karla Battilana schwendler

1) Letter Carrier @ USPS for 30 years, 1986-2016 2) It gives me great pleasure to say that 4 of my closest friends in the world are wild, wonderful women I met in my freshman year @CCHS: Janet (Piechocki) Pantano, Rosemary (Valenti) Bork, Susie Valenti & Eve (Sinica) Philipps. WOW! Who would have believed it? 50+ years sharing the pivital times together! We've been through good times & bad, happiness & profound grief; infertility, childbirth (no thanks to those who said: Oh! it's no big deal.It barely even hurt. Really, it's just a little uncomfortable. And you won't even remember it anyway!! Liar!) That group of persons should be made to try & pass an elephant (tusks & all) through a little teeny-tiny
itsy-bitsy hole the size of a dixie cup, & then we can see what they would say about how "easy" the whole ordeal is !!! engagements, weddings & funerals (waay too many deaths), tons of bridal & baby showers, sadness & joy, loss of Dads, loss of Moms, loss of friends, & the loss of MY mind. These girlies always have been my "partners in crime" & have helped me celebrate many birthdays, are loyal, smart, dedicated, motivated, generous, considerate & thoughtful, beautiful inside AND on the outside, smart & creative, they can cook, they garden, they love to shop, do crafts & talk. Lotsa talking. Big surprise, right? They even talk more than me. How is that even possible? But they do...talk, talk, talk, talk lotsa lotsa lotsa We went to college, or a specific career school, got jobs, & we proceeded to slowly become our mothers!! I have gone on vacation with all of them, although not all of them @ once. They are capable, hardworking, thorough, meticulous & organized, with lots of other good qualities, most of which annoys me to no end.

We endured the BLIZZARD OF '77, various ice storms, & even a few tornados. We've loved the Buffalo Bills & the Sabres for many, many years, but there's still no Super Bowl ring or Stanley Cup. Most of the last 30 years was spent watching the Super Bowl together; we usually didn't care who won or lost because we were too busy talking about the commercials. However, we did our very best to donate $$ to many local watering holes. We had a system going on; every night we went to a different bar, depending on the day. Monday--Uncle Sam's, then later on, after some of us got banned for fighting (who, ME?!) we went to Mulligans on Allen. (Can you say: case of ROLLING ROCK splits?) Tuesday--some went to McGillicuttys, some stayed home. Wednesday--was Brunners. I always loved Brunners-- (we met the most interesting people. We also have many fond memories of a case of OV splits there). Thursday--mostly the Locker Room, but some went to the Masthead Friday--wherever, whenever, depending on the mood of the group. Saturday was "date night"; if there was no date, we went to Patrick Henrys, or After Dark, or the Morrison Hotel, the Ritz, Gabels, on Elmwood or Allen St.
or whatever, whenever, or any of the bars I already mentioned. We had lots of fun & drank a LOT of shots, met a LOT of new people, & there was always 1 of us that was sober enough to be the DD. BTW, we never heard a song we couldn't screw up the words to, we never said no when offered another drink (well,I guess maybe I was the only 1 who never said no) & we loved to dance (especially if it was to 1 of those songs with the messed-up lyrics. When that happened, it was always pretty amusing to compare what we WERE singing, to what it was SUPPOSED TO BE!! What do you mean, these words don't make any sense! They ARE the right words? They ARE? Are you sure? I've known this song for years! THAT is what they're saying? No way !! Hmmm...maybe this is right, now that I think of it. NOW I understand what that stupid song was all about!! WOW!! Who knew? Not me, that's for sure!!) And now, I'm thinking that this is a little scary, cuz I'm starting to sense a pattern here, & I'm not so sure that IS a good thing. It seems as though all of you who have known me through these past 54 years, have realized a very long time ago to take the good & the bad together (as if there were any other option left.) Just know that no matter what anyone says, we all know that each & every 1 of us has (@ LEAST) 1 of those songs they LOVE to sing as loudly as possible; you know, they love to really belt it out, & all the while they're singing that fabulous song, (& ALL OF US have been known to do it @ 1 time or another) they are absolutely MANGLING the words beyond all human capability to understand!! I tell you, I am not the only 1 who does that. It can't only be me, right? Really, we all have been guilty of that particular crime against nature, for sure. ALL of us. We are all guilty of it. I swear to GOD. Deny it if you must, but I know the truth, & the truth shall set you free!!

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