I rember wanting to do something special for her this time last year since she was supposed to be leaving MEPCOM and since I was a sucker for doing birthday surprises I figured that a trip Medieval Times might be an idea.  But, in order to make sure she would be up for something like that I would have needed to ask some open-ended questions to keep her off my trail.  I would need to ask if she had ever been around any animals close-up, and if she had any allergies to dust or dirt.  I would also have needed to ask if she had any isues with strobe lights and such.  Then I could tell her that we were going to do something cool for her birthday - but I would not have revealed 'what' until the last minute. (This was similar to how I surprised my cousin with a trip there, and he caught on when we arrived about 2 minutes away, lol) I had my questions ready to ask...but then...she informed me that she would be TDY on the week of her birthday.

All was not lost, though.  She got some sun in Hawaii. 

:D 

May 23, 2014 was an unforgettable day.  I stopped at MEPCOM to hang out with LaShawn for her going away pot-luck luncheon, and then I would head to Chicago for the game between the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox.  I had just found out that my cousin was unable to bring his kids to the game so I had 3 extra tickets.  After the luncheon we hung out chatting about all sorts of things when it suddenly hit me that perhaps she may be interested in going to the game since she was a native New Yorker.  I got the call from my cousin with news that he could bring one of the kids, which would still leave me with one extra ticket – perfect!  LaShawn could still go to the game once she threw on some New York gear.  Then we had to get to Chicago and hang out at my mom’s while waiting for my cousin.  That was where the adventure really began – Friday afternoon traffic heading into the city was no joke!  But, about 2.5 hours later we got to my mom’s with an hour to spare before my cousin’s arrival.  The ladies had great conversation (sometimes at my expense – lol) and then we finally headed to the ballpark.  Great seats in the outfield and a great game, too, as the Sox won.  It was her first ever MLB game and she had a blast looking for Derek Jeter.  She also made the rookie mistake of cheering when the rest of us were.  Um, we were rooting for the Sox (hee hee).  In our last conversation she told me how much she loved the picture we took at the game because of the background.  I had to agree, it was a good picture.

This is a video that I shot of LaShawn wearing a t-shirt that I bought in Las Vegas.  She really liked the t-shirt because it had a battery pak that activated it through sound.  Here she is dancing to Snoop Dogg.


LaShawn had a huge heart and was willing to give someone in need the shirt off of her back.  We had long talks about everything including work, school, religion, politics, family, etc., the list goes on.  She was a beautiful woman inside and out and I will never forget the influence she had on me and so many around me.  Rest in peace my dear friend.

Rod