Haahahahaa! Karen this is SO funny. I'm bursting into laughter reading these posts again, and remembering writing and reading them at the time. Well done! And my favourite part about Martha Stewart dropping in with her dish towel parachute!!! WAY too funny!

straycat wandering, I have been to a hypnotist as a last resort (multiple counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, psychologists, etc)---you get the point---I even went through a battery of psychological testing to see if there was something wrong with me---as I just couldn't figure out how our kind loving son could just throw us out of his life like the trash when we were such good parents. We have had no contact in almost three years except for several nasty phone calls, and emails from GF(possibly finance or wife by now). BTW psychological tests showed I was depressed due to the situation with my son--no other psychological problems. Son and GF both have excellent education and make lots of money. They waited until our son was financially independent before disowning us. They still have contact with her father. We paid for our son's college expenses yet girlfriend is probably 200,000 in student loan debt--she is a pharmacist, he a computer engineer. Anyway what I discovered is that everyone of them (counselors, etc) in the end told me I just needed to get over it----stop focusing on the negative and move on with my life. I spend thousands on various types of counseling---you name it, I probably tried it. I don't think these professionals realize this new trend---I even read in Dr. Coleman's book that adultchild/parent estrangement has reached epidemic proportions. Dr. Coleman as I understand still had communication with his estranged daughter and is now reunited---so I think he has given up interest in the topic-----There is just simply little information out their and something these counseling professionals don't know how to handle,especially when the child refuses any communication. I am sure someday--probably too late for us---this problem will happen to more and more of these professionals and then they will begin to understand how "getting over it and moving on with your life is hard after spending 20+ years being there for your child and then with no warning they never want to see you again for no logical reason. Hypnotism may help you, but just wanted to share my experience before you spent the money.

Kathsgrdn - I was going to say the same about the blue tooth thing. You really need to be on the phone so much that it has to be glued to your ear? And you look ridiculous walking around talking to yourself. It drives me crazy. The trend I really hate is how people use cell phones, as mentioned in many posts above. Yes, I've used my in public, but I try to make it short. I see people walking around a store in deep conversation. Hey, I don't want to hear your conversation. Take it outside! Once when I was in Starbucks, a women couldn't even pry the phone off her ear long enough to place her order. She instead grabbed one of the business cards on the counter, wrote down her order, and threw it at the barista. She talked the entire time, took her drink and left. The barista and cashier were floored. They couldn't believe the nerve. Don't even get me started on people using cell phones when driving. Zeetera - really, you don't like scarves other than in winter? There are some cute linen ones for the spring.

I watched the CBS shows and I've watched the Dateline and some of the Dr. Phil. I don't know what to think, other than believing an intruder is the least-likely scenario. Not impossible, but very unlikely, due to the way the note was written, the way the body was discovered, and Burke's interviews shortly after the crime and 18 months after the crime. Burke said he heard his mother come into his room and then go out of it looking for JonBenet, and then he heard her in hysterics (as he said in the interview afterward "going psycho") and just stayed in bed pretending to sleep or trying to sleep, rather than go try to find out what had happened. Picture your own kids. You burst into your 9 year old's room and then just as suddenly depart. You are frantically crying and screaming, alerting your spouse and then placing a 911 call. Your 9 year old doesn't freeze with fear. They don't hide. They also don't come ask you what's wrong. They don't go find dad and ask what's wrong. They just stay in bed and wait. The only reason I can think of for him to do this is either that he was used to the sound of adults "going psycho" in other parts of the house and did not find that unusual/alarming--or he knew what the problem was and was waiting to find out how his parents were going to handle it.