Well, I’ve been ordered to tell all — So here goes.
Lucy, Miss Brooks and Dominie have a traveling shirt. We’ve seen it often upon their respective bodies in long ago posts. And Lucy had it last and was supposed to send it back to Dominie. Then one day I got this letter:
Good morning Mary, I am trying to figure out a joke to play on Dominie aka Sister Sara. Would you be willing to help me?
Dominie started this “sisterhood of the traveling item”. We had the socks that Miss Brooks left at her home, then the scarf and the last item is her Mickey Mouse T-shirt. She joked about it for a while but has not asked about nor mentioned it for weeks. I have it here . . .
. . . What would you think of me sending you a picture of this Mickey Mouse T-shirt and then you post it on your Xanga site as a Goodwill find? I think I can Email the picture and you simply save it in your documents then you should be able to post it. It is a very good quality T-shirt. It has a different kind of tag in the back that she’d know right off. Her reaction to seeing it on your site should be priceless. Let me know if you are game for this and we’ll have some fun! Have a good day!
Your friend,
Nancy dba Lucy or Ethel
And I responded that I would be delighted to help, so Lucy sent me these three pictures:
And then a whole lot of things started to happen, and we had numerous upsets and sadnesses and it just didn’t seem timely. So the whole thing got put on a back burner until it all came up again when Dominie visited her sisters in Iowa and wanted the shirt back. Then, the ball got started rolling again, albeit a bit late on my part because I missed a whole lot of xanga postings over a stressful weekend at my church. But when I finally posted the pictures, I only used two of them. Then, I got the following statement from Lucy:
Chuckle, chuckle!!
Now if I can get HIM to do the same thing it’ll add to the chuckle!
And that really got my mind in gear. What would happen if I e-mailed the picture that I didn’t use to Handsinmotion and see what she could do with it. So I sent it to her with the following letter:
Carolyn, is there any chance that you would want to use this picture to further muddy the waters? This is one picture that Nancy/Lucy sent me that I didn’t use, but maybe you could say that a friend gave it to you just today because they saw that it was the same shirt that has been flying around on Xanga. I don’t like to lie about anything, so you can say it however you want, but I DID just give the picture to you today, and it is because it looks just like the one on my site. If you look carefully, you will see that I never said that I bought it anywhere. I did imply that, but I didn’t say it. This should be web ready, because I had to do quite a bit of work today to get them to stay on my web page. Finally got it figured out. Thanks for the “heads up” that you couldn’t see the picture.
Love you!
~Mary Ann
Love you!
~Mary Ann
And she wrote back to me (And Lucy) late last night the following:
OK, ladies, check out my Xanga! I confess we spent way too much time photoshopping it, but the end result was fun. Jennifer wouldn’t give up until she had it done. Now it is time to get to bed, I am way past my bedtime!
Carolyn
When I went over there to her site (www.xanga.com/handsinmotion) I could not believe my eyes. She and her daughter had done a delightful job of authenticating the “gift” I had given her.
So now you all now the story of the traveling shirt. HIM– do you have anything to add? I think your part of this was the neatest by far. Bully for you!
But all of it has been great fun. Dominie, you really should have been a detective. If you check over the messages, at one time or another, you pretty much guessed the basic things that happened. (You guessed a few that didn’t happen, but, still, I am quite impressed!)
Delaware Grammy 
I thought my sisters and I are a crazy bunch. But this beats all!! I don’t know any of you, but I’ve been enjoying the humor of it as the plot unfolds. Now that Buckeyegirlie set it all straight I’m still confused. Mostly because everybody seems to have so many different names and I can’t figure out who is who and which ones are the sisters, etc. I am Mennonite enough to like to know those kinds of important details! I grew up in a family of seven girls and we’re spread out over the US. Unfortunately, so far I have only gotten one sister to get on the blog bandwagon.
Ah, yes, BEG, you did a fine job of explaining all! I accept responsibility for our part. It was a hoot!
I must compliment HIM on her photo skills! Compare her picture of the daughter in the shirt to the feeble attempt I made for Poor Lucy wearing the same shirt. No comparision! Thanks to BEG for the clear and concise explaination. You gals are such fun! As for jrtjs1950’s confusion on who is who: You are in good comapny since we are confused also, note my name Lucy_or_Ethel that tells it all for me. One thing concerns me though…………..all those saved Emails yikes! Evidence against me saved for further reference, maybe I best behave myself!
Hello Mary Ann, I read your comment on my daughter’s site. I was not at that wedding nor was I ever at your house. I have never been in Deleware. But I am curious about your father and the connection he had with the Followers of Jesus church in NYC. Since my daughter is there, Katie and I have been there several times. I have visited the school too.
My Uncle Enos used to tell this joke: Two fellows met and one said to the other, “Didn’t I meet you in Chicago one time?” The other replied, “I have never been to Chicago.” “I haven’t either”, said the first, “It must have been two other guys.” Albert
Your confession explains all! It was a little more involved than I thought. I had Lucy as the only photo altering person. I had no idea that you, BEG, and HIM were in this plot as deep as Lucy. You have given me a much needed diversion and lots of laughs. You really picked up Lucy’s zany “ball” and ran with it. I have never met you, but I am certain I would have a lot of fun getting to know you in person. Thanks for adding levity and laughter when it is needed.
P.S. You managed to be totally honest, as well. Now that took some doing!!!! Very shrewd, indeed!