paid by employees for payroll taxes. If you are considering doing business with this man or any of his alleged companies - he changes company names as the lawsuits and financial obligations grow - DON'T! Check public records - You will see the scammer this man truly is.‎

…:::||Scam Artist|||:::…

Jeffrey H Diamond, president of Aranar is a scam artist. He has a history of running up bills and not paying them. He has held money from several employees - Forcing them to call repeatedly and then lying about sending payment. I am a firm believer in karma and would hate to have anything to do with him when karma strikes because you are going to be burned in the process. Apparently running scams runs in his family - his father Robert Diamond is also an unethical business man. An ELDERLY couple were ripped off when he sold a piece from Marilyn Monroe's estate as Sapphires and Diamonds. It turned out to be paste and the ELDERLY couple that bought it had to sue as Bob would only accept an appraisal from his "associate" as the truth when this elderly couple had 3 showing it was fake. They should put BOTH Diamonds in a cell next to Bernie Madoff.‎

I was at a Dunkin Donuts just sitting down to have a meeting when the news broke. It was shocking.  Robin Williams had been a part of my life since Mork landed on earth. I had a hamster named Mork (who outlived 3 Mindy's ...  Sorry Pam Dawber) and to this day I say "No sweat off my front".  I laughed and cried at the movies he made, saw his humanity through ComicRelief and other charity events he did and through his struggles that he was courageous enough to be publicly open and outspoken about it. 

His death was tragic. He died from asphyxia... many have said he hung himself...  The pain that he had to be feeling at that time, the isolation and the desperation tying the knot, dropping it around his neck and then feeling the knot tighten as you can no longer breathe....  Did he regret it the second after he did it and struggle to free himself... we never will know but we know he died alone and in pain. I feel for his friends and family.  I looked back at some of his performances and I saw a man who was manic. And we laughed. 

Thank you Robin Williams for a lifetime of laughter. You are truly a legend and your verse will be missed.


Robin William's IMDB page