One Of The Goofy Things

I was telling someone the other day about the trip to San Diego.

One of the stories from the trip is that Ann Jillian was the mistress of ceremonies for the event. There was a group photo taken that included the three honored nurses, the writers of the essays and Ann Jillian. We were lined up facing to our right and then turning our heads to face the camera. Ann Jillian was standing behind me and I was kidding with her about how we should do a kick line dance. She put her hands on my waist and we started cutting up for a bit. Afterwards, I went up to her to get an autograph for a friend (who named her daughter "Jillian" in honor of Ann Jillian) and after she signed her autograph, she gave me a copy of one of her CD's and then gave me a peck on the cheek. I turned around and walked back to the group I was with - who had witnessed the whole thing. Got some grief from them and told them I would probably never wash that cheek again. Fussed at them because they didn't get a picture of it. Made them swear that they would validate my story if it ever needed validating.

As I tell that story to others, I tell them, "Had you told me 20-30 years ago that some evening in California I would meet Ann Jillian, she would put her hands on my waist and then kiss me, I would have asked what it would take to make that happen."

Ah, the gifts that come from the cancer thing.

I'm just sayin.