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After Kacie died, Nancy, Jeff, and I went to Ocean City for a couple of days and drove to Bethany Beach while we were there. While in Bethany, Jeff happened to notice a restaurant called the Penguin Restaurant and mentioned that Kacie loved penguins and another bird that resembled a penguin but he couldn't remember the name. Needless to say, we ate at this restaurant which was just covered with penguin pictures and related gift items.

Nancy came across a postcard for the National Aquarium in Baltimore with a picture of two puffins on the front. Could this be the other bird? Also, we brought a wind chime home with us from Mimi's back porch and it has a little orangish reddish brown penguin attached to it. Any stories connected with these two items?

One More Curiosity

I forgot to include this item with my previous list of Kacie's curiosities. It's a Beatle two sided puzzle in a tin box and it was never opened. It's wrapped in clear plastic with a picture of the Beatles on the top and reference to the album-Help. Does anyone have a story attached to this puzzle?

Kacie's Curiosities

While going through Kacie's things, I've come up with a list of items that I haven't seen before and if you know of any stories attached to them, I would appreciate hearing from you.

1. 2 vhs movies- The Claim and The Life Aquatic

2. a yellow metal round badge that says-Baltimore Is Best

3. half of a ticket stub that says-Cat's Cradle

4. a silver necklace with a star that's studded with diamonds

5. a round gold coin or token that reads-Maryland World's Fair Commission

6. a small silver apple with a silver ribbon attached to the top

7. a pez dispenser with the head of Dumbo The Elephant mounted on the top

8. a glass tube filled with water and flakes of acutal gold

9. a small lite green glass perfume bottle with a ruby mounted on the front and a gold ribbon on the top

10. 2 really big sunglasses- 1 has a white frame and the other is dark brown

11. a black t-shirt with Disc Fever on the back

12. a small black pouch with 2 wristbands, 1 has yellow plastic beads and the other pink beads

13. old 45 rpm record covers-1 is blue and reads Honor Roll Of Hits 1940 and the other is pink and 1932

14. a key chain with a pink rubber pig and 1 key

15. a little kids watch with a band of many colors and hands that can be moved

16. an ink stamp that leaves a circular impressions of many flowers

Thanks for you help.

Model Student

Kacie was never one to apply herself in school. She was always content to just get by. I tried everything to motivate her including offering her cash for good grades. Nothing seemed to work until I had a talk with her while she was in her junior year of high school. I explained to her that she would not be going to college like her friends unless her grades improved. English and most other subjects came easy to her so it was just a matter of trying, although math is another story. Our talk seemed to work. Proof of this is the framed certificate which hangs on our wall and reads as follows-


Certificate of Achievement

Has been awarded to

Kacie L. New

In reconition of Academic Excellence

MERIT HONOR ROLL

At Hilton Head High School

Fall Semester 2000-2001

She went on to do very well in college, consistently getting an A or B in most subjects with of course the exception of math.

test

this is a test

A Bad Day At Belks

Whenever I go into the Belks store here on Hilton Head Island I have to laugh to myself because of an incident that occured with Kacie ten years ago. It's very funny to me now but not that day!

We had recently moved to Hilton Head Island and things seemed to be going pretty well. Kacie seemed a little homesick but we kept her busy by taking her to the beach and involving her in various activities on the island. I now see from her diaries that she was heartbroken and could't wait to get back to Baltimore.

But anyway, one morning when Nancy had gone to work, Kacie came to me and asked if I work drop her off at Belks so that she could do a little shopping. She was 14 years old, but the shopping center was close to our house and I felt that she would be safe. She was just as happy as could be when I dropped her off and told her that I would be back in a couple of hours. About 30 minutes after I got back to the house, the manager of Belks phoned me and said that my daughter had been arrested for shoplifting and was being held in his office by two police officers. At first, I honestly thought that a friend was playing a practical joke on me but I soon took the call seriously and raced to Belks. When I entered the manager's office, I'll never forget Kacie sitting there between two police officers with a smile on her face.

The manager described the events that took place as follows-
Kacie walked into the ladies' clothing department and went directly to the bra display. She took a bra from the rack and then walked over to the video camera (which was clearly displayed on the wall) and then proceeded to put the bra into a paper bag while looking into the camera. She then walked to the nearest exit and was grabbed by security as she left the store. Needless to say, I was shocked but even more shocked when the manager told me that she said she had done this to pay me back for making her move to Hilton Head. I then examined the bra which would have comfortably fitted Dolly Parton and not a skinny little girl like Kacie. To make a long story short, Belks did not press charges against us, but we had to sign an agreement to keep Kacie out of the store for I believe two years. We never had any other problems like this with Kacie and we all learned a lot that day.

As I go through her writings, I see that Kacie eventually adjusted to life here on the island and actually enjoyed herself on many occasions with her many friends. The lure of Baltimore was too strong and she returned home after attending one year of college here on the island.

Two Year Anniversary

Nancy just reminded me that today, 5/21/08, marks the two year anniversary of Kacie and Jeff's marriage. They were married at 6:00 pm and anyone reading this was probably there. Kacie was at the peak of her beauty that night and it was the best night of her parents' lives.

Nancy also just handed me a thank you note sent to us by Kacie after she got back from her honeymoon. It reads like this-

Dear mom and dad,

Just wanted to give a belated thank you for everything you have done. It was a beautiful wedding and we appreciate everything so much. Hopefully we will be able to see you soon. Also, if I get a stupid job we should try to take a little trip together. That would be fun!!

Love,

Kacie's Ashes

I think that Nancy and I made the right decision to have Kacie cremated. It's nice to be able to visit several beautiful places and know that a part of her is there. So far, her ashes have been scattered in the following places-

1. the inlet jetty at Ocean City (Jeff scattered her ashes at the spot on the jetty where Kacie appears in Natalie's photo)

2. the boardwalk at Ocean City near Thrasher's

3. the marlin sculpture pool as you first enter Ocean City

4. the sand dunes on the beach at the Dunes Manor Hotel

5. where the inlet meets the ocean at Burkes Beach on Hilton Head Island

6. the top of the lighthouse at Harbortown on Hilton Head Island

When we go to Baltimore this fall, more ashes will be scattered at her favorite spots in Ellicott City and along River Rd. in Sykesville where she took her walks

If you have any other spots in mind, let me know

A Fear Of Red Hair

When Kacie was a very little girl, probably around 4 or 5, I started to observe an interesting pattern in her behavior. When she saw a person with red hair, she quickly avoided them. We could be at a shopping center or at someone's house and when she saw a redhead she took off. I had assumed that she simply found red hair to be unattractive or unusual but when her strange conduct continued on for several months it was time to find the reason. When I asked her why she avoided people with red hair, she gave me a real simple answer- "dad, people with red hair have bad tempers."

Kacie and Gus-The Same Personalities?

If you've never been around pugs, then you won't understand what I'm about to say.

Pugs are like little people. Our pug, Gus, dislikes other dogs and can't get enough of human association. I've had many dogs but never one like him. He's like a little Kacie with a tail, but let me explain.

Seven years ago, Kacie came to us and begged us to get her a lap dog. We had a laborador retriever at the time but Kacie just didn't take an interest in him. We finally gave in and days later Kacie and Jeff travelled to Augusta, Georgia to purchase him from a breeder. I'll never forget when they brought him into our home in a shoebox and dumped him onto the floor. He was eight inches long and weighed slightly over four pounds, but he walked around the house and observed everything like he owned the place. At first, I viewed him as an uninvited guest but he soon won me over.

Gus somehow displays Kacie's personality traits. He has an appetite that can never be satisfied. He lives for a good meal. Gus actually tries to make us laugh. When he hears laughter, his tail won't stop wagging. He constantly does silly things to amuse us. He loves to stay up late and sleep most of the next day and makes a mess wherever he goes. When he really likes a person he becomes totally attached to them. Kacie and Gus are two of a kind and there's a reason for it.

I remember talking with Nancy, a year or two after Gus had arrived, about how Kacie had really picked the perfect dog for her. Nancy told me that Kacie had found a website that matched people with dogs. Kacie went to the site and entered her personality traits and the pug was recommended for her.

Hi from Kacie's Mom

I was trying to think of some way to celebrate Kacie's life and memory and thought the Dreams
website Gary came up with was a great idea. Natalie, thank you for putting it together for us.

I really have enjoyed reading the dreams & memories everyone has posted so far and hope to hear from everyone that knew her. I hope I have some dreams soon that I can share but she will always be with me in my heart.

One of the things I will miss the most about Kacie is the way she made me laugh. I'm sure you can relate to this. One of the highlights of my day, was when she called, because we did not
get to see her as much as we would have liked. I'm so happy we got to go to Baltimore recently
and I was able to spend a few days with her before she died.

She was one of the best things that every happened to Gary and I and we so happy to have her in our lives. She was also lucky to have such an amazing group of friends.

Please continue to share your memories, dreams, and anything you can think of with us.
We'd love to hear from you.

Remember, when you think of Kacie, think of the way she made you laugh.

Kacie's Mom

Chanceford Rd. Poem

Of all the poems that Kacie left behind, the one about living on Chanceford Rd. is my favotite. She mentions listening to wu tang and ella while going to sleep. I had assumed that ella was the great Ella Fitzgerald but wu tang was a mystery to me until Natalie explained that this is a rap group. While going through Kacie's huge cd collection this afternoon I can across Wu-Tang Clan. I immediately popped it into my cd player and all I can say is she sure had a wide range of interest when it came to music. I must be getting old.

Funny Facts Known By Few

When Kacie was a little girl of about 5 or 6 years old she was amazingly strong for such a little kid. She just couldn't resist pulling little boys' hair. We never saw her pull a little girl's hair. Well, one evening we invited our friends, the Goldman family, to our house for dinner. Their little boy was about Kacie's age and we had a talk with her about the hair issue before they arrived. The evening was going very well and then we heard a scream from another room. All of the adults present ran into the room and there was Kacie gripping the poor boy's hair with both hands and she just couldn't let go. The boy's mother panicked and started pulling Kacie's hair and I had to release her fingers one by one. What a night!

Up until about the age of 10, Kacie would spill her drink every time we took her to a restaurant and I mean every time. The most amazing spill occured at the Dough Roller on Ocean City's boardwalk. She managed to soak herself and three adults and shattered her dinner plate in the isle which was shut down until a cleaning crew arrived.

Even up to the time that Kacie became an adult, she could never tell you anything about current events. There was a good reason for that. From the time that she was an infant until she died she could not stand the touch of newspaper. To her it was like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Kacie loved the cold. When she was just a little kid and we were living on a windy hill in Woodbine, I would often go into her room after she had fallen asleep. It could be the middle of winter with a howling wind and temperatures below freezing and Kacie would have the windows wide open without so much as a sheet covering her. Even as an adult, she loved to drive around in the winter with her windows down and her head hanging out of the car.

When Kacie was about 11 months old she took her first step which a friend of mine filmed. I had invited a buddy to visit me and had just purchased a video camera. I asked him film my dog chasing a ball. When I threw the ball, the dog took off and Kacie quickly stood up and followed him. I couldn't believe it at the time, but it's on tape. Prior to that, I had never seen her even attempt to walk.

My First Dreams

About one week ago Kacie entered my dreams for the first time. I was driving a car full of people and I turned around and saw her sitting on the back seat. She didn't speak and I suddenly woke up.

Last night I dreamed that I could hear someone singing in the distance. I listened for quite a while and then it occured to me that it was Kacie's voice. She wasn't singing actual words but was making melodious sounds.