They say every face in a crowd has a story to tell, this is my story..

The news shows and newspapers all called it 'Road Rage'. To me that sounded like a disease, an affliction that can make you kill. A sorry excuse to take the claw end of a hammer and slam it repeatedly into the skull of a human being. In April of 1999 my little brother passed away. Doesn't passed away sound so gentle, even normal? David's death was neither. It was murder. He was found lying in a strangers driveway in a pool of blood. He had been punched, stomped and beaten over his entire body. I still have so many questions. I wrote this book at first for therapy and then for answers. I have found a few. I mainly realized l lost a brother tragically and senselessly. Like every other face in the crowd I have a story..and I want to share my story with you! PUBLICATION DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED LATE SUMMER/EARLY FALL :)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

More from "Bristol Stomp"


I went into David’s room.  We had to take turns.  A machine breathed for him.  Wires hanging and that awful beep, beep sound of monitors.  I told him I loved him and that I would never leave him.  He was covered in dry crusty blood.  I wanted to wash him.  The nurse said that was not a good idea right then.  It was important for his brain to rest.  He had pieces of glass stuck in his face and on his hands.  I found that strange.  Why had they not removed that glass from him?  It must hurt.   How did he get glass all over him?  Was he in a car accident?   A car accident most certainly made more sense.  There had to be some confusion here.
 I wanted my son.  He was away, in Army boot camp.  David was his best friend.  My heart sank.  I did not want to give him this news but I needed him.  I called the Red Cross.  The woman told me she would have to speak to David’s doctor.  I thought, damn does she really think I would make something like this up?
 I gave her the phone number for the hospital. It felt good to be thinking of something else, to be working on something.  After speaking with the doctor the woman from the Red Cross told me they would indeed arrange to have Jimmy sent home.  This is really bad, I thought.  If they were sending Jimmy home from the Army, it is bad.  I did not know what else to do.  I was so tired.  I thought of my job.  It was still early but I thought I better call my boss.  I worked in Advertising at the Bucks County Courier Times.  The news paper, I thought, one of the reporters may know what happened.  I would have my boss check with the news room to see if they knew what had happened.  Then I remembered it was Saturday.   I went back into the waiting room, sat down and closed my eyes.  I wanted to go to sleep and wake up from this horrendous nightmare.
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            The night before, I thought, seemed like ages ago.  I had been out been out with my daughters, Joan and Heather.  Joan had been going through a separation and Heather was just so busy with her son Kyle.  I had just broken up with my boyfriend and was feeling really bummed.  My girls and I never seemed to spend any time together unless it was with babies.  So, we decided to go out, just the three of us.
            As soon as we walked into Michael’s CafĂ©, the local singles, dancing, drinking establishment, off to the left sitting at a table was a psychic.  Let’s do it, we decided.  So before we even ordered our first drink we were sitting at a square table with a large bald man.  I cannot remember his name.  Heather went first.  For her it was all good news.  She would stay with her husband Matt, forever.  Kyle, her baby who was born with special needs would do well.  Joan went next.  Here is where it got strange.  It got very strange.  He held her hand, tightly it appeared.  He looked her in the eye and said to her, if something happens I want you to promise me you will crawl under the car, just remember that.  Remember to crawl underneath of the car and you will be safe.  We were firing questions at him that he did not answer.  He was making me really nervous and a little mad.  I’m sorry he said I just feel violence all around her, but she will be okay.  He then asked Joan who Steve was.  I do not know anyone named Steve, she answered.  Well, my mother’s friend Tina has a son named Stephen, he is young, just a little boy.  No the man said, not that one, this one is someone you were interested in romantically.  We all laughed.  Steve was a guy Joan had been interested in when she was a teenager.  He was the brother of Wally, who was the original drummer in Dave’s band.  We all laughed.  I have not seen him in ages, Joan said.  You will bump into this Steve this weekend, he said.  We really got a laugh out of that.  It would be interesting to say the least if she did run into Steve.  Feeling a little bit better, we moved onto my turn.  I wanted to know if I would get back together with my boyfriend.  Not this weekend, he answered.  Will I ever get back together with him?  If you do, it will not be right, he is not the one for you, he said.  When will I meet the right one for me, I asked?  Not this weekend, he sort of whispered.  We left that psychic with very strange feelings in our stomachs.  We found a table and ordered some appetizers and drinks. 
The music was loud.  The people were loud.  I wondered why I decided to bring these young girls to this middle age meat market.  We did not stay long.  That crazy psychic just made us uncomfortable.  We decided to call it a night.  Heather and Joan did not even want to stop at the diner.  That made me a little sad.  Heather went home to Matt and Kyle and Joan went home with me.  After what that psychic said I was glad she would be home with me.  We were quiet during the ride from Bensalem to Fairless Hills.  It was then it dawned on me.  I knew that guy, that psychic.  He had come to my house in Bristol, like fourteen years ago to do a party.  I wished I could remember his name.  Back then he told my friend Pat that she was going to have twins, when she was older.  At that time Pat had two little boys who were in school.  She laughed and said she was not going to have anymore.  Well guess what?  She did.  They thought she was going to have twins but she had one baby boy and a tumor.  I thought of what he had told me back then.  He told me my son was going to leave me and I should let him go and he would come back.  My son did leave me to go live with his father in Erie.  It broke my heart but I let him go.  He did come back.  It took years but he did come back.  He told me my Jill would only fall in love once and would be in love forever.  He told me my kids would be fine.  They would grow up and be happy.  He told me I would not find my true love until later in life.  I thought about my friend Terry and what he told her.  Her boyfriend was cheating on her, and he was.  I was thinking about how I had not seen Terry in a long time or Pat for that matter.  It is so strange how you spend so much time with someone, you know everything about their lives and then a page turns and they are not there.  I should try to reconnect with them.  Catch up with Pat, Terry and Tina, I thought, as I turned onto Valmore Road.  I will make a cup of tea and watch some television.  I did not feel tired.  Then I saw Birna backing out of the driveway.
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Friday, September 17, 2010

Friday Fragments from a very fragmented mind...

First and foremost I must thank the amazing Mrs. 4444 at Half Past Kissin Time for hosting this weekly dumping ground for the fragmented thoughts clogging up our heads. You can find all of her wonderfulness and hopefully some amazing new friends here:www.halfpastkissintime.com
I would also like to thank the beautiful Java at Never Growing Old for hosting a Friday Follow for us older folks (40 and over). If you fit that category you should most certainly check her out here:nevergrowingold.blogspot.com
So; I planted a garden this year. It was my first time. So far I have had enough string beans for a meal and today I got this:                                                
                                                                               
It made a little healthy snack..
   Okay..so I am not a good farmer now but just wait til next year!                                                                                         
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I have a marketing manager. Yes that's right! We are narrowing down details on my trip to meet my book production team. What I do not have yet is a publication date. This all has to be good though; right? Could I please (In a very sweet and kind way) have a date...please? I know these people check this stuff out so I have to be polite.
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Peyton Elizabeth; 3month's old
My newest little angel Peyton Elizabeth had her first sleepover at Mom-Mom and Pop-Pop's last Saturday night. Her little bigger sister Avery Paige and her big sister Morgan Layla joined us also. The little angel slept from 12:15 till 8:15 am. Of course I was up until 4am just making sure she was breathing. I took these photo's at 3am:   
Mogan Layla; 7 years old
**Just because; if anyone can tell
me in a comment why these 3 grand
daughter's go by 2 names I will send 
Avery Paige; 4 years old
you a prize! First correct answer wins;
or maybe I will choose more..never know..
Sunday Morning..butt drag day!
Okay; so speaking of contests you all know I am having one right? It is actually not a contest It is just my goal to reach 300 followers so I guess it is just a giveaway because you do not have to do anything but be a follower and have left a comment. We have had 4 winners so far (only 2 have responded so hurry or I will pick 2 more)...I was so excited when I went to the post office today to mail the prizes to:
#1-Neasha- She is a warm, friendly and a beautiful woman inside and out. You can find her here:thecomforttable.webs.com #2- Beth-The first word that comes to mind when I think of Beth is amazing. I love her blog. She is always learning something new and is always sharing what she learns. Her blog is always up to date and I have no idea how she does all that she does. You can visit Beth here:www.bethszimmerman.com  So congrats to both of you and I am truly blessed to have you as followers!
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That was it for warm and fuzzy the rest of my week was full of pee and some no pee..Sophie; our 83 year old homeless woman (I really should stop calling her that she has been here nearly 2 years) anyway she pees her pants. I finally got her to wear depends..it was a battle. So I still smell pee. I was walking and crawling around looking for the source. I came to a piece of driftwood my in-laws found on the beach on their honeymoon. That was like 65 years ago. Anyway; Lance and Louie (my, I love them so much adorable little spoiled doggies) have been using this driftwood as their own personal tree. Any suggestions on cleaning it?
The pee post...
Avery Paige fell asleep on the floor in my office; she had an accident..now my office smells like pee and smoke (3 weeks today and no cigarettes). I had an MRI done and they used some kind of nuclear dye; I guess so my insides would glow and the day after I ended up in the ER (yes again). I could not pee and it was weird and painful. Turns out one of the possible side effects of the nuclear cocktail is mal- functioning kidneys. Why am I always the 1 in 1000? After a lot of IV and several nasty drinks I am peeing every 5 minutes. (I may need 1 of Sophie's depends). I had a new patient at work this week. He has a foley catheter and while changing from the night bag to the day bag (very early in the morning) I forgot to pinch the tube. WTH!! 10 minutes into a 6 hour shift I had pee all over me. Did I seriously just write about all that pee?                          
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I may have a cold. (I really do but I am pretending I don't because I still have more weekend warrior stuff to do before summer is truly over). We are going to visit my son and his 2 little sweeties Julia (10) and lil Jimmy (7). Then on Sunday we are going to a Phillie's game. I love the Phillie's :)

Don't look back on yesterday with despair. Look at tomorrow with  hope.                                                                   
                                            Have
                                                  a
Julia
                      positively
                                 Blessed
                                         Weekend
                                                   Everybody!

Jimmy




Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Getting ready to look in the rear view mirror...

It has been one heck of a crazy summer for me and my family and I am trying to put it behind me and move on...
We had a brand new grand daughter born on June 1, 2010.  It was a long and anxiety ridden pregnancy for all of us because my daughter has serious health issues of her own that put her pregnancy at extremely high risk. A bit early but 100% feisty and healthy we all welcomed Peyton Elizabeth into our family.
On June 16th we had a family week at the beach. When I say family I mean serious family; 100's of us. We had the most chaotic and glorious vacation.
The evening after we arrived home; we got the middle of the night phone call no parent or grand parent ever wants to receive. My stepson Michael, 29 years old had been in a motorcycle accident. He was in extremely critical condition with internal injuries to nearly every major organ. He was in a coma for 23 days. 
On the 20th day I was at the hospital and they were preparing Michael for his 8th surgery. I had maintained my composure and tried to be strong for my husband because you see he lost his oldest son at the age of 17 to suicide. Michael was the only one for John now. But on that day I had a meltdown. There were 2 step parents;2  parents and a huge extended family and we were all there for John and Michael. A few were not there for me; and I still sting from the cruelness of a few others actions. I am working very hard at trying to forgive them and actually that is the easy part it is the forgetting that is hard.
So in my meltdown I went down to the lobby of the hospital and sat in a chair. The sun was  shining so bright. The tears came and I could not stop them. My phone rang. It was my mother. My 8 year old grand son, Dominic was being air lifted to Children's Hospital after a freak accident where a metal pole went in one side of his lower leg and out the other. I stood up and began pacing like a crazy woman. They were taking him first to a Children's trauma center close to home to be stabilized and then sent to the city. I did not know which way to go.
The Public Relation's manager from Chester-Crozier Medical Center was hugging me and other personal surrounded me. They thought the worst had happened with Michael.
Miraculously the pole that went through Dominic's leg went between a main artery and a main bone. A miracle the surgeon said. They only had to repair some muscle and some tendon's.
 Today both boys are recuperating and will by the grace of God be 100% as good as they were before their accidents.
My husband and I did a couple of 'we missed the whole summer marathons' and are now getting ready for the next season or the next chapter of our lives.
I can never thank all of you enough for your prayers and kind words. I really feel so connected to my blog friends and feel that if we ever meet it will be like we have been friends for years.
I am not quite ready to say goodbye to summer; maybe next week!
For now I am working on the very last revisions to the book; have made travel plans to meet my production team and I should be thrilled but I am still sad. It is the story of my brother's murder. I was so overwhelmingly compelled to tell the story; the insanity and senselessness of it all and I believe in my heart David would be thrilled for me. So I am going to smile and get ready for the next chapter of this process; which actually requires a lot more work than sitting in jammies and typing all day.
I collect quotes and have them everywhere but this one has been my favorite for about a month now and I am not going to miss my knock on the door.
"Before the angel of success arrives in your life, you should devote yourself to preparing your welcome for her. Polish your craft and strengthen your body to be fit so you can do your job and enjoy your success when it comes. Sharpen your mind and spirit so they are ready to face the challenges that accompany a visitation from the angel of success. If you are not ready when the angel knocks she will flee. And who knows if she will make it back around to your door again".
Peyton Elizabeth/3month's old
How could you not believe in angels?


Friday, September 10, 2010

Friday Fragments...

beautiful sky!


I took this on the back of the motorcycle..

I am so sad to say goodbye to summer!
Well John and I are certainly making up for our lost summer..last weekend it was the beach for some much needed R & R and the weather was beautiful! We ate at our favorite Pizza Place (Too much)

Our new favorite boardwalk store..
We took a few motorcycle rides the nights were still warm enough for me.
The best Pizza in the world!!
Then she had to take an important call from her sister..
Adriana proudly showed me how she makes her Teddy bear sing
On the way home from the beach we stopped at my daughter Joan's house. I was really missing the kids.
You all know there has to be some drama in here somewhere right?
So we got home Monday night; I went to work Tuesday morning and half way through my shift I could hardly move. Stomach pain. I swore my gall bladder had just blown up or something. I finished my shift (yes I am crazy like that)
Then I went to my doctors office. She sent me for an ultrasound the next day at 7am (ugghh) and then I waited. At 3:00 she called and said to go to the ER. That was just a great experience. We arrived at 3:10pm and there was no one in the waiting room. We could not be that lucky! We left at 3am with a diagnosis of diverticulitis.  It is not infected so I should be feeling better in a few days. I did not eat well while we were at the beach and I know better..oh well..So here we are at Friday again and I hope you will join our lovely host; Mrs.4444 here:www.halfpastkissintime.com  You will not be disappointed!
When you are finished there be sure to stop by at Java's (if you are over 40) she is the host of  Bloggers over 40 and you can find her and a lot of friends here:http://nevergrowingold.blogspot.com
We now have 4 winners of my quest to reach 300 followers..for every 10 new followers I will randomly choose a winner from my followers and comments..good luck everyone. If you are waiting for your prizes they are on the way..I was sidelined this week!
I have a lot of behind the scenes exciting book stuff happening and cannot wait to share it with all of you!
Have a positive and powerfull weekend..
P.S. I am just wondering if you still remember where you were when you heard the 9/11 news. Do you remember how you felt?

Friday, September 3, 2010

Friday Fragments

Happy Friday Everybody!  I am celebrating one week and one day cigarette free. You might think I was like a chain smoker or something with the tough time I have been having. I smoked 5 a day. I knew I was going to be quitting and I just kept cutting down. Yesterday was the easiest day so far. I broke down and am using the gum. It really isn't that bad and it helps. I just keep telling myself I have already saved like $42.00 and Hubby is doing really well so together we saved $84.00.
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It looks like Earl is going to pass right on by I just checked our weather and we are 0% rain for the next 5 days. It is weird because it is all dark and gloomy looking outside.
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I have not seen 1 of my grand children all week and I really miss them! I talked to 15 month old Adriana yesterday and yes she does talk. 15 month's old and she is putting 3 words together...her favorite "I got it"!
She does have a 14 yr. old sister and a 7 yr. old brother; and they have been reading and talking to her since she was born. Of course when talking on the phone with her she likes to push the buttons too...
Baby Peyton is 3 month's old. I just cannot believe how fast the time goes.
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It really does feel strange to have nothing traumatic to frag about. Michael is recovering quite well and Dominic is running on the foot he nearly lost a few month's ago. I am thankful it has been a boring week for a change.
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I am still having my contest to try to get 300 followers. I lost 3 this week. I do not know why that makes me so sad; but it does.
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I am off to work a very long day and then hopefully off to the beach for the weekend tonight!
Have a safe and happy holiday weekend everybody and do not forget to stop by and say hello to our host Mrs.4444 atwww.halfpastkissintime.com and when you are finished there stop by and see the beautiful Java and all of her friends at:nevergrowingold.blogspot.com and remember "the doors we open and close everyday decide the lives we live" Flora Whitman

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

The McGettigan's go to Washington and more from "BRISTOL STOMP"

We made it!
President Lincoln looks so small here but he is really large..
I have never seen so many people in one place in my life and everybody was kind it was a bit strange in a very good way...


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 I did not make my goal of 300 follower's before the end of August. I am not discouraged and will continue the contest for as long as it takes. For every 10 new followers I will randomly pick a winner from all followers to win some awesome prizes! Good Luck everyone! I really do appreciate your support!
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I wrote "Bristol Stomp" at first because I was so angry. Then I just wanted what happened to my brother to never happen to anyone else. What I wrote is a narrative non-fiction. When I became serious about giving this book to the world, I decided it would be MY story. I decided I would be completely honest which was fine for the bad people in the book but it was hard to give my truth but I think I accomplished it because once the first book rolls off the press I am going to feel completely naked. I will have no secrets. I gave a copy of the book to everyone in my family to read 7 month's ago. I wanted them to check my accuracy.  I also wanted to know how they felt. I recently got blasted for something in the book that a relative felt was their private information. I never want to hurt anybody; but it is the story I have chosen to tell. I am hurt that I was just hearing about this now when the copies had been given out so long ago. I think a few more people will be upset before it is all over but I was not going to write a true story and not tell the truth..
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More from "BRISTOL STOMP"...
 I was worrying about the trial.  I was convincing myself I would feel better when at least some justice was served.  I was so angry there had still been no other arrest.
            I also wondered what it felt like to be Jimmy Galione’s mother.  To know that the son you carried in your belly and gave life to, loved and took such good care of, took someone’s life.  What would it feel like to know your son took the claw end of a hammer and slammed it into a man’s head over and over while that man was pleading for him to stop, begging for his life?
 I wondered what it would be like if it had been my son.  What if I got that phone call saying your son has just been arrested, for murder?  He grew up with these people.  What if he still hung around with them?  I would start to feel sorry for Jimmy’s mother and his father.  His sisters Angela and Michelle, they did not deserve to have a murderer for a brother.  I really did try to feel sorry for them but the truth was they were in denial.  They were lying for their son and telling him to lie.  That fact made me hate them.  If it was me I would have told my son to be a man and tell the truth.  I mentioned these thoughts to my son and he convinced me there was a difference.  He said there was a reason he no longer hung out with them.  He also said he just could never hurt anyone like that.  I believed him.
 I also realized had anything like that ever happened with my son I would still love him.  I would also have compassion for the victim’s family.  On the other hand at that point I did not feel sorry for Jerry Reeves parents. I knew he had been in trouble before.  He was definitely troubled.  I heard he had hit his girlfriend’s father over the head with a heavy frying pan.  That kind of anger does not happen overnight.  Why hadn’t his parents done anything about his violent behavior?  They had to have seen his anger escalating.  Maybe it was because I didn’t know them.  I didn’t know Jerry when he was a little boy.  I thanked God my son was not a murderer.  I thanked God my kids were all kind people.  I made a mental not to never again complain about anything they ever did.  At least they were not killers.  I had to fight all this anger and hatred I felt because I did not want my kids to become consumed with hatred.
I was forced to think about my opinion of the death penalty.  I do not think I had an opinion at that time.  It was not something I wanted to think about, ever.  The owner of the Levittown News World, a little store in Fairless Hills that Dave and I frequented said if this had happened in his country they would march the guilty down the middle of the street and everyone would do unto them what had been done to Dave.  What a pleasant thought if only for a moment.
 I tried to imagine myself with a hammer and a bat just pounding away at them.  An eye for an eye it is in the bible, right?  The truth is I could not do it.  The thought of hurting anyone like that made me sick to my stomach.  I thought about the atrocities in foreign countries.  It was just not right.  However, was the death penalty right?  I concluded, in my mind it was.  I also concluded it is not right the way it is in now, in America.  It is a joke.  It takes too long. Then there is the issue of mental competence.  Should you be excluded from the death penalty if you are mentally retarded?  Should you be excluded if you are mentally ill?  What if you are a minor and you kill?  I believe every legal step should be taken to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  It should just be done faster.  I must admit the thought of this whole gang sitting on death row was a pleasant one.  Waiting day after day wondering if this would be the day.  Would that be torturous?  I hoped so.  David was tortured. I hoped they heard Dave’s pleas in their sleep.  I hoped they felt his warm blood splattering on their faces.  I hoped every time they closed their eyes they saw baby Michael’s innocent little eyes. I wanted them to feel every pain David had felt.
I wanted to know what David felt.  How do you even imagine laying in a driveway and getting hit with the claw end of a hammer and kicked in the head with boots and punched all over your body?  I tried to imagine his pain.  I tried to imagine what was going through his mind.  I couldn’t imagine.  I still can’t.  I just prayed that David lost consciousness quickly and was asleep.
            I remembered in the hospital the nurse telling me Dave’s kidney’s were smashed, his liver was torn, his leg was broken, his arm was broken, his hand was broken, his fingers were broken and he had several skull fractures.  Dave was a big man.  I tried to imagine how hard you have to hit someone to break a bone.  To break a thick bone, like Dave’s. When I would have these thoughts, it was just for a minute or two.  I couldn’t bare more then that.  I would get nauseous then I would feel guilty.  I wondered if anyone else in my family was being tortured by these thoughts but I could never get the words out.