More Kimmy...

  On the eve of Kimmy's celebration, I'd like to share this with you...

"So as you read this note, my friends,
 I'd love stay with you all.
 Please smile when you think of me,
 my body's gone, that's all."
                                       -Dave Mustaine, Megadeth
   Ok, so how can I connect the Megadeth song I've added to the playlist and Kim?  Well, truthfully, I am the metal fan in the family, but one of the things that, early on, really bonded Kim and I, was our music.  Kim was not the like most of the girls that I knew, who liked dance music and pop tunes - she was deeper.  When we met, we both enjoyed Aerosmith, The Who, AC-DC, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, etc - I had never met a girl who listened to rock.  We ended up seeing dozens of concerts together and having a blast at them all - best concert?  David Bowie, who we saw at least 5 times.  We saw Pink Floyd 3 times, the last time in '94 at ASU stadium.  Most surreal - Depeche Mode (yes, we were well rounded), one we fell asleep at?  The Grateful Dead - they took 2 hours to play 3 songs.  I loved seeing shows in Philly, there were always plenty of street vendors outside selling t-shirts and soft pretzels.  We also saw Guns 'N Roses - maybe the only time Axl showed up on time.  Scariest show for Kim?  Fight - featuring Rob Halford of Judas Priest.  We were moving towards the stage and Kim yelled 'No Dave, there's a fight breaking out!  Let's go back!'...I explained that it was not a fight, but a mosh pit, but we stayed far enough back to keep Kim comfortable.  I once 'lost' a contact so far back up into my eye at a Santana concert in Philly, that I had to go to a little medical tent they had set up, where some guy used an IV bag of saline to drip into my eye and reached in with a gloved hand and scooped it out...We had a lot of fun.
   Anyway, Kim liked  'A Tout Le Monde', by Megadeth.  We had gone to school with one of their drummers, Jimmy Delgrasso, who has since dropped the 'L' and goes by Degrasso.  Tonight, over dinner at Viro's Italian Bakery, I stated that Jimmy was Liberty High School's most famous alumni.  Kim's brother, Kenny, came up with some semi-famous alumni, but none as successful as Jimmy, who has also drummed for Y&T, White Lion, Ozzy Osbourne, Suicidal Tendencies and is currently with Alice Cooper.  Kim's brother in law, Todd, graduated from Freedom, the rival high school, who has the Rock, Dwayne Johnson, as their most famous...I personally favor Degrasso over Johnson.
  
     At the dinner tonight, Janene unveiled a form of mass card that she designed for tomorrow and the eulogy for Kimmy...her sister's Kristie and Andrea were a big help with both - they've worked hard to make Kimmy's day special.  Brian brought along several large posters he designed with photos of Kim - they are beautiful.  He really captured Kim and all that she was.  Kenny and I broke down - he was able to bring me back around pretty quickly - it's hard to get my arms around this, and I look to Kim for guidance and inspiration - she would tell me, look at all of those wonderful times we had together...and smile!  Brian has also worked hard on the slide show presentation for tomorrow.  My voice is already gone from tonight.  Vito and Rosa fed our entire east coast family, and our southwest family - all of whom have been so helpful.

      One more thing...our first Christmas together, back in 1976, I proudly presented Kimmy with a sterling silver necklace with a charm of a little girl and little boy kissing...she still has it!  I bought it at the Westgate Mall, where we first met.

       Hope to see you all tomorrow to celebrate Kimmy - please know that the tears that you see will be ones of joy, for the 33 years that I was blessed to have known Kim and for all of the incredible times we shared.  I cherish them all...
  
          Love,
                 Dave
"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do...but how much love we put in that action"
                                                                                            -Mother Teresa
Thanks Jodi for this quote - I always thought Kimmy was our Mother Teresa of the desert!