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Washington Women’s Heritage Project records, 1900-2000 
University of Washington Libraries Special Collections 
Susan Quant Bianchi 
May 25, 1992 
Cassette 5, Side 2 
 
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  00:01 
Back from Bristol Bay, we sat down and tried to plan a trip for ourselves. And we left in August, 
actually, on my birthday. And went somewhere we'd never gone. We went to Penticton. It's quite 
a ways. I didn't realize how far it was. 
 
Linda C. Meuter  00:16 
British Columbia.  
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  00:17 
And we spent about-- I think we spent about four days in Penticton just soaking up the sun, 
beautiful water over there, and sandy beaches. And then we left there. Kathy and Chet were 
there, and so we met up with them. They were in a hotel doing some kind of a square dance thing 
was happening. Then they headed for home. But we left there and went down through Osoyoos, 
and then went across-- I don't know how all-- we were all over, but we ended up at Winthrop and 
camping at Lake Pearrygin. And through all the years, Lake Pearrygin is my favorite place to 
camp. I-- we've been there many times, and I don't know what it is. Part of it is that I love to float 
on-- it's warm. It's always warm. It's always been warm. And nothing I like better than blowing 
up my rubber raft and floating around on the lake all day. And so I'll do that. The kids will ride 
their bikes, and have, you know, they're having a good time and everything, but every-- and 
another thing we do, is Stan likes to fish. It's kind of something for everybody in our family. So 
some days, we'll take off and we'll go up to the river. Stan'll find out where the hot spot for 
fishing is, and we'll all go up and we'll fish for a while. We'll do that, then we'll come back and 
maybe get semi-cleaned up and go to town. You know, even-- you know, there's antique shops in 
Winthrop, there's all kinds of shops. I mean, maybe just to get an ice cream cone. But it's not like 
you're just stuck. I like Blue Lake, but when you're at Blue Lake, you're at Blue Lake, and there's 
nothing else there. When you're at Lake Pearrygin, you can go to the river, and-- but there's a 
town there, and you can go downtown. You can have-- one night, we, you know, usually I like to 
barbecue, and I'd really rather eat at our campsite, but we got fixed up and went downtown for 
dinner one night. And, you know, and we bought a couple of antiques in this-- in, you know, in 
town. I don't know, I like the idea of going downtown, and the kids do too. It gives them 
something to do. And the last-- one of the last trips that we took to Pearrygin, Mike and Kevin 
were old enough and on their bikes that they would-- they hustled up lots of friends. And so it 
seemed like, in the evening, you know, they were always inviting their friends over, and we'd 
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have a campfire and have smores, and the moms would come. And, you know, it's just-- it's a 
different kind of world here, you know, at home, at night. I mean, I lock my doors. Every door is 
locked, the windows are locked. And you know, you're afraid of-- you're afraid. There, you're, 
you know, you're camping, and you're inviting these strangers into your, you know, into your 
campsite, and it's fine, and it feels good, and that's how life ought to be. I guess that's what I like 
about camping. Yeah, that's what I like about camping. Everyone's friendly. It's like boating. We 
learned later that it's just like boating, boaters are the same way. So it's-- Lake Pearrygin is my 
favorite place to go. It's great. I think from there, I go to 1980, and I want to mention the Miss 
Washington pageant again. I've been working on the Miss Whatcom County pageant and the last 
couple years I've worked with a girl for Miss Washington. I train at-- this point, I'm training girls 
for Miss Washington every year, and last year's girl got second runner up to Miss Washington. 
Now this year, I'm working with a girl named Gay Davis, and she has wonderful potential. I 
mean, we think she's got the best shot of anyone we've ever worked with to win Miss 
Washington.  
 
Linda C. Meuter  03:45 
This is 1980? 
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  03:46 
1980, and she's a fabulous singer. I can't remember the song she sang, but it was great. We got 
down to the pageant, it's a three night pageant, and immediately became aware that there were 
two contenders. The other one was Doris Hayes. And one night, Gay won talent, and the next 
night, Doris would win talent. And one night, Gay won evening gown and swimsuit, and the next 
night, Doris did. I believe that Gay was better on stage. She had a little more charisma. She was 
really better on stage. You know, by that much. Doris was good, but Gay was that much better. 
But I realized it was going to get down to interview, and that's something that the public doesn't 
see, you know, so it's rather hard to judge. And at the end, Doris won Miss Washington, and 
Doris was the first black woman to ever win Miss Washington. After the pageant, something 
happened that I've never forgotten. And everybody came into my room and they were partying 
and whatever. There was a ball after the pageant and that, you know, we all went to that. And 
then everybody kind of came back to my room and they were in there. Well, I had-- there was no 
problem from Gay whatsoever. Gay didn't say anything. But Gay's parents became rather 
belligerent and very racial, and were... they were awful, and they had lots of bad things to say 
about the fact that a black woman won Miss Washington. And I had to leave the room. I went 
next door to a friend who was staying next door. And I became really aware of how thin-skinned 
I was to, you know, anyone saying bad things about someone just because they're black. And I 
realized, well, not only how thin-skinned I was, but how much I protected Kevin, and how much 
I protected myself against that happening, you know. And here in my-- right in my own room, it 
happened. And, you know, it was really hard. I-- there were other instances that we had, you 
know, when we adopted Kevin. I, you know, I didn't know how it was going to be. I thought it 
would be all just perfectly wonderful. In Blaine, when he was little, there were no problems. All 
our friends treated him just like he was, you know, our son, they treat him just like they treated 
Michael. But I remember several instances. The first one I remember was going into a restaurant, 
and I didn't-- I was thinking nothing-- I was thinking about nothing. We were just the four of us 
walking into this restaurant when two black men were sitting at a booth, turned around and gave 
me the dirtiest look, and my heart just started pounding. And, you know, it took me a long time 
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to kind of blow that away. Another instance happened when we were camping up at Silver Lake 
one time, and we were sitting-- Kevin and I were sitting together up on the grassy hill above the 
lake, and Kevin was eating watermelon. And this man that I know came over and was doing 
blacky kinds of things to Kevin, saying, Oh, you black boy, you probably really like that 
watermelon and, you know-- and he went-- he had been drinking, and he went-- but that doesn't 
excuse it. He went on, and on, and on. And Kevin was sitting right there. And I thought, you 
know-- Kevin was probably about six, maybe now, and I thought I was building up a thicker 
skin, you know, getting a little tougher about this. And I realized I wasn't, and it makes me real-- 
it made me angry, because I wanted to be tough about it and just tell him what for which I did. 
You know, he even went so far as to say, You know, well, he's cute now, but wait till, you know, 
wait till he gets older and, you know, you shouldn't have adopted him, kind of, you know, kinds 
of stuff. And I just said, We absolutely love him, and we think he's wonderful just the way he is, 
and we're not concerned about it. But he wouldn't stop, and he wouldn't shut up. And, you know, 
as I said, I thought I developed this thicker skin that could kind of handle it, and it made me mad 
because he was still standing there. And next thing I know, the tears are running down my face, 
and once I start crying, I don't stop. And it isn't real pretty, you know. So I grabbed Kevin, and 
we just, you know, got out of there, went back to the motorhome. We were in the camping area, 
and I just sobbed, and sobbed, and cried. Cried for hours. I just couldn't believe what the man 
had said. And I, you know, I just realized, you know, how fragile I was about it all. And the other 
main instance that I remember, you know, came from out of the blue. I was in a tennis club, 
sitting there, Stan was playing tennis, and Kevin and Mike and I were all watching him play 
tennis, when a total stranger came up to me and said, How dare you adopt a black child. And, 
you know, same thing, same thing, you know, I was immediately shook. I left. I got better, you 
know, I got better at it. Were they coming from? What perspective was that? I mean, they're just 
totally, you know, racial people that don't believe in mixing white and black together. Later, I 
don't really know. I know in the-- on the school bus, I can remember times when Michael would 
come home crying, actually, and would say that someone had said something to Kevin on the 
bus, you know, some knock or whatever. And Kevin would always come home angry. So it was 
funny, the way they both hand-- not funny, but interesting, the way that Mike and Kevin both 
handled it. Michael always was teary about it, when anyone would ever say anything bad about 
his brother, and Kevin would come home kind of really angry, just really angry. You know, these 
things didn't happen all the time, but Kevin has had to put up with them, and I know it's part of, 
you know, what's made him defensive. I think he's, you know, a little defensive as a teenager, 
and a little angry. And I know he's put up with more than he's ever told me. I know he hasn't 
shared a lot of it. One time-- well, the night that I was in the hospital, having Kevin, I knew 
nothing about this, but he told-- 
 
Linda C. Meuter  03:46 
--having Scott.  
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  03:46 
Excuse me, yeah, having Scott. I was in the hospital, having Scott, and that evening we'd taken-- 
no, it was right after I had Scott, excuse me. It was right after, like the Friday after, and Kevin 
and Mike were in roller skating, and my sister Kathy was staying with us at the time, and 
someone said to Kevin-- a girl in his class said, Don't you know black and white don't mix? And 
it was all over my having had Scott, I don't know where she was coming from either. I don't 
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know that she knew where she was coming from. It was just something nasty to say to Kevin, 
something to, you know, give him a jab. And Kevin never told me about it, but he told Kathy, 
and Kathy shared it with me because she thought I ought to know, you know. So Kevin has had, 
you know, some times in his life, and it's been hard, and as thick a skin as you ever develop 
about it, you never develop quite a thick enough skin about it, because it always hurts. And I 
believe that Kevin is just a person. And I-- maybe I'm wrong, but it's the way I am. And I don't 
see color. I don't see the difference. I don't really see the differences. He's a person just like 
everyone else. And, you know, in any one of any other race, I don't see any different either. And 
I don't see why people want to, you know, categorize them. You're black, you're this, you're that. 
You know, any more than I'm Irish, I'm Swedish. Yes, you're black, but why make that, you 
know-- and you can be proud of that, but why make an issue of it? It's not an issue. It's just a fact, 
like, I'm white. People go around saying, Oh, you're white, you're white, and putting you down 
about being white. It's the same thing. So there were times that were tough. 
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  03:46 
I think my talents play into being a strong woman a lot. And then Stan would tell you, I am too, 
you know, anytime I want to be. It's like I choose to be, when I want to be. And other times I'll 
lay back and play Scarlett O'Hara, you know what I mean? So, I can remember one time I had to 
be tough. It was a tough time for me. It was the summer of '81 and Stan, of course, was in Bristol 
Bay. I can remember a couple times, actually, I'll share just two stories that just made you have 
to be tough. But, um, anyway, Stan was in Bristol Bay, and I'd been to the Miss Washington 
pageant. [?Cam Astrom?] had been-- had run for Miss Washington, and that was all over. And it 
was a good year, and I was coming home. It was very, very late. My mom had the children-- and 
I'm going to throw something in here now too. My parents stopped drinking, and-- when Mike 
and Kevin were about four and five, and so at that point, my parents had them again, and were 
able to have them, and that was wonderful. So now, at this point, when I would go to Miss 
Washington, I would take Mike and Kevin to Mom and Dad's house, and they would go to the 
zoo, and they would go to the locks, and they went to the aquarium, and they went all over. But 
my parents stopped drinking, changed their lives so totally. And prior to that, I was-- I did not 
allow my children-- Mike and Kevin weren't allowed to go there. But anyway, I picked up Mike 
and Kevin at Mom and Dad's house and it was very late. We pulled in, probably-- it was dark, 
probably about nine o'clock anyway. Pulled in here and there was water running all the way out 
into the family room, which is the next room down, this deep.  
 
Linda C. Meuter  03:49 
So you've told a lot of stories about the necessity of your being a strong person. Stan going to 
Alaska and times with Kevin. I'm just wondering, did you recognize when-- those strengths as 
they were developing in you, or just, could you describe how you felt about yourself during those 
times? Did you feel confident? Or... 
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  03:49 
It was a round-- what do they called? I'm not mechanical, but the round piece that you insert into 
the pipe to keep it from leaking, it had broken. Simply a 65 cent little piece that had broken. 
And-- I have a funny story to tell on this, my first reaction was, I was hysterical, you know. And 
we had just kind of remodeled. We did a brief little remodel. We painted the living room, we put 
brand new carpet down in the living room, all the way back to our bedroom, and new carpeting 
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in the kitchen. And that [?test?] was remodeling. Anyway, we had just done that. It had, you 
know, the carpet had been laid the day before I left for Miss Washington. So I walk in and I had-
- and Mike and Kevin were six and seven, seven and eight. What are we in? '81? I guess they're 
around eight, eight, nine. Anyway, I walk in and, you know, I just started screaming, and I was 
just hysterical. Water everywhere. The whole house was flooded. The whole house [?got out?]. 
The bedroom was underwater. And so I called Bonnie Harkelroad, lucky girl, you know, I didn't 
know who else to call. And I called Bonnie Harkelroad, got on the phone, and I go, Help Bonnie! 
I need a man. [Laughs.] And she didn't know what was up. She knew I had been at Miss 
Washington, and she knew that I just gotten home, but she's going like, what is going on? And 
she called the police, and so here come the sirens, and-- [laughs] here come the sirens and the 
whole bit flooding into my house. Well, one of these nice policemen turned off the water knobs 
under the kitchen sink and at least stopped it from pouring out at this time. And I was told, I 
mean, there was just nothing I could do. It was nine o'clock at night, and I was told to leave all 
the doors open and just get out. So I opened up all the doors and just told the kids to-- they were 
in the car still, and got the car, and drove to Bonnie's, and stayed overnight there, and the next 
morning, came back and started having to deal with it. Ever-- you know, half of our things were 
ruined. And, you know, called the insurance adjuster and called someone that would bring their 
big machine and start sucking the water out, you know, but the hardwood floors underneath were 
all warped like this. It was one rotten mess, we ended up-- the insurance company said you can't 
live in the house. I mean, it was just like-- it was destroyed. It would have been just as-- you 
know, Stan had wished that it had just burned to the ground. They ended up-- they put us up in a 
hotel in Blaine, and we lived there for two weeks and by the time Stan got home from Alaska, 
which is three weeks after this, we were still in a hotel. We still weren't living at home. Stan's 
mom came up and I spent a few nights down there, but that didn't work out very well. She lives 
clear down on Chuckanut, and it was much easier to be in the hotel in Blaine. And I would come 
here every day, and work, and try to clean something up, and, you know, make some kind of 
order out of something. But the insurance company, instead of-- you know, they just gave me the 
option, we'll pay you if you want to come in and, you know, do some of the work that has to be 
done here. Everything was going to mildew if it wasn't washed. So, you know, I went out to the 
laundromat with, I don't know how many loads of things that, you know, just to wash and re-dry 
them. And every day there were huge tasks to do. And, oh. It was awful.  
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  10:52 
You know, it's kind of funny. It's kind of like a split personality. On the one hand, I know I'm a 
really strong woman. I've been told by two different men that I can think of right off-hand, you 
know, one walked up to me at a party and said, You are one strong woman. You know, at that 
time, I was running the pageant and in charge of a lot of things, and you know, that was his 
opinion of me, and he meant it as a very-- as-- he meant it as a compliment. But, you know, and 
I'm like this. There's other times when I don't want to be strong, you know? I don't want to be 
strong. I want to lean on Stan, and just kind of lay back and let somebody take care of me. You 
know, it's kind of like I want to be strong when I want to be strong, but when I don't want to be, 
you know, want to lay back and let someone take care of me, but basically, my nature is to-- I 
like to be in charge. I don't work-- I work better when I'm in charge, I don't work as well when 
I'm like assistant director, I work much better as director. I don't know what-- I just, I have a lot 
of opinions and I've thought about things a lot, and, you know, I just, I'll fight having to be 
assistant director, because I don't like-- I don't nearly as well like doing what their creative 
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thoughts-- they have all their creative thoughts, like we're going to put together a production 
number, and being told, we'll get some chairs and do this and get this done, and then we'll have 
this number. I like to create the production number myself, you know. So yeah-- 
 
Linda C. Meuter  14:54 
--your talents were playing into that.  
 
Linda C. Meuter  15:13 
You're talking three, four inches.  
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  15:33 
Yes, I'm talking three, four inches. And it had come from three rooms away. I mean, it come 
through to the family room, it had come through the living room. It had started in the kitchen, 
two rooms away.  
 
Linda C. Meuter  16:56 
Welcome home. 
 
Linda C. Meuter  16:59 
Not a fun summer.  
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  18:46 
Oh, it was really awful. It went on for three weeks. You know, it went on for-- well, I mean, no, 
it didn't go on for-- it went on for years. It actually went on for years, but it went on for three 
weeks until Stan got home. You know, that I was the only person in charge in dealing with the 
insurance company and, you know, dealing with everyone that was coming in and out of there, 
you know. And I had to be strong. I couldn't sit and cry. I cried the first night, you know, when I 
walked in, and that was the end of the tears. And then I had to get busy. And, you know, action. 
It's time for action. And I worked here every day. Charlotte kept the boys some so there were 
some days where I could just have a full day here and work. But the only good-- you know, the 
good thing always comes out of something bad, I guess. But, what we decided when Stan got 
home was that we were going to remodel. So that began a-- about a five year at least-- well, 
yeah, in '85 we pretty well finished the remodeling. So it was close to a four year remodeling. 
You know, we would remodel something until we ran out of money and then stop. But we got a 
brand-new kitchen. We knocked out the-- we got a dining room. I drew up the plans for a dining 
room. We knocked out the wall of the old one. We had a ten by nine dining room, you know, that 
when you sat at the back table, your elbows were on the wall, so we knocked that wall out and 
added a 14 by 12 dining room out that way. Over on this side to my right, we added on a family 
room and another bathroom. So, you know, it-- the house had not been adequate, and we had 
been, oh, just-- we just hadn't done anything about it. And we had considered building a house. 
We'd looked at homes, and after the flood, we just decided, Ah, let's go for it and remodel this. 
You know, we had the money from the insurance company that kind of got us started, and you 
know, like the cabinets were totally ruined in my kitchen. They were all warped, and they were 
very, very cheap cabinets. So they paid us the price of replacing cheap cabinets, but that money 
added to buying nice oak cabinets. And you know, so, we got a-- we now have a really nice, 
remodeled home. And... 
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Linda C. Meuter  22:24 
Well, was there-- there was a second story. You said there was two. There were two stories. 
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  22:27 
Oh, there were two, yeah, another story of having to be tough when you don't want to be tough. 
Was another story. Stan, of course, again, is in Alaska, and I am driving a very old Dodge 
Charger that has been breaking down on the freeway and everywhere-- anywhere it chose to for 
the last year, and we just hadn't replaced it. And I was going on a trip over to Spokane to see my 
sister Kathy, and the brakes went out in Vantage. And in Vantage there was also the-- around-- 
oh, you know what was happening at this time? I think this is '81? No, this was '80. This was the 
strong story of '80. Mount St. Helens had blown that year.  
 
Linda C. Meuter  23:14 
Oh, that's right. 
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  23:16 
And so, there was ash everywhere. And Kevin was allergic to the ash, so he was having asthma 
attacks. I was in Vantage, I had no brakes. They had no way of fixing my brakes. So I could have 
sat there forever. It would have done me no good. And Kevin was wheezing, and there was no 
hospital nearby. So I called my sister and told her what the situation was, and decided to drive 
from there to Spokane with no brakes. And I had no other choice. 
 
Linda C. Meuter  23:39 
Right, it didn't-- 
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  23:41 
--I just, you know, I had no other choice and what I did was, I drove so slowly that, you know, it 
wouldn't have mattered. I drove 20 miles an hour. It took us forever to get to Spokane, but I 
drove so slowly that I didn't have to stop. And from Vantage to Spokane, there's nothing. But the 
trick was, when I got to Kathy's exit, you know, exiting off the freeway, you know, I had to 
know that I was-- you know, I'd slowed the car down, and I was going so slow that around 15 
miles an hour or whatever, that I could take the exit without having any problems and two roads 
up, I only had to make one other turn to get to her house and in her driveway, and that was-- I 
was sweating it, you know, if a car came, I just thought, well, at 15 miles an hour, I'll pull over 
into the ditch, or, you know, I'll just-- whatever. I won't have a wreck anyway. But we made it 
there, and then the next morning, we got towed to the gas station, and they said it would be-- it 
was five days before they could get the new brakes, and all the parts, and fix my car. So all I 
know is, if that was 1980, I'm not positive. I think it was 1980 but I know it was the year that 
Mount St. Helens blew, and I think that was 1980. It was the year I worked with Gay Davis for 
Miss Washington that this happened. And I remember that story because Doris Hayes, the gal 
who-- the black gal who won Miss Washington, was allergic to the ash also, and so she was 
wearing those face masks the whole time down at Miss Washington, because she's a vocalist and 
she couldn't hurt her, you know, throat. So we came home from Miss Washington and had the 
brilliant idea to go to Spokane in this car that had no business going further than Bellingham. But 
I felt like Superwoman that time. I mean, I just, you know, it was just-- I was alone with two 
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kids, and what are you going to do? You know, there's no one to say, Will you help, or will you 
take over for me? Or, I'd like to lean on you? You know, you just did what you had to do. And 
there's been many times in my life when, I mean, I think there's many times in everyone's life 
when, you know, the tough get-- when the tough-- what is the saying? When it gets tough, the 
tough get going, you know? And I am rather that type of a person. I know-- I noticed that now 
with fighting cancer, you know, I'm considered a tough fighter of cancer. People think I'm so 
strong. Well, I don't always feel so strong, but in front of people, or when I leave this house, I put 
that face on, you know, of that everything's okay, or that I can handle it, and I do all my-- if I've 
got any crying to do, I do it by myself, usually, when no-- wait till everyone's asleep and do it by 
myself. And that's just the way I am. You know, every once in a while, I'm not able to do it. You 
know, I can remember one day I was having a rough, rough day, and I asked Stan if, very 
quickly, like within the next couple minutes, he and Scott would please leave the house, because 
I was going to start crying. And they left the house, and I just bawled. Went back to the 
bathroom, and beat my hands on the windows and on the walls, and bawled. And I did that for 
half hour, and I was better, but I didn't want Scott to see it. But I knew it was going to happen. I 
could feel it, you know, I could feel it coming, that I was just losing it, and I couldn't cope. 
Couldn't handle it, and so I asked Stan to leave and I didn't want Scott to see any part of it. So 
that's how I'll handle things too. And then there's been times when, you know, when I've handled 
it with Stan, we've handled things together too. But Stan hates conflict, and you know, so a lot of 
times it's easier for him to go to bed, and not-- doesn't-- just hates it. So, you know, he'll go to 
bed not wanting to deal with the conflict. So a lot of times, I'm alone with it. And you know, at 
night, I'll feel sad or like I'm not coping well, and I'm alone with that then. Where Stan's 
wonderful is, you know, in taking care of things. He's just a go-getter when it comes to managing 
things. So, yeah, there's a lot of times that I've had to be tough. I know, when working on the 
pageant, I was considered to be tough, and there was no pageant in 19-- 1981. At-- DARE 
dropped the pageant. This is a kind of a part of the Chamber of Commerce deciding they just 
don't-- they just didn't want it any longer. And so there was-- 
 
Linda C. Meuter  28:37 
--Bellingham's Chamber-- 
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  28:38 
Bellingham Chamber of Commerce. But DARE is kind of a subsidiary of it, and we had-- I'd 
worked with DARE for three years doing pageant, and it had not worked out well. Anyway, they 
pocketed the money, they paid the bills, and we just wouldn't have done things the same way 
they did. And so in 1982, I decided that I was going to run the pageant, and we were going to run 
it ourselves. The money was going to be ours, and we would do more scholarships, and we 
would do a classier show and bring in-- we would-- we would just-- I hadn't had a dream for 
years, since working with you, and Kathy, and June, about how a pageant ought to be. I had a 
dream exactly about how classy a pageant ought to be, and how every girl ought to be well 
trained, and it ought to be dignified. And, you know, I had a huge dream about it, and I want to 
see this come, you know, come about. So, what we did was contact Hank Jansen, who has 
Lynden Transport, and he gave us $10,000, just in asking, to start up the pageant. And that, plus 
the scholarship, plus the-- that, plus the sponsors' money, plus all the gate receipts for, you know, 
the tickets more than paid for our first year's pageant. And that pageant, I worked probably eight 
hours a day. It was a full-time job for me, and it was wonderful.  
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Linda C. Meuter  30:05 
And this was a volunteer.  
 
Susan Quant Bianchi  30:07 
Total volunteer, and the show was my dream. It was the dream I'd had for all those years about 
how wonderful a show could be. It was absolutely wonderful. And that year brought something, 
someone special into my life. And she was kind of my right hand-- she was my right-hand man. 
She was my assistant director. Every-- she was everything but... And her name is Barbara Fuller. 
And Barbara is another-- besides Barbara Rauch, is my other very best friend. And I call Barbara 
an angel. That's just always been my pet name for her. I call her an angel. Every time I've been in 
the hospital, she's been-- every time I'm there. Last time I was in the hospital, I was there one 
month. She is there every day. But there's something-- [tape cuts off]. 