Ken @ MindSay

Got an email from an Alex Hodge yesterday morning. He said he knew I was Ken's daughter and Tracy's sister and that he'd been looking for me and Tracy for 7 years. Said his mom was Ann Hodge and she and my dad dated before my mom and my dad did. And he's Ken's son. My first instinct--like yours--might be to scream "STALKER!" and block him from every method of contact. However, my dad was well-known for his womanizing ways. So I called my mom and asked if it were possible, and as soon as I said, "Could Alex be my--" she stopped me and said "I ALWAYS SUSPECTED!" I went online, looked at his pictures. He's a fucking spitting image of my dad at 19. Like, if I didn't know better, I would have thought I was looking at a picture of my dad.

Talked to him on my lunch yesterday. He's very smart. Super excited to meet me and Tracy. Tracy's all over an LA trip soon. As much as I don't want to give up any hours or leave Grass Valley (ok, mostly I don't want to leave Jake), I really think Tracy and I should meet Alex together. He didn't know that my dad had died until he talked to Tracy. I just...cannot fathom. He's known about me and Tracy since he was 5. He's been looking for us for the past 7 years. I assumed that the 7 years correlated to when my dad died (he died in December of 2001, and I figured maybe Alex didn't know until a few months later), but no. he just got old enough to wonder who his family was. I guess that makes me pretty lucky. The only reason I found out about my dad dying--and thus meeting Tracy--was because my mom filed for child support. CPS contacted us to let us know we qualified for Social Security payout for survivors. But because Alex's mom never filed for child support, Alex wasn't in the system as Ken's son, and nobody knew to contact him or his mother. Tracy only found out about me when CPS contacted her for a copy of the death certificate. And she jumped on contacting me.

You know, I've always joked that I'm probably related to half the blonde-haired, blue-eyed kids in my county. Totally different when you find out you actually are related to one of them. I'm a little mind-blown.

On his way home a father remembers that it's His daughter's birthday. At a toy store he asked the salesperson, "How much is the Barbie in the display window?"

The salesperson answered, "Which one? We Have: Work out Barbie for $19.95, Shopping Barbie for $19.95, Beach Barbie for $19.95, Disco Barbie for $19.95, and Divorced Barbie for $265.95

The amazed father asked: " Why is the Divorced Barbie $265.95 and the Others only $19.95?"

Annoyed, the salesman answered: "Sir..., "Divorced Barbie comes with: Ken's Car, Ken's House, Ken's Boat, Ken's Furniture, Ken's Computer, And Ken's Best Friend.

BILL BAVASI ------------- TRADE FOR JUNIOR ------- DO SOMETHING RIGHT FOR ONCE ------- IF YOU TRADE FOR HIM, THE FANS WILL COME, AND THE TEAM WILL WIN

My step cousin called me some time ago to ask me if she could interview me for her news paper about my Barbies. Of course I agreed. Today she came over with a pen and some paper - although her pen was too crappy to write with so I had to lend her one. :p Aaanyway, I can't believe the amount of Barbie-trivia I have stored in my head. And being an Barbie-enthusiast as a child my step cousin sucked in the information like a dry sponge. :D Gasping of excitement, she finally said it: "I gotta get a Barbie for Christmas." Lol

 

I didn't want to play with her when we were little. I was too damn jealous of her dolls, she got a new one for every Christmas and birthday, and she also saved money to buy new ones. And still she had only one favorite, the first hispanic Barbie ever made. She liked that one because she had a dark hair. But finally the tables have turned, now I have the most Barbies. :D (Better late than never in these things.)

 

I would love to find the hispanic Barbie (never removed from the box) for her for her 30th birthday next year. It would be the coolest gift ever. A bit tough to find that one though, prices are higher than the average Barbie, as this one was made in 1979 already. I guess I have to find a job in order to buy Barbies for my friends. :p

 

Somewhere in between we had time to chit chat about ex-boyfriends with narcissistic traits. It's amazing how common problem that is. On the other hand, it doesn't need more trauma than a mother having a postpartum Depression just when the baby needs to mirror him/herself in the mother's face. (The baby certifies its own excistance by the mother who is reacting to him, but if the mother isn't reacting the baby doesn't get a confirmation of its excistance. Sounds horrible, doesn't it?)

 

Anyway, we haven't met for years and years, unless you count my wedding, where we had time to exchange a couple of words. But it was so cool talking to her again. I remember talking about boys with her when we were too young to date them. When we got old enough, we didn't meet anymore, so I guess we haven't met during the whole time we've been dating. Now she is engaged to be married next summer, and I got married last summer, so... Anyway, she's great. She's blood.