Queen Elizabeth

Like all human beings, Mom is a combination of strengths and weeknesses.  She's bright, very funny, and when she is home, and healthy, very sharp.  As I wrote earlier, she's a combination of Princess Grace and Gracie Allen.  Born in 1926, to upper middle class parents, Sarah and John Regan, Elizabeth Virginia Evelyn Regan ( she chose 'Evelyn" as her Confirmation name so her initials would spell 'Ever", Mom was a bright student who graduated high school a year early, spent a semester at Marywood Seminary, then attended the College of New Rochelle( 1947) and Teacher's College, Columbia University (1951).

So, Mom is a blend of great Lady and Brooklyn Irish.  She tells the story of going to Manhattan  by subway with her high school girl friends to see a big band. As Mom told the story:  " We were going over the Manhattan Bridge when I felt a man's hand where it shouldn't be.  I grabbed the hand and said to the man "Does this belong to you?!" and he stammered 'yes' so I said ' then keep it to hell where it does belong".

At other times, she has thrown a screaming fit when our Cat, Todd, caught a cicada, and dropped it at her feet, uttering the cry "Jesus Mary and Joseph"  a pious invocation used when strange creatures invade her personal space.  She called on the Holy Family when a Gekko Lizard crawled on her arm during our vacation in St. Maarten. 

The year before his death,  Mom would not let Dad ( Bob Michaels--they married in 1953, and had 4 Daughters--Mary Pat, Ginny, Peggy and Cathy) grow any more tomatoes because there was a disgusting bug on the plant.  Mom described it as having markings on its' back like eyes.  The strange thing was, a month after his death in July 1979, one lone tomato plant grew in the garden.  I wondered if it wasn't a cosmic " Nyah nyah" from Bob to Betty.

More later--the Patient, who is being bathed, and sent to physical therapy is probably finished with her bath.