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Nov. 14, 1997 - I was scheduled to go to a conference, so wasn't at school in the a.m. Cyndi called me around 7:40 a.m. wondering if I knew where Sharyl [Mitchell] was - she wasn't at school and had not called off. I walked straight to my hall tree, removed a set of keys [which I had no idea was there], and headed to Sharyl's apartment. As I got to the steps, I froze and had Mrs. Carpenter go with me [she lived downstairs from Sharyl.] Sharyl had died sometime during the night.
Always remember to think before you speak! Cleaning out Sharyl's classroom for her mother was one of the most difficult things I had to tackle at HHS. I noticed that her voice mail light was blinking; for some reason [again unknown] I tried a password and there was a message from another one of her friends from the night of the 13th: "Hey, have you left school yet or are you at home dead?" TOTALLY stopped me in my tracks. Yes, unfortunately, she was.
Now, everyone knows 13 is my favorite #. To honor the 13th anniversary of Sharyl's arrival in heaven, I'm asking for some help from some of you. Sharyl was an AVID doll collector; she got me into some doll collecting, although my collecting was more specialized: historical theatre-oriented; dolls from shows I did; special things for me. ONE of the things I have always resented was that Sharyl really wanted the kids to have some of her things. [She used to tell Allison, Megan, and Leanne to put their names on what they wanted.] Because of her untimely death, that didn't happen. I do NOT want to repeat that someday [and I don't want Sharon and Jackie to have to "deal" with it either!] I want to have the joy of giving mine away!!!!!
This is where YOU come in! My nieces and great-nieces have taken all they want [and the accumulated dust] so now it is YOUR turn! I have some Pierrots, clowns, different time periods, some angels, stuffed animals, collector items -- and I WANT TO SHARE THEM! WITH YOU and your kids! There are a couple I specifically want people to have [Melinda - Cinderella, Fairy Godmother, Solo-in-the-Spotlight Barbie; Leanne - Teacher Barbie; Taylor and Andi - mice] and some that some of you specifically want. Bring a box, bag, sack and get over here! First come, first serve -- and BE GREEDY! I cannot tell you the joy I had when little Mary had an armful and kept saying, "I'm taking these home!" GIVE ME THAT JOY, please! And you with boys: yes, you, too -- at 16, Bryan never saw a doll who's eyes opened and closed [I reminded him that he had "dolls" - G.I.Joe - and he told me that THOSE ARE "FIGURES" - eyes are painted on!] So you with boys need a couple, too, so they KNOW.
I AM VERY SERIOUS ABOUT THIS. Get over here and wipe me out. I'm trying so hard to "de-clutter" and this would make me very happy! I am NOT being "maudlin" or dying -- I just know this will make me very happy -- and it IS all about me! Pass on to people I don't have e-mail for who should have (Steve's girls; Kriste -- Amy and her girls; anyone I'm missing.) I'm here most of the time, so just call, come over, scoop, and run! [942-0057] LET'S HAVE SOME FUN WITH THIS, PLEASE! (Megan - can you yank for Allison and Alex, too?)
