You have not been forgotten

The month of March continually marks another year.

Pam Neal, my girlfriend from high school, has been missing since 1983. I have looked for her for 26 years and have been haunted by this for 26 years. I have contacted people who specialize in looking into cold cases. I have contacted any agency, anybody at all, who might help. I know someone out there knows what happened to her. I look for her everywhere I go, however, I know she is most likely not going to be found alive.. My wish is that she would be found so that she could be laid to rest with the people who love her around her. There is nothing in the world worse than not knowing. If you know anything please help.

PAMELA LYNNE NEAL

Report Type: Suspicious Circumstances
Sex: Female
Race: White
Hair: Brown
Eye Color: Brown
Height: 5 ft. 03 in.
Weight: 110 lbs.
Date of Birth: 7/18/1960
Clothing: Light green colored dress with white print and a lace collar, Tan hip length leather jacket.
Last Seen: 3/31/1983
Other Identifiers: Foul Play is suspected.
Dental X-rays Available: Yes
Pamela was last seen March 31, 1983 in Englewood, Colorado.

Details of Disappearance
Neal was last seen on March 31, 1983 at her place of work, Key Savings and Loan in Englewood, Colorado. She was employed as a bank teller at the time of her disappearance. She was last seen leaving work to go on her lunch break at 2:00 p.m. She walked two blocks over to another bank and cashed a check, stopped at a grocery store to buy a lottery ticket and some take-out food, and apparently went to her apartment afterwards. Neal has never been heard from again. After her disappearance, her roommate found Neal's lunch bag sitting on the table in their apartment. Her shoes were under the coffee table and her purse was nearby, with her wallet and unscratched lottery ticket inside. The apartment's door was ajar.

At the time of her disappearance, Neal lived quietly and did not frequent nightclubs. She did not own a car and walked to work instead; her workplace was across the street from her apartment. She was born in Denver, Colorado, graduated from Cherry Creek High School and attended Western State College. She lived in Alaska for a year, then in Maine with her parents, before moving to Englewood to take the bank teller's job.
Neal is missing under suspicious circumstances and foul play is suspected in her disappearance. Few details are available in her case.

CONTACTAgency: Englewood (CO) Police DepartmentPhone Number:
(303) 762-2438Case Number: 83-7270

She is listed on The Charlie Project: http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/n/neal_pamela.html

I believe in 6 degrees of separation.

Someone knows someone who knows something.

Please hit reset and start again...

I've had a computer problem here for a few weeks. I think it's been a driver interface with Vista (HATE) that has caused the screen on my lap top to flicker so badly the screen eventually faded to the gray halo and then to black. I'm a computer geek and have always been able to think my way out of hardware and software problems but this one really stumped me. I could not for the LIFE of me figure out which driver was wreaking havoc with everything out side of the word processing programs. I called every help line I could think of, downloaded everything they suggested and then it happened. I was out of options....save one. Reset the whole damn computer back to the factory settings. OMG!!!!! I backed up everything, called my sister for input, and if you knew her computer skill level, you'd understand exactly how frantic I was to think calling her was a good idea. (The perfect amount of moral support was offered, however. Thank you, beauty girl.) I took a deep breath and did it. (more HATE)

Short of the BLUE SCREEN O' DEATH, there is nothing.worse.than.reset. Other than the obvious, my computer was perfect, broken in like a new pair of leather shoes that are finally soft enough to fit like a glove. I have moved on from crying and freaking out. I am in HATE right now. A computer has NEVER brought me to my knees before but then, I had never met Vista until last year. I am filing for a divorce. I will ask for EVERYTHING and I will get it. Bastards.

UPDATE: Reset did not fix the problem. (MORE HATE) Bigger bastards *cry*

The Queen of Gossip and my confession...

In addition to being a complete news junkie, I am also a confessed gossip junkie. I live for my daily dose of Page Six, Perez Hilton, TMZ and several of the very juicy daily UK tabloids. In the UK, however, these lovelies are called newspapers! I love it! However, the UK and their version of what is news worthy is not what this post is about.

It is about the fabulous Liz Smith who, after 30 years of writing her gossip column for many of the New York City papers, most recently 14 years at the New York Post, has written her last column today. At 86 years old, she has been fired by the new regime who took over the Post last year and decided her gossip wasn't trashy enough, although they tried to tell her was for economic reasons. She always delivers the goods in an elegant and sophisticated way. One might think that that is why many of the people she writes about actually invite her to their events so that she can write about them. Even when she has something less than complimentary to say about someone, she does it in a way that leaves the person with their dignity intact.

I'LL MISS YOU, NYC

"HAIL AND FAREWELL! This column marks my last for the New York Post, where I've been writing for 14 years. I am sorry to go. But I've lived long enough to know the closing of one door means the opening of another.
I will still be writing a five-days-a-week column for my syndicated TMS newspapers, also twice a week for Daily Variety and especially for the WowOwow Web site, where next month we expect 1 million unique hits (visitors), and it's growing. My daily column also appears in The Drudge Report. I am now a contributing writer for Parade magazine, and you can see my cover story on Liza Minnelli there on Sunday. And I'll still be a showbiz commentator for Fox News weekly on "Lips & Ears."
Tomorrow marks the first time in 33 years that the Liz Smith column will not appear in a New York City newspaper. But it's exhilarating to be fired at age 86. So, thanks for all your support and enthusiasm over the years and much love to each of you ."

Liz, you are a rock star! How many people can say they got fired at 86? Wow....wowOwow.com!

More troubles for Conde Nast

It seems it's not the cover cost of their magazines that is the problem at Conde Nast. They just don't know how to run their business. If this continues, I expect we will lose a few more of our favorite magazines. Unless you read Golf World....


In today's New York Post:

"They are overstaffed and overpaid. They should have cut back 20 percent when they cut back five," this person said.

That kind of thinking is stirring fears inside that a new round of cuts could be coming. And for the first time in more than a decade, the privately run company led by Chairman S.I. Newhouse Jr. and CEO Charles Townsend could be awash in red ink.

"We continue to manage our business through a difficult economic climate," said a Condé spokeswoman.

Much of the problem rests with Condé's policy of never discounting off the rate card.
"Advertisers are finding that they can buy around them," said the former executive.

Only one magazine in its stable is showing a rise over a year ago: Golf World, a small circulation weekly, that is up 16.5 percent through the Feb. 23 issue.

You can read the article in its entirety here:

http://www.nypost.com/seven/02252009/business/getting_nasty_at_cond__233__156766.htm

I wonder how long it will be before we hear rumblings about Vanity Fair and Vogue? What a waste.

It's a beautiful day!

My Mother used to wake me up for school by annoucing in a cheery morning voice, "It's a beautiful day in Chicago!" I would quietly groan and wonder what Chicago had to do with New Jersey and then Colorado. I would either roll my eyes or think "Tell me what kind of day it is here!" Who is that happy in the morning, anyway? Today while I was out inspecting all that grows in my little backyard, I thought of what she used to say. I Googled it and it turns out to be a phrase of some fame.

I found an article on Time.com, dated August 4, 1941. and it seems radio announcer Everett Mitchell of the Farm and Home Hour radio show used to begin every broadcast with those very words. Who knew? Even more importantly, who knew my mother listened to that? Well, now I know and so do you.

And now I have to say it: "It's a beautiful day in Chicago!" and in SoCal.

This is one of my favorite spots in the yard and what I can see out my back door from my living room.
Roses are beautiful in the garden but even better when cut and taken inside.

The succulants are beginning to bloom.
This poor little plant had a tough winter but surprised me with the first gardenia of the season!

All the rain we've had lately has made the lavender, green onions and geraniums very happy.

The bold colors and double blooms make ranunculus some of my favorite flowers to plant.

Delphiniums in bloom tell me that Spring is coming soon!

Thank goodness for that.

Iris is my ever present helper in the garden and

an instant poser when she sees the camera.

She is definitely a groovy feline!

We make better music when we all come together

Life, our county, the world feels so out of balance right now but when we remember we are all connected, that we are greater than the sum of individual selves, we can make beautiful music together. It is never distance that separates us...

We are all beautiful.

We are all lovely.

We are all broken in our own way.

Be kind to each other.

It's all we have.

Domino, Simon and Schuster and me!

All our efforts in getting the attention of someone connected to Domino magazine has worked! I am humbled and amazed by this comment left on my blog by Nina Schwartz of Simon and Schuster. My friends, we will be having a Domino: The Book of Decorating give away right here on my little blog! Stay tuned for all the details.

Nina, thank you so much for this honor, and it is truly an honor for me to host a give away on your behalf. Thank you also for noticing us and responding.

Dear Petunia,

Here at Simon & Schuster, we're all mourning the loss of Domino magazine, and it’s clear you feel the same pain. Not long ago (October '08), we published Domino: The Book of Decorating, by the editors of the magazine, and we're happy at least that their innovative and gorgeous ideas can live on in this book. We'd love to offer you two copies to give away on your blog to your readers who are no doubt as heavy-hearted as we.

Please let me know if you'd like to participate, and I’ll send you the books! (And I apologize for offering this in a comment -- I couldn't find your contact info on the site!)

Nina Schwartz

Associate Marketing Manager Simon & Schuster

nina.schwartz@simonandschuster.com