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"Has Anybody Seen Mary?"
8 years ago
Two months ago, 
Funimal and 
I returned to Orlando, Florida for the first time in over nine months. Our main objective was to reunite with our good friend and talented illustrator Mary ("Here Comes A Candle") Hanson-Roberts.
In past trips, pictures of Mary were taken, such as the following 'photo-ops', which you can find in the 'Scraps' section of my "FA" site...
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3526097
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11645203
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13646654
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20089418
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20089541
But this time, when we got to see Mary, leaving through the front door of her one-story house, she looked extremely frail, as she slowly wobbled toward Funimal and I.
As it turned out, her health has deteriorated, stemming from the fact that she was a constant cigarette smoker, and a doctor diagnosed that Mary had an advanced case of emphysema.
We weren't going to let her condition spoil our weekend together. I had a $50 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory, and the three of us shared lunch together. Mary had a hamburger and a cup of coffee, while I had a 'shepherd's pie' and iced tea. (I forgot what Funimal ate.)
We later brought Mary back to our hotel, and shared stories and artwork with her. (Mary, herself, had rendered lots of art, which she'd normally sell on eBay.) And finally, we'd dropped Mary back at her home (where some of the neighborhood cats would congregate near her), and we'd promised that we'd return to her area a lot sooner in the future...
Usually, Funimal communicates with Mary via phone, while I'd send her E-mail messages with lots of 'cat gags' from various comic strips. (Mary's current favorite comic strip is "Breaking Cat News".) But a few weeks after our visit, we'd lost contact with her...
Funimal tried calling and texting her, but she never answered her phone. And my attempts to E-mail her were fruitless, as she hasn't answered anything on her home computer...
To complicate matters, we were both worried about her back in September, when "Hurricane Irma" (now reduced from Category Four to Category Three) passed through central Florida (forcing Disney World to shut down to the public, for only the sixth time in the theme park's history). Living in a fragile, rundown house like hers could be dangerous, and she might've had to evacuate the area (with or without her cats).
It's now been several weeks since Irma passed by the 'Sunshine State', and we still haven't heard from Mary (by any means of communication). Now, we are getting frantic...
This is where YOU come in...
If anybody in "Fur Affinity" lives in or near the Orlando area, and personally knows Mary Hanson-Roberts, Funimal and I would like to know if she's alright (despite her frail condition), and where she is located at this time...
(Recently, I'd tried to enlist the aid of "FA" member
YappyFox - who runs the annual "Megaplex" furry convention in central Florida - but he's yet to send either of us a response.)
Please send a private E-mailing via my "Fur Affinity" inbox, and I will provide the necessary instructions, including how to get to Mary's house, and the cell phone numbers of me and Funimal (which you can either call or text), letting us know whether you'd found her or not.
We'd appreciate any assistance from fans of Mary's artistic talents, and sooner we hear from some of you, the better. Thank you...
ADDENDA: Believe it or not, on the very same day I'd posted this journal, Funimal finally got in touch with Mary Hanson-Roberts by phone!
Apparently, Mary had abandoned her house within hours of the arrival of "Hurricane Irma", and sought shelter at one of Orlando's many hotels. As expected, the house she'd left suffered some damage from the strong wind gusts, and she remained in said hotel for a few weeks...
Fortunately, she'd received financial assistance (and repair work) from representatives of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). In the process, Mary's telephone service was restored (but she still has to use a neighbor's home computer, in order to return to the Internet). So, hopefully, Funimal and I will return to her area - in the not-too-distant future - to see how she's recovering from this most unusual situation...
Funimal and 
I returned to Orlando, Florida for the first time in over nine months. Our main objective was to reunite with our good friend and talented illustrator Mary ("Here Comes A Candle") Hanson-Roberts. In past trips, pictures of Mary were taken, such as the following 'photo-ops', which you can find in the 'Scraps' section of my "FA" site...
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/3526097
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/11645203
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/13646654
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20089418
http://www.furaffinity.net/view/20089541
But this time, when we got to see Mary, leaving through the front door of her one-story house, she looked extremely frail, as she slowly wobbled toward Funimal and I.
As it turned out, her health has deteriorated, stemming from the fact that she was a constant cigarette smoker, and a doctor diagnosed that Mary had an advanced case of emphysema.
We weren't going to let her condition spoil our weekend together. I had a $50 gift card to the Cheesecake Factory, and the three of us shared lunch together. Mary had a hamburger and a cup of coffee, while I had a 'shepherd's pie' and iced tea. (I forgot what Funimal ate.)
We later brought Mary back to our hotel, and shared stories and artwork with her. (Mary, herself, had rendered lots of art, which she'd normally sell on eBay.) And finally, we'd dropped Mary back at her home (where some of the neighborhood cats would congregate near her), and we'd promised that we'd return to her area a lot sooner in the future...
Usually, Funimal communicates with Mary via phone, while I'd send her E-mail messages with lots of 'cat gags' from various comic strips. (Mary's current favorite comic strip is "Breaking Cat News".) But a few weeks after our visit, we'd lost contact with her...
Funimal tried calling and texting her, but she never answered her phone. And my attempts to E-mail her were fruitless, as she hasn't answered anything on her home computer...
To complicate matters, we were both worried about her back in September, when "Hurricane Irma" (now reduced from Category Four to Category Three) passed through central Florida (forcing Disney World to shut down to the public, for only the sixth time in the theme park's history). Living in a fragile, rundown house like hers could be dangerous, and she might've had to evacuate the area (with or without her cats).
It's now been several weeks since Irma passed by the 'Sunshine State', and we still haven't heard from Mary (by any means of communication). Now, we are getting frantic...
This is where YOU come in...
If anybody in "Fur Affinity" lives in or near the Orlando area, and personally knows Mary Hanson-Roberts, Funimal and I would like to know if she's alright (despite her frail condition), and where she is located at this time...
(Recently, I'd tried to enlist the aid of "FA" member
YappyFox - who runs the annual "Megaplex" furry convention in central Florida - but he's yet to send either of us a response.) Please send a private E-mailing via my "Fur Affinity" inbox, and I will provide the necessary instructions, including how to get to Mary's house, and the cell phone numbers of me and Funimal (which you can either call or text), letting us know whether you'd found her or not.
We'd appreciate any assistance from fans of Mary's artistic talents, and sooner we hear from some of you, the better. Thank you...
- - - - - - - - - - ADDENDA: Believe it or not, on the very same day I'd posted this journal, Funimal finally got in touch with Mary Hanson-Roberts by phone!
Apparently, Mary had abandoned her house within hours of the arrival of "Hurricane Irma", and sought shelter at one of Orlando's many hotels. As expected, the house she'd left suffered some damage from the strong wind gusts, and she remained in said hotel for a few weeks...
Fortunately, she'd received financial assistance (and repair work) from representatives of FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). In the process, Mary's telephone service was restored (but she still has to use a neighbor's home computer, in order to return to the Internet). So, hopefully, Funimal and I will return to her area - in the not-too-distant future - to see how she's recovering from this most unusual situation...
Balloogabu
~balloogabu
