This is the REAL Pope, my friends. I woke at 4:30 in the morning thinking of how ironic it is that the world is welcoming a new Pope, while my small circle of friends are saying goodbye to theirs. So, here is my Pope story [one of many...]: If you grew up in Lansing, MI, you've probably been to the rooftop of El Azteco East in the summer time. Well, Pope and I didn't have cars nor money, but we both had the day off, and the rooftop was beckoning us, on this particularly hot summer day.

We had a brilliant idea. We would walk five miles to El Azteco, and on our way, we would donate plasma so we would have money for a Topopo salad. All was going skippingly well. What's a day's travel by foot with a character like this... nothing but fun. We stopped at a park and rode the merry-go-round, played the whole way there. Yes, I can still remember sitting next to Pope in the chair with tubes coming out of our arms, gayly joking and laughing with the staff.

When we arrived at El Az, there was a line going all the way up the stairs. Must have been an hour wait... in the full sun. Not sure Pope and I were bright enough to have brought any water on our journey with us that day, you know how kids are! We finally made it to the top of the stairs, and I started to feel a little light headed. In fact, I was seeing stars, and birdies just like in the cartoons. I didn't know what was happening, but I think Pope got the faint impression I was about to pass out, so he urged the help to get me some lemonade. I slurped it down, but it wasn't helping. In my last full swoon, I managed to utter the request: "A donut, a bagel, a tortilla... I'm outta here" as I hit the floor.

Those became famous last words. So Pope, in honor of you: "A donut, a bagel, a tortilla... you're outta here!" Love you! Thanks for all the laughs and unprecedented good times!!!