on memorial day we celebrated aunt jane's 70th birthday. it was lovely. i really missed mom. we all did.

it was good to see dr. and mrs. bodurian, even though we only had time to chat for a minute. we don't know each other very well, but we have a bond that is so strong that it is almost tangible. they both knew and loved mom, and she loved them. and dr. bodurian gave our family a gift for which we will always be grateful. he helped us navigate the waters when mummy was sick. he chose her specialists, he made them talk to each other. he called them all of the time and made sure that she was getting the best effort from doctors who are among the best and the brightest in their fields. during one visit, dr. bobrow told mom and i that ed bodurian had called him up during his weekend at the beach and included him in a conference call with all of mummy's doctors to go over some of the finer points of her care. when it was all over, and we were second guessing everything we had done, we never second guessed her medical care. anyone who has lost someone to cancer will understand how huge of a gift that is.

rebecca, one of mom's "other daughters." was at the party, too. every time i see her, I think that i really need to see more of her. mom was crazy about her.

joshua carty, my cousin johnny's 4th child, is going to be the next steven spielberg.

i love putting cameras in the hands of children. a few years ago, i let joshua and his younger sister susanna take some pictures with one of my better cameras. they both have a really great natural ability. then, i got a video camera and i started making "talk show" videos and interviewing them. josh was anxious to get behind the camera and he has been taking pictures and making videos ever since. he has a gift. (one day, when he is rich and famous, i plan to retire and live in his pool house.)

i had this concept for a "worlds tallest baby" video, so i packed a bag full of mom's tin "houses" and brought them with me to aunt jane's that day.

i told joshua what the idea was, and handed him the camera and he took it from there. he assembled the extras that he wanted for the sound track and gave them direction. he told me what he wanted missy and i to do and he had us do it a few times so he could capture different angles. we loaded everything onto aunt jane's ibook and i edited the film under his direction. we loaded the finished file into hez's wii and had the premiere later that afternoon.

here it is for your viewing pleasure:



it was a beautiful, carty filled day. carty filled days are so good for my soul.