Dorothy Mantooth Is a Saint!

Good evening,

For those who might not know me, I'm Kevin Garrigan, Anne's oldest son.

People sometimes have to make up nice things to say after someone passes away.  That won't be the case tonight.  It's very easy to truthfully say good things about Anne Marie Francis.

Though my mom left us far too early, I could not be happier with the constant gift of her presence while she was with us.  Her 54 years were too few, but the amount of living she did while with us was enough to fill several lifetimes.

The four of us kids could not have asked for a better mother.  She did such a great job raising us in a happy home.  Katie, Mike, Shauna and myself didn't make it easy on her by any means, but somehow she managed to raise 4 sometimes out of control kids and teenagers into 4 relatively well-adjusted adults.  There was no better Grammy to her 3 grandchildren.  Her face lit up and her joy was evident when she spent time watching Keegan and Brooke play; and of course the few precious months she got to spend with baby Colby were truly a gift. 

She had a way of putting a positive spin on most things, and would always be there to lend an ear and offer sage advise....I know I myself needed a lot of it.  I will miss our talks terribly.  Mom never wanted to put anybody out of their way.  In her eyes, it would always be better to give than to receive, better to love than to be loved, and especially better to be concerned for others than have others be concerned for her.  This of course drove us all crazy at times, because we have so much love for her and wanted to help her as much as possible.  None of us wanted her to fight this fight alone, and despite her best efforts, we weren't about to leave her side.  She was stubborn, but very well aware of the love that so many had for her.  She didn't have an enemy in the world.  If you were lucky enough to spend any significant time with my mom, you definitely knew that you were around a special person.  Whether she made you belly-laugh by telling stories about her youth and causing trouble for her parents and siblings, or offered soothing comfort after you had a bad day, there was just something about her that made you leave her feeling good.

I remember one time when I was about 10 years old, I decided to add laundry detergent to the washing machine after my mom had put a load in...probably like half a container or so.  It didn't take long for an endless stream of bubbles to start pouring out of the washer and all over the floor of the basement.  I did what most 10 year olds would probably do and ran upstairs to my room and denied it to the bitter end when mom started screaming at me.  I was the only one there, so I wasn't sure who I was trying to fool.  So after really letting me have it, eventually my mom "asked" me to come down to the basement and help her clean.  "Ok, but I didn't do it mom."  She said fine and we both went down to the basement to clean up the mess.  After about 5 minutes of silent cleaning, knowing that she was furious, I told her, "mom, I did put the extra detergent in there, I thought I was helping."  She told me, "No shit Kevin."  When she saw how guilty I was, she started laughing.  I'll never forget her face.  I couldn't believe it.  I figured at the time that I really messed up, not fully understanding that it wasn't the end of the world, because I didn't know any better...until my mom laughed at me.  She gave me a hug and we finished cleaning up the mess.  I probably had a hundred different fights with my mom when I was a teenager, but I always remembered that no matter how bad I screwed up, my mom loved me and we'd eventually be able to laugh about it, which we very frequently did, the older I got.

My mom was a true believer that being a good person and doing good things would come back around to you in some type of Karmic circle.  These are values that I live my life by and that I instill into my son, niece, and nephew.  I think my siblings will agree with this.  She knew that if she lived a good life, that when the day came when she had to leave us, she would be in a good place and with her lost loved ones.  I like to think that she's in that place know, breathing deeply and easily, and having a good laugh with her parents, her boyfriend Bob, and other loved ones around the dinner table.  I know that if I continue to follow my mom's core values, that I'll join her one day around that table.  It gives me peace to know that when I leave this world, I'll have the most special, strong, good-hearted, nurturing woman that I have ever known, waiting for me with a big hug, and a kind word.

I love you mom.  I'll miss you...and as you would tell me every time we parted, with a series of kisses on the forehead: Goodnight, God bless you, I love you, see you in the morning.

Thank you all for coming.  We are so lucky to have such great friends and family.  The outpouring of love shown by you over the last two weeks has been palpable, and something that the 4 of us will never forget.

The Fall of an Empire

"Will you help us catch Pluto's super duper bouncy ball?" No current asshole Mickey from the shitty "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse"....I want to go fly fishing with you and Goofy and watch Goofy get his mouth caught by a fishhook....or watch Donald Duck play hockey with his nephews and watch his nephews fuck with him. I HATE CURRENT SHITTY DISNEY MICKEY!!! I WANT THE OLD ONE BACK!!!  20th Century Mickey is what made our childhood entertainment so wonderful.  Every kid wanted to go to Disney World....

The movies and the cartoons from when I was a kid, such epics like The Lion King, Alladin, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, The Mickey Mouse Show, Duck Tales.  Sure, sometimes there would be an epic battle at the end of those movies between good and evil.  Isn't that "lesson learned" enough for a cartoon?  Do the cartoons of today need to teach kids colors and how to count?  That's what school and daycare is for you dumb fucks!  Steamboat Willie is more entertaining then the crap they put on today.   Jake and the Neverland Pirates??  Back in the day Captain Hook would be trying to put his hook in Peter Pan's jugular...now all he does is basically cry about 3 kids who keep outsmarting him over and over again while calling them "Puny Pirates."  I feel sick sometimes watching this garbage.  Chip and Dale were just playing with a bouncy ball....are you kidding? Chip and Dale would be plotting how to steal the ball and fuck shit up in the old days.....now the closest thing the Mickey Mouse show has to a villain is Pete, who basically just helps the rest of these morons count. Hey Disney Channel, our kids are educated just fine, it's called SCHOOL YOU CHILDHOOD RUINING FUN STOMPING ASSHOLES!!!

And I HAVE to watch these cartoons and pretend they're awesome, because my 3 year old loves them....and only because it's not a choice, it's a lack of options. Sure, I could change it to Spongebob on Nick, but then I would be forced to murder myself after about 5 minutes.  I'd love to hold Spongebob under fresh water...let's see if he can make my eardrums bleed after THAT!

Back to Disney....every conflict in every story is resolved in a friendly, soft resolution with absolutely no climax...it's storytelling 101.  Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner never had that problem.  Sure, you knew a safe would fall on the coyote's head or he would launch himself into a mountain...but even though you knew he'd always lose, at LEAST there would be a resolution to the story.  Triumph and failure. Good overcoming Evil.  Tom and Jerry?  Jerry always outsmarted Tom and Tom would wind up getting a bomb in his face or something like that.   You know why that happened?  Because Tom tried to EAT Jerry.  What would YOU do?  Once again, good triumphing over evil.  How can this be a BAD lesson? 

The only good thing about the Disney Channel these days are the Disney Shorts when they play classic stuff for like 3 minutes between the shitty shows they have on; except they make sure they cut anything remotely violent out of them...Gawd forbid anyone sees anything that is CLEARLY fake violence. My son is 3 and he knows damn well that when Simba and Scar are fighting at the end of Lion King it's FUCKING MAKE BELIEVE!!!! It's a cartoon for chrissakes!!!  It's not like he goes to the zoo and expects an epic battle between the lions in a pit full of fire while other lions fight against hyenas.

Here's an idea...just a small thought.  Be a good parent!!!!!!  TEACH your kids good from bad.  If you let the T.V. teach your son about violence....scratch that.  If you let the T.V. or movies or video games teach your kids ANYTHING.  You ARE a bad parent.  It's very simple.  Instill good values in your children, let them know that what they see on T.V. isn't real, and there you go.  Your kid will grow up just fine.  YOU are your kids biggest idol, not fake-ass Mickey Mouse OR Scar from the Lion King.  Their parents are their role models, and they WILL listen to you, (or they should be institutionalized.)  I'm not saying kids are perfect throughout their elementary years and teenage years, but if you parent them, they will share your values.  If you let them just do whatever you want, they'll probably end up as assholes.  Tell them about condoms, it's ok.  Don't let them stay up late.  Tell them about how drugs and alcohol are very bad.  Encourage them to play sports or dance and socialize and follow their dreams.  This isn't fucking Dr. Phil shit, it's common sense.  There are too many shitty parents out there, and corporations....EMPIRES like Disney are crumbling beneath our feet because they don't want to be responsible for the demise of the human race.  Give me a break.

Or better yet, give me back the Roadrunner, Tom, Jerry, and Simba.

Happy New Year Vinny

I feel great.  I haven't lately, but I do right now.  Circumstances have come into play that have put a lot of things in perspective for me.  Is it worth it to get hung up on one person, any person, when there are so many people and things that make me happy?  I wear my heart on my sleeve a lot of the time. I get sad, and I let people know about it.  I decided just now that I'm done with it, all of it. 

I have a lot going on.  My son makes me so happy it's ridiculous.  The more he learns and the clearer he speaks and the more questions he asks and the way his eyes brighten when he figures something out and the way he says, "I can do it all by myself Daddy."  I'm a good dad....a great dad.  I'm an uncle, recently for the second time.  I thought to myself, "How can I possibly bitch about anything when I have these beautiful kids in my life and such great friends and such a close family." 

Most of all, I recently went through a breakup, and got all sad about it, and wanted her back.  Why?  I was lied to.  I got shit on, and I wanted her back?  Nah dude.  Done with it.  I can do better, and I will.

And maybe it won't be for a while...and that's ok too.  I can do me for a bit.  (Not that way you fucking sickos.)  I have another surgery this week, and I won't be putting anything up for a bit.  But when I come back, it will be with a vengeance.  Watch out everyone, here comes Vinny Mac. I'm killing it at work, I'm going to take a writing class so these posts don't suck so much,  I'm gonna get published at some point.  I'm gonna travel to California.  I'm going to the gym all the time when my elbow is healed...first to rehab it, and then to feel good, and look healthy.  By the summer, I'm going to be back all the way. 

I have so much going for me, even if I don't see it sometimes.  I'm going to make the most of this life instead of just gliding through it.

Doubt me.