The other day I overheard my mother and father talking.
I couldn't hear what my father had said, but I heard my mother reply,

"I said tomorrow, t-o-m-o-r-r-o-w dot com dot dot com com."

My mother is what nice people call "eccentric".

Contents : Introducing Stevi Foxx - (see below) Some of my mother's sayings Things she's done or wants to do Famous people she's met Strange and spooky things that have happened to her Interests Links - including links to samples of her writing

About My Mommy : Stevi Foxx

I decided to make my mother a webpage because she is one of the most interesting people I know. Stevi Foxx is the pseudonym she uses for writing, Foxx being her maiden name. Stevi is just a name she likes. This page has camouflage accents because she says camouflage is her 'favorite colour'. If you point out that camouflage is a pattern and not a colour, she says neon green is her favorite colour. She drives a station wagon painted camouflage with neon green 'trimmings' (windshield wiper arms, license plate frame, etc.). You know when you go out in public with her, there is a very good chance she will get you in trouble. At theatres she talks to the screen and throws JuJu's over her shoulder so the people behind her think someone behind them is throwing them. She's very creative, very abstract in thought. She paints, writes in just about any and all genres, does ceramics, not the mold kind, not pots, but small sculptures, sews, cooks (though if you hear the word 'experiment' don't ask what's in the food till you've eaten it), has a green-thumb to the point of our sunroom looking like a jungle, and can come up with a interesting solution for just about any dilemma. She taught us that walls are big canvases, dirt was meant to be played in, a clean house means nothing's going on, and stray animals should always be brought home and fed, no matter if it's a baby opossum or a mangy-looking tomcat. She buys Milkbones<tm> for the opossums and racoons that visit, so they don't eat the outside cats' food. She taught us all to be very independent and not care what others think. I thank her for that. Along those lines, she taught us, from example, to stand up for what we believe is right. I have seen her fight everyone from the School Board to the phone company. The phone company fight meant going without a phone for a year, but it was an interesting experience. She was determined to show them she didn't need a phone, and because she works for the phone company, I think she enjoyed when people at work asked for her number and she could say, "I don't have a phone.". She taught us that it's ok to be without if you are trying for a goal and can't get there otherwise. No money for the power bill? Pull out the candles and kerosene lamps, see who still sells ice blocks for the frig, and pay it when you can. Growing up with her as a mom was an adventure! It's almost needless to mention my father is pretty neat too. It's a given. He's 'put up' with her for 37 years.

~ Sayings ~
(and she's completely serious on all of these)

"If a stranger offers you candy, take it and run."

"If a spaceship lands don't get in it."

"If someone tells you you can't do something, make sure to do it."

"I used to be Ann Rutledge"

~ Done/Wants To Do ~

Things She Has Accomplished has a yellow belt in Karate raised four independent and creative kids won awards for her watercolours and ceramic sculptures published two short stories in a collection of local writers learned to drive (swears it's the worse thing she ever learned) is an accomplished ice-skater

Things She Wants To Do get a black belt in Karate write a 'best seller' visit the British Isles (especially Scotland) learn how to swim

~ Famous People She's Met ~

At St. Mary's Catholic Church dances in Philadelphia Jerry Vale Dick Lee Tony Bennett - he burned her with his cigarette backstage, but profusely apologized. Teresa Brewer    In Wildwood, New Jersey Eddie Fontain Franky Avalon - she was laying on the beach and he came over to talk to her, but she didn't like 'south phillie' boys. Chuck Berry - he was standing outside a club, next to his gold cadillac. Buddy Hackett Johnny Mathis Liberace - someone pointed out his dressing room window and she joined a group of girls watching him undress, when he got down to his 'skivies' one of the girls squealed and they shut the blinds.    Other Places Percy Crawford - Preacher, ran Pinebrook Bible Conference Wilt Chamberlain - when he played for Overbrook High, his team played her school, Gratz, in Philadelphia. She and some friends went to the boy's locker room to meet him. Eddie Fisher - came to her school to sing "Smokin'" Joe Frazier - was using the phone down the corner from her mother's house so she got an autograph (her dad was a boxer). Jonathan Frid - Barnabas Collins on Dark Shadows, met him at a horse show appearance. Marilou Henner - met her at a local television station. The Platters - swears she keeps running into them everywhere. Ernest Hemingway's grandchildren - she babysat them when I was young. They were Hemingway's daughter-in-law's kids and every meal they ever invited me to was french toast.    On The Phone (she used to be a long distance operator) Willie Nelson - he couldn't believe she'd never heard of him, but when her friend working beside her got Ozzy Osbourne on the phone once, she nearly freaked. Ollie North - he told her, "Boy, these trials really have me down." Sgt. McGruff - actually the guy who does the voice for the crime-fighting dog detective. Jimmy Vaughn - he told her to come meet him at his show in Norfolk, Va. Art Buchwald - she was afraid to even say anything to him because he is "too famous". Back to Contents

~ Strange Things ~

Story #1 When my mom was a very tiny girl, her grandmother took ill. She was taking a nap one day and in a dream her grandmother came to her and said she had to go away, but she wanted to say goodbye. My mother asked her grandmother if she could come with her, but her grandmother said it wasn't her time. My mother's uncle woke her from the dream to tell her her grandmother had passed away.

Story #2 When my mother was about eleven, she found a gun sitting on a wall while she and her aunt were headed to church. They both tried to fire it with no success. Her aunt gave her the gun, since she was the one who found it. She took it to Sunday School with her and showed it to a girl who yelled out to the teacher, "She has a gun!". The teacher told my mother to "Please put it away". My mom figures the teacher thought the girl meant a toy gun. When my mother and her aunt got back to my aunt's house, my mother called her father to tell him about her find and much to her disappointment, he called the police and they came by and got it.

Story #3 When my mom was about seventeen years old, she and her brother were in a deli. Two guys ordered sandwiches and when they were given them they took off up the stairs and out of the door of the deli. A policeman who was there took off after them. Mom and her brother ran to the door to watch and as the cop reached the top stair his gun fell free from its holster. Mom picked up the gun and ran after the cop, with her brother close on her heels. She wonders what onlookers must have thought seeing two guys, a cop, a girl with a gun, and a small boy running down the street after each other.

Story #4 When my mother was working as an operator, she got a call from a very distressed sounding gentleman who wanted to know where his milk was. He had milk delivered, but the deliveries hadn't been showing up. He said he would ask his relatives about it, but he can't seem to find them. They were always with him, but now they were gone. My mother, being a kind-hearted person, got his name and address. After work, she and my father went to the address. The house was forsale, no one answered. A neighbor came out and they asked where the gentleman was who lived there. Then neighbor told them he had passed away a few weeks ago, his family put the house up for sale, but they were currently vacationing in Europe.

Incidences There's a rule my mom's friends apply to her, "Anything weird that can happen has, or will, probably happen to you.". some bees came in the house once, in order to kill them, but not have to get too close, she shot at them with a BB gun. Even those on the windows. driving down a neighborhood road, a tree fell on her car an angel helped her when her car broke down - this 'man' just happened to have the correct wiring to fix a short in her electrical system, he was dressed all in white, and his hair 'glowed' gold Edgar Allen Poe has been bugging my mother... For almost a year now references to him have been popping up in the strangest places. At her work, someone brought in a copy of 'The Raven' without Poe's name on it. People in her office continuely 'returned' it to her, thinking it was one of her poems. She finally decided to go to a Poe reading, but no one was there but her, me and a friend of mine (MorJava). At the designated time for the reading, she was the one doing the reading, to us, alone in his garden.

Music... My mom likes everything from bagpipes to Ozzy Osbourne. She recently told me, "I heard this band called Marilyn-something, they sounded like demons chanting...I like it!" (Marilyn Manson). She goes to concerts with me, like Bo Didley, and Dave Matthews when they were 'some local band'. She really likes drums. She has 45's of just drums. She can also play Iron Butterfly all day long, over and over, till you hope a sunbeam hits the stereo and melts the lp. She likes rap music and tells my father he looks like Snoop Doggy Dog, an Scottish/Italian version. Politics... My mom is Republican. Bumperstickers, lawn-signs, volunteer work, the whole nine yards. She can't understand why most 'art' people are Democrats when the Democratic party wants to put more restrictions on personal freedoms. Religion... My family is Baptist, however mom has read up on most other religions as well. She works in Sunday School, but I think that's just to play with the kids, then she comes home and watches the grown-ups' sermon on TV.

Authors... H. Allen Smith Erma Bombeck Victoria Holt Dean Koontz

Television... Stevi's favorite shows : The Nanny Touched By An Angel X-Files Renegade

Stevi's Poems Smokin' Stevi A Short Story by Stevi Stevi as a fictional character Net Links LibertyNet's Philadelphia Area Movies, Maps & Photos Adam's Fox Box II - more than you'd ever want to know about foxes Abraham Lincoln Tasha Tudor interview - Lexington Herald-Leader - April 20, 1996 Edgar Allen Poe SendCoffee - Too much coffee, not enough harddrive... Sue's Place - webpage she designed