HER TONGUE IS IN MY MOUTH!

That's what my mom screamed, when a then six-month old exuberant Ellie expressed love for her canine-virginal grandma.

My response: "Then close your mouth!"

Ellie continued her amorous attack, grandma was speechless and I snorted with laughter.

Ode To Diddy

Diddy was an amazing man.

He was my college roommate's father and my introduction to a true southern gent. Diddy spoke with an accent this yankee girl had never heard. It was a rich, twanging voice that charmed a native Buffalo, New Yorker with every spoken word. Diddy was a kind man who adored his daughters and wife. The Scruggs family was and still is one of the rare, intact families I've had the privilege of knowing. Diddy had a wonderful zest for life and an infectious sense of humor. He not only welcomed a displaced northern gal into is home, he did it with open arms and the same good-hearted teasing bestowed upon his own. He never missed an opportunity to joke with me and I loved it. Now I had never heard parents called Mumma and Diddy before and have not since. Heather's father will always be my first and only Diddy.

I wouldn't want it any other way.