Suzan Smith-Warren 9/08/55-1/28/06

I started to do this post with a sad picture DVD with a sad song in honor of my big sister, Suzan. Suzie passed away one year ago tonight from brain cancer. She suffered for a year and a half with it. She had a seizure on July 15th 2004 with my daughter in the car with her. Through the grace of God, Suzie was able to pull the car over and out of harms way. She then kind of zoned out and was just staring off into the distance. My daughter was able to get out of the car and go into a store and ask for help. She was never the same after that night. But I know Suzie, she would rather be remembered for the fun things she was involved in. So I'd like to share a few of my favorite times with her, with you.
Back in the 80's, Sue, my mom and dad and I formed a bowling team. We bowled together for a few years. Sue was more interested in not breaking finger nails than bowling strikes, but never the less we seemed to always win the first half of the league. The second half someone else would win and we would have a bowl off to crown a champ. We only won that once in about five tries, but there was this one time. Going into the last night of the first half, we were four games back and needed to win all the games that night to tie and force a roll off. We were told that the roll off, if it happened, would be the same night that we bowled. I was working at the Fresno Bee at that time and would go to work at 2AM, so I took the next day off knowing we would win that night. Sure enough, we won! Now for the roll off! But no, now we're told roll off sometime before the next week, but not that night. I was ticked. I wasn't gonna get paid for the day I took off and let it be known with the league secretary. She got upset and when asked what was wrong by another bowler she told him I upset her. This other bowler, all 300 LBS of him loudly proclaimed that he was gonna kick my a$$ for upsetting the secretary. My sister heard this and threw her bowling ball across the walkway and got in this guys face. Now my sister was all of 130LBS but she blasted that guy and he backed down. He never did say anything to me about what happened and ended up quiting the league. Don't mess with my big sister!
Suzie had a great sense of humor too. She was the quickest with the comebacks of anybody I ever met. I'm good but she blew me away. She would get laughing causing me to start laughing. The next thing I knew, we both would be laughing at nothing but unable to stop. Mention "Granny's water" and that would do it. We would be on the floor laughing! I don't even remember what was so funny about it, but we laughed. There was the time when I worked at Carls Jr ( a fast food place ) and was working the drive through. When a person came thru and gave a order, everyone in the back would hear it, not just the person taking the order. When she came through this one time, I gave the "Welcome to Carls Jr" speech and asked her what she would like. She said "A big order of you, baby!" Back then, there was only a black and white TV screen showing the front of the car in the drive through, so I had no idea who it was. I got flustered, but being the professional, went on as if nothing had been said. She continued to say clean, but provocative things on the speaker and by the time she came around to the window I was blushing. When she arrived, everybody in the back had come to the window to get a look at the chick that was so hot for me. She got a good laugh out of that!
She had done something along that same line one day when I was in 9th grade. She had a black camero and picked me up from school one day. She had the T-tops off and when she pulled up in front of the school and honked the horn and called to me, "Baby! Here I am!!" Now there is a lot that will happen to boys just hitting puberty when they see a hot older woman (all of 20 years old) putting her arm around a guy and giving him a big smack on the cheek then peeling out in front of the school. Lets just say I heard a lot of "Who was that? Is that your girlfriend? She's hot!!" Never did confess she was just my big sis.
Suzie had such a huge part in forming the person I became. I'm a Beach Boy fan because of her. I enjoy racing because of her. I love the beach because of her. Even after she married and moved out, she always had special time for me. When I lived at the coast and my Bronco broke down, she loaned me her truck for a week because she could get by, but I needed a vehicle so as not to loose my job. The time I had a broken ankle and was going to a Christmas formal, she gave me her Camero to use to impress the girl. It was tough just to drive with the ankle, but she thought enough of me to trust me with her car and she loved that car! She just loved me more!
Thank you Suzie for all the times we had. The places we went, the talks we had and all the laughs. There will never be another that fills that place in my heart. I look forward to the day when I once again get to hear you say, "I love you, little brother!", cuz I love you too!!!!