I just had a MAJOR Blast From The Past!

It started when Joe sent me a text message asking if I remember the surname of our late friend Joan's niece.

I drew a complete blank. I've never been good with names, and this is a person whom I haven't seen since Joan's funeral in 1995.

However, Gabey Queen of Search Engines took over. I knew the name of a song she wrote, and of the artist who recorded said song. One internet search later, I came up with THIS PAGE, which included a photograph so I was absolutely positive that I had found the right person. However, it still only listed her last initial, not her full surname. Not to worry... a link on that page leads to a filmography and there, down at the bottom of the page, were her first and LAST name. I called Joe back with the info and emailed him the link to the page.

I send a virtual tip of the cap to her for having been involved in the films and albums she's been a part of. I still miss her Aunt Joan terribly, as does all our group of friends.

In other news, the new (to us) car is back from repair. OY, that was a sock to the wallet when all was said and done. We're not telling my father-in-law about the repair bill. He'd hit the ceiling, since as far as he knew the car was in good repair when he sold it to us. We're arranging to donate my old car to charity. We've sent out the preliminary email to the National Kidney Foundation and gotten the automated response. So we will be able to take care of doing that as promptly as possible. The goal here is not to pay insurance on THREE vehicles; we have until December 30 to sell or donate my old car in order to avoid the insuring-three-cars situation.

So that's all the news that's fit to print these days. And I'm still reeling in amazement that I was able to find Joan's niece online within two minutes of embarking on a search for her surname. What in heck did we do before the internet?