A STORY BY BARB MEADE

I have a friend, Barb Meade, who is one of the most interesting people I know.  She is the chick I turn to if I need a Bible verse to get me through, or just a few inspirational spiritual words.  Barb has a strong faith in God and will not waver from that, no matter how many people try to drag her down over it.  I admire that.

You might notice that a lot of my friends were acquired because of a band we adored as kids, The Cowsills.  We love them still!

I also admire her son, Nathanial, who is serving in Iraq.  SALUTE!

I am just going to copy and paste Barb’s answers to the “My People” interview questions because it is just exciting to read.

Say hello to Barb Meade! And by the way, I had lunch in Cuba, Missouri, just this past summer! Talk about a coincidence!  It is not exactly a place you seek out…oh, okay, yes it is, who am I kidding?  I was getting my kicks on Route 66!

“Alrighty, then. You ask me what my most memorable moment was. Wow, that's tough because I've had tons of memorable moments...being a Pom-pom girl in high school (don't laugh, I loved it!), being a DJ and meeting several celebs, getting my own apartment complete with slutty roommate and newlywed upstairs neighbors, getting married, the birth of my children...and each one of their births has a story to go with it...moving finally to Colorado where I've always wanted to live, going to Hawai'i, and meeting so many wonderful people through the internet (like YOU!). But, because of the internet and those friends I've made, I'd have to say my most memorable moment so far in my life was meeting my teen idols, The Cowsills. And more specifically, Barry. I was so fan struck and in awe of their talent the first time I saw them on stage almost 10 years ago. Then, meeting Barry and having him tell me he knows me already, well, that both puzzled and floored me at the same time. I am still so thrilled to be able to see them now and then. And another big thrill is that they remember me! LOL! I know it's silly for a grown woman to do and feel these things, but it's great fun...because now, it's not just all about them...it's about the people I've met because of them. Great times and great people.

My favorite activity as a child? That's another tough one. One of my favorite things was riding my bike in our neighborhood. There were a bunch of us who would ride at the top of our street and pretend our bikes were either cars or horses. We'd have filling stations or run races and everyone named their bikes, of course. Sometimes, they were flipped over and used as ice cream machines. Even though it was probably very bad for us, we loved it when the 'bug man' came through our neighborhood. That was a guy in a jeep who literally fogged the neighborhood with bug spray to keep the mosquitoes down. We'd ride through the sickly sweet smelling fog and think it was cool.

 
I think one of my very favorite things as a child was where my parents and I went on vacation every year. Being an only child, we asked my cousin, Kathy, to come with us. We'd go to a lodge just outside of Cuba, Missouri on the Meramac River. We'd have a blast on that river! We built dams, tubed on the rapids that changed every year, fished for crawdads, floated up and down the river in jon boats, tried our hand at fishing, or just go down and watch the sunset before the evening activities started. Those included everything from square dancing to turtle racing. Yep, racing turtles. You had to be there. LOL! There was a swimming pool on the grounds, but my cousin and I and the friends we made preferred the river. Our old worn out tennis shoes served as river shoes by August. The lodge was great. The woman who owned the place would go through everyone's names every Sunday at the noon meal which was always fried chicken. All you could eat. Volleyball games every night after dinner, too. It was a great place to vacation. A great place for a kid.