What's Up:
I am most interested in my husband Jay and we have enjoyed 34 years together, most of it in New England after being run out of Alabama (We didn't even know we were "Yankees"). Jay is an equine veterinarian and we are celebrating our 20th year of practice. We manage a clinic and surgery facility with 6 vets and staff. He also founded a veterinary medical mission to the Dominican Republic 11 years ago. We return each year with a team of 12 vets, techs, students and support crew to work on the animals of the region. My duties are to keep the rain off the surgery table (photo), pick up testicles separated from the equine patients and photograph the children. I have a masters degree to qualify for this and I do a damn fine job. I tried to learn Spanish, but only like the words that are fun to pronounce like "pestanas", "vejiga" and "piso mojada" (eyelashes, bladder and 'slippery when wet') so my camera bridges the language barrier!
My Occupation:
OR WHAT IT TURNED OUT TO BE.....Where have I been? In the cemeteries. I still chair a committee that oversees the 35 historic cemeteries in our community. We restore them with the help of a work crew from the county jail- men confident with a chain saw but lacking the social graces. We keep it interesting by 'planting' fake hands, ears or bones near the headstones where they work. Trees fall (photo), leaves are raked away from forgotten graves, stone walls are rebuilt and stereotypes are broken in both directionsMs. McCormack's creative writing course had a huge impact on me when she said, "write for content and the joy- forget the spelling and grammar, we can clean it up later." What an inspiring idea! I now create exhibits for a small historical museum on the island of Cuttyhunk. It is a pleasure to bring history and the human experience alive for others to enjoy. I am always researching, writing and learning something. Currently I'm working on an exhibit about the first Massachusetts Leper Colony on Penikese Island.
My Family:
Our son Todd (29) is a CSU graduate in Landscape Design and owns Aspen Valley Landscaping in Aspen. He married Lynn Goodwin of Maine last fall (photo) and they live in Carbondale, Colorado. He has taught me never to give up on what you believe in and things always happen for the best.
Our daughter Marnie (27) lives in San Francisco with her partner Janese. She graduated from the University of Delaware and spent the last three years managing the AmeriCorps program at Lake Tahoe. Now, she is a grant writer for the Point Foundation which provides college scholarships for gays and lesbians abandoned by their families. She has taught me the beauty of listening to your inner voice and valuing your personal integrity.
My parents moved to Massachusetts after 50 years in Denver. They are in good health for 87 and 90, and teaching us how to age with grace and humor. My sister, Dede, fell in love with their financial advisor (after buying nursing home insurance from him!) and is getting married in October...a triumph of hope over experience. She taught me that dreams come true at any age- so dream big!
At this age, even as we all struggle in some way, we emerge as more interesting people while seeking to refine ourselves and enrich our lives. That is one of the many blessings of mid-life. We are not defined by wealth, health, physique, possessions or notoriety, but rather by who and what we love and how we express it. I look forward to seeing you all soon and I know from attending past reunions, that many of you that I enjoy so much now, I hardly knew 40 years ago. We have all come a long way.
Favorite Memories:
Art teacher extraordinaire, Mr. Wetherbee eating Nabisco peanut butter wafer cookies while flamenco dancing on the desk tops. Shakey's pizza, "buzzing Colfax", Drill Team, building homecoming floats, poster parties, "The King and I", "Harvey", Duby's red convertible, Priscilla's Papagallo shoes, teasing our hair, frosted lipstick, typewriters.
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