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Uma - Hoffman Estates, IL

  

 

 

 

The End. The Beginning

It is vacation time and what better way than to spend it with Grandma. We squat on the front porch, the shiny red-oxide floor cool against our legs. Her gnarled fingers fly through the air and her eyes grow round with excitement, as she dips into her bag of stories and picks one for the afternoon. Her voice is warm honey one moment, and tart vinegar the next, as she morphs from one character to another.

 

Peering through her bifocals she talks, and I listen, my imagination fired by stories about far-flung places and people. She wears a sari, nine yards of rich burgundy, vermilion or parrot green, her thin silvery hair coiled into a lime-sized knot at the nape of her neck. I smell the holy ash on her forehead.

 

As I listen, stroking the soft wrinkled folds of her skin between my thumb and forefinger, I hear the magic in her voice, her words. I imagine stories flying through the air. Grandma fuels my imagination during a time when books are expensive and libraries rare.

 

Listening to Grandma's stories is as good as a trip to the theater--every one of them packed with drama, action and music.

 

Grandma leaves me riches in words.



Lola - Cleveland, Ohio

I waas raised on the southside of Chicago, Illionis and inside of an apartment that is inside of an apartment

building called Englewood Terrace Apartment Buildng. I am the oldest of three. I have two younger sisters.

I had a nice childhood and I grew up in a loving famiy, which consists of my mother and father and my two

younger sisters. I didn't grow up in a wealthy family, but my mother and father made sure that myself and

my two younger sisters were well provided for, my mother and father met in the United States Army, my

father became a retired mortician and my mother worked various jobs, including working as a file clerk,

before she stopped work to raise myself and my two younger sisters. I attended elementary school and

highschool in Chicago, Illinois and I made good grades. I graduated from grade school in 1978 and I

graduated highschool in 1982. I was a cheerleader in highschool and then I became interested in

basketball and then I began playing basketball after I graduated highschool. I consider myself a pretty

good basketball player considering that I am only 5 feet and 1 inch tall. I moved with my mother and my two

younger sisters to from Chicago, Illinois to Cleveland, Ohio in December of 1988. I have worked various

jobs both in Chicago, Illinois and in Cleveland, Ohio. I have worked in fast food restaurants, as a grill cook

and a cleaner. I have worked in factories as an assembly line worker and a packer. I have worked in a baseball

and a football stadium as a cleanup worker. I have worked inside of an arena as a food service worker. I like to

write my own poetry and short stories and I am going back to school, soon, to college to study to become a

journalist. I currently live in Cleveland, Ohio.



Kelli - Dallas Center, IA

Strength is something that comes easy to me. I was not born with it, I earned it. That is my only reward from my past experiences. Summer of 1999 changed my life and made me who I am today. Love took over my life and more than I could had ever imagined it would. Raised in a middle class Catholic family, I had certain expectations I was supposed to live up to. Falling in love is hard enough at fifteen years of age. But with strict family morals and a small narrow minded town, being gay and in love changed my life. I was taken from my home on nine different occasions to detention centers and shelters. Rumors and gossip flowed through the halls of school. I could have given up the relationship and had a normal life. Instead I followed my heart and dealt with the torture for two years. I loved this girl more than I could ever speak. I sacrificed my family, friends and reputation for the relationship. Turns out I was the only one who chose love over life. My world got a lot worse when she left for a family vacation and never returned home. No phone calls, nothing for over a year. Turns out she ran off with a man, got pregnant and married. She could not deal with the pressure of being gay and chose to live the life her parents and society wanted. The rest of her life she will have to live with being someone she is not. I might have a lot of issues to deal with but I am proud of who I am and I am happy in my relationships. Being gay is not a choice, no one would ever choose this life. Why would I choose to be made fun of, disowned by my parents, looked down upon? Being straight would be so much easier, but being gay, I am so much stronger.

martha - tallassee, alabama

  I am Martha Foster and I am 38 years old. I was born and raised in a small country town known as Tallassee, Ala. The Fosters are a very large yet loving family. There are nine handsome older brothers and the youngest four beautiful daughters born to James and Emma Foster. We range in age from 37 to 62 years of age and most of us still make our home in Tallassee. Dad was a mill worker and Mom was a stay-at- home mom.There was little finacially but we grew up in a home full of love and some of the greatest and fondest childhood and family memories. Growing up Foster was an adventure and a life of lessons and experiences that left lasting impressions.  Mom and Dad raised us to be well-mannered, respectful of ourselves and others, and to be self-sufficient. We interacted with people from all walks of life and it taught us to distinguish between right and wrong and make better decisons in life. 
   I remember all the good and bad times with my parents and siblings and all the wonderful people in our town who took an avid interest in one of James and Emma Foster's kid and took them under their wing. All our lives we have been able to go places and just our smile, voice, and just spending a few minutes with us, you knew we were a Foster even though you didn't know our name at first.
    It's been nine years since we said good-bye to Dad and it will be a year this August that we lost Mom. I believe in moms and dads and the power of a family that live, work and pray together because they stick together.  

adam - New London, wisconsin

Here is a story about my journey back to California after more than 20 years of being away. I am a regular guy looking for friends on the Internet. One day, almost two years ago, I met someone. It started off slow and then developed into something more as most relationships do if both parties are willing.  We had been trying to meet for months but could never find the time.  Then the time had finally arrived.  Everything was perfect.  I left for the airport on July 18, 2009, bound for San Diego.  I got to the airport on schedule.  She wasn't there.  "Hmmmm." I thought.  "Maybe she just doesn't recognize me."  So I walked around and sought her out. No luck. Tried her cell phone. All I got was voicemail.  Well one hour became two  then four. Finally after eight I gave up waiting. I thought,"Hell, I will just go rent me a room and keep trying to reach her."  Still no luck.  Then all the other thoughts came in.  "Did she change her mind in midflight and didn't have the heart to tell me or just didn't want me there."  I was lost in thought. Here I was in San Diego, knowing no one except her.  Although it's the place I grew up 20 years ago, many things had changed.  And the money was dwindling quick.  I jumped on my laptop to try one more time after the umpteenth time. I had already tried to get ahold of her all without any success.  As I turned on my laptop and my Yahoo messenger I had a message from her daughter.  After work and on her way to pick me up, she was in a serious auto accident. So severe it caused severe brain trauma.  After two years of looking for someone who I related with on almost every level, now she had absoutely no idea who I was.  And the doctors say she may never remember who I am.  If I had waited one more day or come a day sooner we would be together now.  Instead I was forced into homelessness. The laptop was sold for a couple more days in a motel.  Eventually I was forced back on the streets of San Diego. Homeless, broke, hungry, alone. I slept in a park for nine days till I finally found a shelter that would let me in. I think of my friend everyday and the guilt overwhelms all of the time.  Is it my fault this has happened?  I don't truely know. I sit back and try to figure out why this has happened but then I also think that everything happens for a reason. Unfortunately for me, I don't know what that reason is. So I'm lost in a place from yester year.  Homeless, broke, alone. Just trying to make sense of it all and go home.

Ruth - Gold Beach, OR

As a child, I always wondered why my mother was very quiet on certain nights.  My father would come home and the mood in the house got very dark.  Sometimes nothing would happen. Other times the fight would start and all I can remember is my father yelling, louder and louder. As I got older, I became aware that this usually happened when he'd been drinking.  When I was about 10 years old, my mother and father split up.  Dad came home to live again for awhile, and life felt great but of course it didn't last.  The night he moved out, I remember hanging onto him as hard as I could, promising to try harder, to do whatever it took but please don't leave me.  As I grew up, I saw a lot more of his drinking and the problems caused by that and I made a vow it wouldn't happen to me. 

One in three children born to an alcoholic will become one. Guess what? I was the lucky one selected to inherit that particular gene from my father. I didn't drink like my father though. I drank slowly and quietly, hiding it from my husband and children, slipping deeper into a black hole, contemplating suicide more than once to make the pain go away.  I became an expert at lying, not asking for help from anyone. Eventually, as must happen, I hit bottom.  I ended up in a recovery center, a step away from legal trouble. It was the longest two weeks of my life.  My youngest daughter was 4 years old and my eldest daughter was 12.  I spent Thanksgiving eating a cafeteria meal four hours away from my family.  But I learned so much!  I learned why I felt the way I did and why I drank. I learned that it was up to me to fix the problem but I didn't have to do it alone. Most importantly, I learned I wasn't a bad person.

That was almost 10 years ago and amazingly enough, by the grace of my higher power, I am sober.  I wish I could say it has all been rainbows and sunshine, but it hasn't. My life was forever altered by my drinking and there have been too many times to count that those alterations have raised their ugly heads. I still get embarrassed by the things I did and I still hate myself sometimes ut I don't hide anymore. I have shared my experiences with others and spent a lot of time talking to my daughters, hoping that even if I can't break the cycle of alcoholism, I can at least twist it enough to make a difference.

candice - campbell, ca

So things took a drastic turn at my house, my dad was moving in and he wasn’t going to have it any other way. I could see that my mother was not too comfortable with the idea because my father became very controlling very fast within the first few weeks of him being out. My house went from being a nice laid-back environment to a very stressful and dreadful place. I could sense the fear in my mother she had very little freedom. She was looking for a way out but my dad was way too powerful. My mother suggested that my Grandma Elsie move in again to help around the house and maybe help keep my father calm. A few weeks before she came I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I could hear voices coming from the dining room. I peeked down the hall and I could see five Mexican guys sitting at our dinner table talking. Then I saw my dad in his boxer shorts with his socks hiked up too his knees. He was circling the table. Wwhat were they doing ? And then I saw it a mound of white powder in the center of the table. My father was high and so were they. It looked as though they were sampling their next sale or maybe just keeping it for themselves. I don’t know but I was scared, I didn’t go to the bathroom. I went back and laid in bed. I could hear my dad going in and out of my mom's bedroom. She didn’t sound happy. I couldn’t make out what they were saying. I wanted to go in there and be with her but I knew I shouldn’t dare try. The whole night I tossed and turned. I don’t think they left till the sun came up. Those nights became more and more common. My dad and his friends would take hours in the bathroom together. They would be in the living room nodding out with their cigarettes lit in their mouth. The tracks on my dad's arms were so bad. He was paranoid. He was aggressive and he was uncontrollable.

When grandma got there he made no improvements. He dropped my mom off at work and picked her up. She was not allowed to go out at all otherwise. Elsie was to keep the house clean and cook for us nightly. He sometimes would be gone for most of the night leaving us waiting for the unknown. Sometimes he would bring home different cars - BMWs and other cars that were obviously not ours. I would catch my mom sneaking out at night dressed for a party or a club, I was so scared for her.

 

 

 

 



Lydia - englehart, ontario

Back when I was little i use to fantasize about magic and beating up the "bad men" that attacked the house. One day with one of my friends we imagined this great battle that occurred in the back yard between all the good forces of God and the bad forces of evil. If you were to see us I bet it would have been quite the sight with our little wands and  make believe spells.

My neighborhood was very dull but I always managed to make a great story out of it, my imagination was very full of silly ideas. Books and drawings and writing down my stories helped to make it seem more real at the time. Little collections of feathers and rocks  and a good sense of painting them helped with the scenery  as well as the sand pit we had in the yard.

Eventually I'm hoping the stories I made in my head as a kid someday becomes actual written books for all ages or adults only.


Andrea - Erie, PA

For years I struggled, doing what people said I should, expecting it would turn out all right. It didn’t, so I stopped expecting and followed where The Universe led me. In 1991 I returned to the U.S. and couldn’t find work to pay my bills. I became one of the hidden homeless, staying with friends on rotation. A local TV station ran a contest for a weekend in Toronto, my former home. I won, but had to find my own transportation. An article I wrote was published in a Canadian magazine so I sent a copy to a national TV talk show, “Dini Petty.”The producers booked me as a guest author, arranged my flight and stay at the Royal York Hotel. I negotiated bus travel for an extra hotel night.  Now I had four nights accommodation at a luxury Toronto hotel, a limo, tickets to several events and spending money. I called a Toronto B & B I’d reviewed years before. I would offer to publicize her service in the U.S. for a place to stay. She’d sold the business but the new owner offered me a hosting job at several B&Bs while the owners took vacations. I lived in grand homes, worked hard, met fascinating global travelers, made more TV appearances, landed more writing assignments, and saved enough to start Author’s Bed and Breakfast with three guest rooms, two guest baths and a kitchen for cookbook authors to prepare food for their TV demos. Once homeless, I offered a home-away-from-home to writers. Running the business was physically exhausting; I longed to write again. While hosting, I sold copies of my manual on how to self-syndicate an advice column, wrote 1,000 Toronto activity ideas for my guests and 365 questions for engaged couples. Today I’m selling my writing. I found I can brainstorm multiple solutions to problems that stymie most people. The tough years gave me the credibility to advise others experiencing life crises. I published what I learned about guest etiquette, sweetheart swindlers and how to think more creatively. My lesson: Water doesn't struggle to flow uphill. Move in the direction in which opportunities arrive effortlessly.



Lillian - Apple Valley, Minnesota

The Preacher's Kid

All in all, there were 13 children born to John Artie Sr. and Mattie:  Henrietta, Joseph, Grace, Emma, John A. Jr., Estella, Alphanso, Phillip, Ruth and Rhoda, Lillian, Billah and  James.  Henrietta, Joseph and Grace were deceased before I was born.  Most of us were born about two years apart and as far as I know, we were all born healthy.  The only thing I remember about my mother bearing children was that after they were born, mumma (as we called her) stayed in a dark room for one month.  When we did get a chance to go in and see the baby and visit with her, I wondered what had happened to the hole in the ceiling where the baby had dropped from heaven.  No one ever answered that question for me.  I later found out all about it!  For 18 years there were 10 siblings left.  Ten of us have lived past the age of 70.  In one year, we lost three siblings - Alphonso, Billah and Estella.  They suffered greatly and are now out of their misery.  Now there are just the three of us: James, Ruth and myself - Lillian. 

The first house I can remember was 600 Robert Street.  It was pretty crowded so we moved next door to 598 Robert Street.  Our household consisted of around 15 at the table at night. Our church was located at 11th and Minnesota which was about two and one-half long blocks from our house.  When dinner was almost ready, mumma would send one of us up to the church to get my father - the Rev. John Nelson.  He stayed in his study a great deal of the time.  When mumma would have biscuits for supper, she would not put them in the stove until after puppa said the blessing.  Sometimes it took him one hour to bless our food. 

Times were tough and puppa could be very strict.  I had a variety of odd jobs to help out the family until I eventually ran away from home to marry. I raised three wonderful children, worked many jobs and lived several different places and today have many grandchildren as well as great-grandchildren.  I am still glad and proud to have been a Preacher's Kid.  

 



Paula - Rockville, MD

"Where are you going, Lally?" "Do you have any children?" "Are they boys or girls?" Yes, that was me as a two year old according to my beloved Mother! I have enjoyed socializing since I was very young.

My Father was in the Army during WWII so I had my mother all to myself; or so I thought! My sister was born in 1944 and when she ensconced herself in my bed room, I screamed for a week, according to the neighbors! Eventually, I got used to her; then along came my brother in 1948 after we moved into a  18-room house! I loved that house and often dreamed of buying it and returning! Not to be, I fear!

Some of my best experiences happened at summer camp. I started when I was only 9 and continued until I was 30! Oh, yes, I returned to camp to exchange my daughters' tuition for my experitise as a dance instructor and riding counselor. I absolutely loved it! I thrived in sodden weather, hot, humid nights, overnights along the lake, bugs and all!

The first camp which I attended until I started college was near Pittsburgh. I met my first husband there when I was 13. When he first kissed me, I was so naive, I thought I was pregnant and ran screaming through the camp! My counselor calmed me down explained the facts of life to me! Oh, what trauma teens go through!

During my college years, I attended a camp near Baltimore where I was a dance instructor. I loved that camp, also! I met friends that I still hold dear.

In 1970, I packed up two moving vans, my darling daughters, my 6-foot plant and moved in with my parents! My mother knew I was in an abusive relationship; I just didn't have the courage to leave because I couldn't support my girls. My parents opened their home and their hearts to the three of us. I learned a great deal about taking care of  myself and my girls. I lost 125 pounds on my own, got a wonderful job with the Pennsylvania State Police, started dating and coming into my own. We lived with them three years when I married my wonderful husband. I will always be grateful to my parents for this opportunity.



Lynda - Whiting, NJ

Dear Mom,
 You‘ve been gone from us for almost three years.  I want to record some of the many things I learned from you. Things for which I’m grateful.
To work hard when need be, have patience and then more patience, to change things I don’t like.
Your high expectations taught me to stand on my own two feet, take responsibility for my actions and their effects.
To think for myself, you always said “If so & so jumped off a bridge, would you?”
Pride in myself, my appearance and actions.  You always insisted on being dressed and made up, even to go to the corner store.
The courage to be different, again that bridge saying.
To be unbiased and fair in the early 1950s when you took on the whole neighborhood because they didn’t like  Marylee (read black) eating with us.
So many memories, picking violets in the park when I was only 4 or 5, I learned to love flowers and nature.  The love of animals from your stories about Prince, the dog who left when your first child arrived.  The Scottie, Bonnie, you had later.
I had my own garden when I was only 8.  Most of it was weeds, but they were pretty weeds.
I learned to love music from you and Dad.  You sang to all  your babies.
 You made things fun, every holiday you made sure we had what the day required: Easter outfits and baskets, Valentines and candy hearts with sayings on them, Christmas trees and gifts. Responsibility was learned very young and a great love of family.
You gave me your babies to care for when you had to work.  I learned how to do it and to love them all.
The many good times we shared, individually and as a family. The ability to make do and get through the bad times.  You had a stubborn-ness we learned that saw us through so much.
I learned that money is good, but not the be-all and end-all.  If we couldn’t buy something, we could make it.
I loved your sense of fun.
I learned to love to work with my hands and the wonder of creating.
You taught me to take chances and that you were there for me if I goofed up.
I miss you every day. A light went out when you left.


Joni - ashland, wisconsin

The day the sun went black

On Jan. 1, 2003, at approximately 6 a.m. the phone rang. My husband got up to answer it and all I could hear him say was "oh no- oh no we'll be right there." He then ran into the bedroom and flipped on the light and told me to get up, I just kept saying why, because I was so tired, but he insisted that I get up. I didn't move until I heard those awful words come from his mouth "They think Joe is dead." I never got dressed so fast in my life, hugged my younger boys and told them to call their grandparents to come and get them.
 We live almost an hour from the hospital and the drive was like a crawl even if we were going 65 to 70 miles per hour, it felt like forever before we got there. We ran inside and asked for Joe at the E.R desk and no one would talk to me, a lady just said "Follow me please." I kept asking her if it was true about Joe and she wouldn't answer me.She just kept walking and we just followed. It's all such a blur to me now but we ended up in this dreadful little room where I saw my family sitting and then I knew it was true - my son was gone. All I could do was grab my mom and cry.The pain and shock was unbearable. The coroner helped me to sit on this couch and kneeled in front of me to tell me Joe passed away and then went on to say that it was a hit and run and that she believed he died on impact. When she asked me if I would like to see him I said no which I now regret, but I just could not stand to see him laying there like that ... dead. We all went to my mom's to just sit, then she reminded me I need to call a funeral home ... I didn't want to do that but I had too. So she handed me the phone and I called.
 The funeral was as beautiful as any funeral could be. Over 400 people showed up. The church was packed and standing room only with all the people Joe had touched in his short life. Kids standing up telling how Joe convinced them to stay in school and mothers telling how Joe helped keep their kids off of the streets. Strange, but I was never so proud of him as I was at that moment.
By Joni - Joe's mom forever

Patricia - Broadlands, Virginia

I was born in Baltimore, Md., the second of four children.  My father was in the Army, so we moved frequently and usually the first or last six weeks of school.  Things were always changing, friends were always changing, but growing up in Germany and various American states to include Alaska kept things interesting.  Being exposed to diverse people, families and cultures makes life as an adult easier.   It's easier to make friends in a new location or place of work.  It's easier to feel comfortable with new places and people different from yourself and your family.  Growing up was an adventure and yet I am not that brave as a mother of two mentally-challenged adults.  My childhood makes it easier to let them be who they are and encourage their bravery.  My parents were and remain role models for being the best person you can be, no matter the circumstances of finances, race, creed, or culture.  My mother once explained it that as a military family with the life of a nomad,  it's easy for people of diverse backgrounds to bond together in a comfortable existence.  You have nothing, they have nothing, you have each other and that's what you share.  Who you are and what treasures you have:  yourself, your loved ones, your stories, and most importantly your love and care.  If we have our health and our loved ones surrounding us from Heaven or on Earth, then we do indeed Have it All. 

Rose - Beverly Hills, FL, Florida

George and I had been engaged for a year when we set our wedding date for May 5, 1951.  I was nearly 19 and George was 23.

We didn't know the first thing about planning a wedding, and we could expect no help from either of our families, but we were determined to have just as nice a wedding as George's brothers had had.

 We rented the church hall for $50 and hired a band.  One day after work we went to see a caterer and signed a contract for 100 meals at $2.25 a meal.  When she suggested Hungarian Cabbage Rolls at an additional 25 cents per plate, we agreed to the $2.50 per person.

That evening while discussing our finances, we decided to call the caterer to tell her that we would have to cancel the cabbage rolls, since we could not afford the additional $25.00.  She told us that we had signed a contract and would hold us to it.

Our wedding day started off gloomy and cloudy, but by afternoon it was a bright, warm, sunny day.

The custom in our town was to give the bride and groom money gifts and we were depending on our guests to be generous.  In order to pay the band, I discreetly handed George the envelopes as I received them, and he would disappear to count the money in the car, and when he had enough he paid the band.  We did the same thing in order to pay the caterer and the liquor bill.

Our first apartment was on the second floor of a run-down two-family house in our home town.  The wallpaper was peeling, it needed painting and needed major cleaning.  Our first winter the heating system did not work properly and during the night the bedroom walls became covered with ice.  We bought a pot-bellied kerosene stove and used it in the bedroom at night, then in the morning we moved it to the bathroom so that we could dress in comfort.


We just celebrated our 58th wedding anniversary.  Our early struggles have become fond memories.





Mary - Frankfort, NY

Early one morning at the end of August 1963, I was born at a local hospital to Geraldine Lois (Hughes) and Salvatore Joseph Tocco.  My mother had always told the story that I was a week late. The doctor had checked in with her to see how she was doing. Because she was fine, the doctor went to Saratoga to see the horses race. When he drove by the hospital early the next morning, he saw the delivery room lights on and knew it had to be my mom.  

I grew up in a small community with many friends within walking distance. We lived very close to the high school and never moved from the house I was brought home to.  My family and I made many wonderful memories there. My grandmother lived with us which was an added bonus. She took care of my sister and me while my parents went off to work. As years went on, I became very close with her. 

We had, what seemed at the time, a large front porch that we always sat on. The street was a busy one with many cars and people going up and down because of the school.  A male friend of my sister always came over and sat on the porch and talked with my parents. (But more about that later.) I graduated from the local schools and went on to a two-year college not far from home. It was nice to be able to go home easily.  My parents always reminded my sister and I that their door was always open.

After college, I got a job in my field and started my career.  My sister's friend came back into the picture. When I was about 12 or 13, and he sat on our porch, he would tease that he wanted to take me out.  My dad always told him to come back when I was 18. However, he waited until I was 20 to ask me out. We dated for 4 1/2 years until he finally asked me to marry him. Six months later we were married at the local Catholic Church in a beautiful ceremony. I honestly believe we were meant to be together. This past year we celebrated 20 years of happiness together. In those 20 years we bought a house, went on a cruise, adopted a child, and much more. 

Happiness to me is having family close by.  My husband and I were both born and raised in this small community and we still live here. We will raise our child here and let him decide where he will raise his family.

Edwina - Melbourne Beach, Florida

A Rubber Raft

 

Eyes squeezed tightly shut I listen for the laughter as I drift on my rubber raft slowly over the water.  I’m certain if I’m silent and try hard enough I’ll hear it again.  Glimpses of past summer days flash through my mind.  We tied our three rafts together until they bumped over the small waves one after the other. Kyle sat up and dove down under the deep blue surface reappearing near the edge of mine. He tugged at my feet until the raft shook and threatened to tip. Tim came to help him. They laughed and pulled. Splashing them I laughed and shouted “You can’t treat your grandmother this way.”  They splashed back, giggling and kicking their feet behind them.

 A short while before I’d cautioned them not to go out too far into the shallow water in case it fell off quickly underneath, fearful they would drown.  “We can swim,” they’d begged with an elongated “please.”  I held firm.  My mind can’t get past that memory. I should have let them go. Now, they’d never have the chance. I push back the salty tears that threaten to pour forth and mingle with the sea. Tears that stop the thoughts and leave me aching with exhaustion. Today I don’t want to blur what I know is here. I want to listen.  So many tears have fallen here, deep down into the sand where their hidden footsteps still linger three years after the accident that took them so abruptly away. I will not let more fall now. This may be the closest I’ve come to hearing them again. I want to remember today, to feel them here with me. 

The distant sound of laughter floats across the waves.  I’m momentarily startled as my eyes blink open and gaze out towards the horizon. I can almost see them way out looking back, waving and kicking. Too far away to be certain but I know it’s them. I wave back and laugh as a small wave gently tips me splashing into the sea.



Ruby - Cambridge, MN

As a young mother at the age of 28 with three young daughters, I was stricken with polio. The year was 1950. My desire and goal was to get complete use of my legs again and to go home to be a mom. I thought this is not how my life is supposed to be. I had to learn to cope with my disability and still be an acceptable mother and homemaker. And I think I made that goal by being able to have one more child, a son. The first year was a trial with him being sick and almost losing him at 7 months when he had emergency surgery to correct a birth defect of his organs. He came through with flying colors and became our healthiest child. As a young mother I had to learn to do things differently with my disability. Every day was a new challenge but it never stopped me. I learned to do many new things every day. I had to learn to walk with crutches and a brace and then a wheelchair. Now I need to be in a nursing home where I get the help I need, but I've learned new things here too. Like writing poetry, using email, and writing my Lifebio. Things I never expected to do at my age of 86.
I enjoy them all...life begins at 85!

Eyvette - Mesa, Arizona

The best thing in my life was the lesson my grandmother taught me. She was the best grandmother a kid could ever want. She was always there for you and she loved you unconditionally. She always made time for you no matter what she might be doing. The holidays were so special with her around and we always did lots of things together. She made a lot of gifts and clothes for us which made me feel so special. I now have a granddaugther of my own and I pray I can be the same kind of grandmother for my granddaugther.

Rosanne - Brooklyn, NY

  I have learned that family and sharing love and friendship are the most important things in life.  Having lost my parents a part of me has died but I see them in the faces and smiles of my grandchildren.
   When I was young, we had a large extended family who lived within a three block radius.  Now my children live at least an hour away from me.  Life has certainly changed!

Mary - Las Vegas, NV

Hi my name is Mary Smith. I grew up in a nice Queens New York neighborhood called "South Ozone Park."
Fun to us was riding bikes, playing box ball, hand ball, punchball. Anytime we roofed a ball we would all chip in to buy another Spalding. Chalk or white rocks were another favorite to play hop scotch or Skelly/Scully. Being a kid was the best -  playing board games on rainy days, keeping the Monopoly board set up in Robert's garage so when it started to rain we could run in play a few rounds and bike ride again when it stopped.
As an adult, I worked hard taking as much overtime as I could get. I promised to give my family what we couldn't afford as kids. I worked and worked passing up traveling until my son would graduate from college.
But the problem struck when he was a junior in high school, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. I lost my house, could not work, lost my ability to walk well. But on a positive note, I have become a MS Ambassador for MS Society and also co-lead a support group.
What have I learned - "have fun now..tomorrow is way too uncertain..share smiles/fun with family now..bills/money problems will always be there..but family opportunities won't." If I win this I am going to Sea World with my husband and son. I want to pet a dolphin. I always loved Flipper growing up.


Aja - Neptune, Neptune

My life has been relatively simple.
I was a very happy child. I grew up on one of the best blocks, kids everywhere, catching fire flies on warm summer nights and making snowmen in December. I did well in school. I grew up with the best parents a child can ask for. I have a great work ethic and willingly secured my first job at the age of 15. College was a wonderful learning experience and I appreciate the way the image of the world has been 'broken down' to me for reality is always more enticing than fiction.
I grew up with my parents as my best friends, and now more than ever I see that this was the best way to have grown up; as parents usually have a special bond with their children and once that bond is sealed it takes more than great effort to tear it away.
I have a sister and several half siblings but feel connected to none of them. I've always lived by the rule that titles are just that -- titles. Just because I may refer to someone as my sister, brother, cousin or aunt does not mean that these individuals come first or are put on a higher pedestal than anyone else. For to me it takes more than a title to be considered family; it takes true love and genuine caring. Family isn't supposed to regularly display emotions of jealousy, greed, acedia or any of the other deadly sins. My true family consists of those who treat me as they would want others to treat them. These people are my closest friends and dearest allies.
Some feel as if I'm cold, distant and not very interested; in some ways, I guess I can understand why they feel that way. For the most part I am not interested in others. Why should I be? I show interest to those whom deserve it and who are genuinely interested in me. Life has taught me to focus on those who also shine their focus on me. I will not spend my life trying to make others see me in a certain light or feel happy. If they can not see me for the wonderful person that I am, it is on one of two things: 1) they aren't looking hard enough or 2) they haven't shown me any reason as to why I should show them my beautiful side.
Most things in life are earned. And (although many will disagree) I feel as though love is one of them.

Bottom line: Be good to those who are good to you and forget the rest. For life is too short to be wasted on such small minds. Strive to be happy and happiness will be yours.



Suzanne - Acushnet, Ma.

INSPIRATIONAL STORY OF LIFE CHANGING ATTITUDE

My boyfriend and I started our journey together in a tiny, one-bedroom apartment on a very busy street in Holbrook, Mass. The apartment was so close to the Min street you could hear the buses pass by the front window. In the winter, the snow from the snow plows passing by would pound against the outside of the apartment' front wall.

 

I kept our iguana in an aquarium tank in the front window so that he was able to get some sun light. School children passing by on the sidewalk would stop and peek through the window admiring the iguana. So, as for privacy there wasn’t any unless you kept the blinds shut tight, making for a very dark, and gloomy home.

 

After dating for two years our daughter, Serena Grace, was born while we lived there. There was no doubt in our minds we needed a bigger place.

 

One day I had entered a store and picked up a newspaper that I wouldn’t have usually bought. Out



Nancy - Akron, OH

   I was born the oldest of three girls. Our life was an ideal life for kids, we were provided for and we just enjoyed life.  Our family did have some difficult financial times when my dad was laid-off from the factory he worked in, but us kids never really knew the problems.
   After high school I met and married my husband Donnie and have two children. Donnie comes from a close knit family also, so we passed this on to our children.
   We had a pretty average life, the same daily struggles and triumphs as other families. That's until the year I was diagnosed with Acute Mylenosia Luekemia when our lives came crumbling around us. But this was also the time we really did realize the strength and support from the love of our family and friends.
   After this diagnosis, I was to spend close to 300 days in the hospital, and I had a 14 and 12 year-old at home that needed loved and cared for. had to have a bone marrow transplant, which was successful and one of my sisters was a match. My other sister, mother-in-law and father-in-law were there to help get me back-and-forth to all of my out-patient appointments.
   I had to have someone with me around the clock. When my husband would leave for work in the morning, my in-laws were there ready to take over and help me. This lasted longer than any of us expected because I developed a staph infection on my Aorta heart valve and had to have open-heart surgery to replace the valve. During this all my family was there to help me, to try to make sure my kids' lives were as normal as possible. I did not want them to change or quit any of their activities because of my illness. I wanted them to experience life as much as possible.
   I am happy to say I am cancer free today. I still have some medical problems, but I just consider these little daily obstacles to deal with. This was definitely a time in my life that I learned family is the most important thing!


angela - springfield, ohio

I  remember unconditional love from my mother. I was a child of nine. I ended up having 10 kids and my mother was always there for me. I could not of made it without her. She became my confidante, best friend and everything to me and the kids. I lost her a year ago and it is so hard to continue on ..... but I know I have to and I know she's looking down on me and telling me to be strong and continue on for the sake of the kids. I tell people all the time that she is the only person that has ever loved me unconditionally.


Debi - Deltona, FL

I was a child unwanted by my parents, but destined to greatness by God. Though my mom used some medication to try to abort me, it was unsuccessful. God had different plans for me. I grew up with my brother and sister in a very disfunctional home filled with bickering, physical abuse and two drunks for parents. The thing is that I knew beyond the alcholism, beyond the physical abuse, my parents in their own way loved each of us. They could only do the best with what they had. By the time I was in 1st grade, I was firmly convinced that I wanted to be a teacher. I held that dream in my heart for several years. By the time I was in 7th grade, my parents were divorce (still a bit taboo at that time). My mom and I moved from the only place I had ever known as home to the big city of Milwaukee. What a culture shock from the small village we had lived in! What a place of wonder and enchantment! I soon lost my vision and sank into the great abyss of depression. All of my friends were left back in the village I grew up in. By the time I had gotten to the University of Wis. Eau Claire to pursue my dream of becoming a music teacher, I was pretty messed up emotionally. I ended up dropping out of school and tried several times to complete my degree. Finally, after being married and then divorced with two children to care for, I went back to Daytona Beach community college and then Stetson University in sunny Florida. After many trials and "I wnat to give up"s, I finally recieved that much desired degree of an elementary education teacher. God has been good! I have now been in education for over 13 years and though I feel like I have taken a long 1000 mile journey to get to my dream, I made it. I now have completed my dream with God's help. I am living proof that with God all things are possible. My grandfather used to say, "Where there's a will, there's a way. My father used to say,  "If you're going to dream, dream big." My hope is that my life be an inspiration to others to never give up, no matter what you are going through.  

Jillian - Kamloops, British Columbia

According to my mother, I was baptized in an Anglican church in Halifax, Nova Scotia by one of the first woman priests ordained in Canada. That was at eight months old. I'm rather proud of that. My brother was baptized in the bell of the ship my father served on in the Canadian Navy at the time. My first memory was as a baby, believe it or not - wrapped up in a baby blanket and snuggly, being held by my father. I do actually remember it from my point of view, through my own eyes. I felt very safe, happy and loved.

I started school in Halifax too. I took one year of English Kindergarten, then I took French immersion from grades Kindergarten to grade two. When I was seven years old, my whole family packed up and moved across the country so that my father could work in Williams Lake, British Columbia. What a change! We were very fortunate to have good friends already there to help us adjust.

My school years were not pleasant. I got lots of love from my family but peer relationships were awful. I don't know what it was - my Nova Scotian accent, my shyness, my clothes - who knows. It took me a very long time to make some close friends. As time passed and I went into high school. Social interaction became easier, eventually. I found the drama club, choir, and chess club. Not exactly where the popular kids hung out, but at least there were kids there with whom I could relate.

The year before I graduated from high school, my mother and father separated. - that was hard. I didn't understand at first but I think my father's alcoholism was the root of the problem. He was not abusive in any way to anyone other than himself. I think my mother found that hard to take, so he moved out. He stayed in town though, so he was there when I graduated. 

After that, my mother, brother and I decided to move to Kamloops, where my mom had a new job waiting, I would attend university, and my brother would finish high school. My father moved to Ontario to care for my grandmother. Kamloops was where my new life began, and where I began to blossom.


Michael - Indianapolis, IN

Ten years ago, I thought I was too old for a lot of things: a family, a home, a graduate degree, a new career. Now I’m working on all of them. I got laid off in March 2009 after 17 years in a career I’d stopped enjoying four years before. It was just too hard to leave, because the money was good. The lay-off was a good wake-up call for me. As a result, I decided to go back to graduate school and study something I’d loved for more than 40 years: libraries.

I guess I’m glad this happened to me at 47; there were a lot of people laid off at my company who were in their 60s, who can't afford to retire because of the way the stock market had fallen and their retirement plans were reduced. I figure I’ll be starting in my new career at 50, and I’ll probably be in debt again until it’s almost time to retire. But I’m back on the road to living instead of just existing, and I’m regaining interest in some of the many things I used to enjoy before I got my last job. Instead of something to endure while hoping I could sock away a lot of money, I’m looking at this as a time in which I’ll probably never be able to retire well, but at least I’ll retire happy.

Don’t get me wrong: being laid off was scary, and I’m nervous about Social Security that may not be there when I’m ready to retire. I may end up dying “in the saddle” – working until someone calls in my death. But I really needed to move on. I’m a lot happier now, and I’m especially happy that something scary and unwelcome has already started becoming something I’m glad about. I wish I could say the same for everyone who gets laid off, but I know I’m one of the lucky ones.

Oh, and the home and family? Well, since I started getting my sanity back after losing my job, my relationships have all improved. I hope to convince my girlfriend to marry me, particularly since she stuck with me through some really tough times. And we're working on improving our house to make it more of a home instead of a place to just come home to at the end of the day.

Did I mention I'm a lucky guy?



Phyllis - Largo, FL

I think about 2 great sons that were in our family and how losing them at such young ages has strengthened our family.  Last September our grandson just 25 years of age was found murdered on Clearwater Beach.  Who or why we will probably never know.  It is just another unsolved crime in the books of the Clearwater Police Department but to all 14 of us it will be an open case in our hearts forever.   Ironically our son was also 25 at the time of his murder in Pinellas Park 20 years ago.  There was a witness waiting for a bus just a short distance away who called the police and the man who killed him was caught, tried and convicted.  Knowing or not knowing who or why does not make a difference in our grief.   To all families with such tragic losses I can only say it is very difficult to get back to a normal life but in time it can be done.  One never gets over the loss, but learns to live with it and go on.  I say the losses have strengthened our family because we have the common bond now of knowing the love that was there for these two men making us aware of the love that exists between all of us as a family and how we can all help each other in times of great sorrow and in times of great joy.

laura - Salmo, british columbia

I lived further than anyone else in the rural neighborhood. I had  to walk home the last of the way by myself. My imagination was quite active after a night of horror movies at the local movie theatre, so I would be jumping over dead bodies in the shortcut through the field. One of the best times of my life was when I was swimming in Temiskaming Lake. We would bring peanut butter and jam sandwiches and spend from early morning til early evening there.
Some of the things we used to do were jump off the barn in winter, go skiing or sledding down the road to Temiskaming Lake, play we were chickens in the coop - we would sit on the roosts and cluck like chickens,steal corn and then have a roast, eat directly out of the rasberry patch and vegetable garden.

Ann - Porter, Indiana

    I grew up as the oldest daughter of a single mother. I may not have had all the material goods offered by this world, but I was rich many times over in love and support from my family. I was unusually close to my maternal grandparents, aunts, uncles, and first cousins. Every Sunday after church during my childhood we would meet at my grandparents house for lunch.
     The adults and older kids would all sit around a huge dining room table that seated 10 to 12 persons. The little kids would eat at card tables set off in the living room.  One of my best memories was the first time I was "old enough" to eat at the adult's table. With all the love and support from my extended family I was able to graduate from college with a bachelors degree in nursing.

Donna - Pittsburgh, PA

It was a proud moment in 1972 being accepted into the Gettysburg Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. As my great-grandmother was a Regent of a Pittsburgh chapter in the 1900s and my grandfather a founder of the Valley Forge Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, this was a lot of history to carry-on. I felt patriotic and proud to honor my Revolutionary ancestors who risked their lives to bring us our freedom.
A wall in my living room was devoted to SAR, DAR and my father's CAR (Children of the American Revolution) certificates.
Years after returning to Pittsburgh, I started looking into my mother's ancestry. In the 1950s someone had researched the Gillmore line and produced The Gillmore Saga. The Rev. Gillmore was born in Ireland and came to America in 1769 to be a minister and raise his family.
When the American Revolution broke out the Rev. Gillmore was ministering in Connecticut and was identified as a staunch Loyalist. His loyalty to England cost him his position in the community, his home and life as he and his family had come to know. The Rev. Gillmore eventually ended up in Grand Pre' Nova Scotia where he helped to build a church which was completed in 1811 and is still standing and owned by the Loyalist. My sister and I visited that church, stood on the pulpit and read from the Rev. Gillmore's Bible. The experience was emotionally moving. Now on the wall opposite the American Revolution certificates is a large picture of the Church of the Loyalist in Nova Scotia. I am without a doubt very proud to be an American and proud of my American Revolutionary roots. I'm also proud to be a descendant of the Rev. Gillmore, the Loyalist. I feel much empathy for the suffering each of my ancestors endured in being true to what they believed.

Kelly - Spokane, WA

I have always know I was special because I wasn't born from my parents but instead born in their hearts. I am adopted but I have never been treated any different from any other cousins or any other family member because of that. My mom and dad wanted to have a family and after my mom had four pregnancies end with no babies the doctor told her no more. So mom and dad decided to adopt my brother, Pat, and me. 
Pat found out about 15 years ago that his birth family was looking for him.  He has a full-blood brother. His mom and dad did marry after high school. By the time his birth mother contacted him, his birth father had been killed in an accident.
My birth mother had three children that included me. She kept one that is 12 years older than me but put the one six years older than me up for adoption also.  She at one time thought she would marry my birth father but he left for the Corp of Engineers to Korea before she found out she was pregnant.  She was still married at the time to another man who was my punitive father. I even have a picture of her.




DORA - HOLDEN, LOUISIANA

I live in a small community where everyone know everybody. I have lived here for 18 years.
I enjoy reading and spending time with my grandchildren.

kay - Richlandtown, PA

I have been researching my geneology back to the 1600s, my husband's as well.  It is fun finding out how far back I can go.  My parents were (father) an artist, (mother) a dog trainer since she was a child. I still have a lot of people I can't trace, but am still trying.


Janelle - Denver, Colorado

Think about people, times and places you have experienced?  I have so many, but they are in different stages in my life. The earliest that I can remember was probably when I was in elementary school. I was in the first grade and the principal at our school was Dr. Newberry. I remember me and my best friend Erica were playing on the monkey bars. She knew how to flip off the bars and I asked her to show me how to do that. I picked up real fast how to flip off. Well, the recess bell had rang and I had a panic attack and couldn't move. There I was stuck on top of the monkey bars. The only thing I kept saying was "Go get the doctor". Of course, he came and got me down and took me to the office to clean my face were I had been crying. Afterwards he took my hand and walked me to class. On the way he said, "Never be scaried of anything or anybody but God." I never understood that untill I got older in life.
 I have so many stories..... I remember when I was 10 years old, me and my uncle (who is younger than me) we used to give our neighbors the blues. They were the only one in the neighborhood that was unfriendly to all the kids in the neighborhood. Every year they would have their traditional summer party with their stuffy friends. Me, my uncle and his friends would try to out do ourselves from previous years. It was the summer of 82 and we been planning this elaborate plan. Our neighbors would have people come decorate their backyard with whatever theme the Misses came up with. That year it was an Hawaiian theme. This backyard was huge and had many trees that we could hide behind. We stayed up all night long and climbed the fence and put water balloons and the year long stash of firecrackers we had saved from previous years and the new ones we acquired. They always started at 6:30 p.m. sharp. So, we went in effect at 7:45 p.m.
We climbed the fence and used our walkie talkies. So, when the band was playing and when the moment was right we went into action. We each had our tree we hid behind. We lit the roman candles and firecrackers and threw water balloons. After it was said-and-done, we laughed but our parents didn't think it was funny. Our neighbors called our parents and we got a butt beaten. I was sad when they died that next summer in a car crash.

Mary - Telford, PA

One of earliest memories is walking home from kindergarten and seeing an ambulance in front of the apartment building we lived in.  Men were carrying my mom down the stairs on a stretcher.  While this may be a tragic memory it is an opening line to a life filled with strength building blocks.  Mom had epilepsy.  Name the stage and she experienced it.  Dad was handicapped by a leg 6 inches shorter than the other.  Despite their problems, they had five children - three girls and two boys.  I was the oldest.  Perhaps because of the pecking order of birth, I remember the majority of sad or frightening things while by brother (second child) remembers funny and light-hearted moments.  Once when I was about 6 or 7, mom was very sick and I apparently felt it was my duty to feed my brothers and sisters.  At this time we lived in an old house that was later condemmed.  It had fruit trees and grape vines.  I picked a pot of grapes and tried to cook them.  It didn't work out to well.  The condition of this house was deplorable!  It was the first house my folks owned and it was the best place in the world to all of us kids.  We had ground to run on and trees to climb.

One day my Dad found a note from my Mom.  Whatever it said he told my brother to run one way and me the other to find my mom.  At the end of the block I looked down the hill and walking up the hill away from me was a lady who looked like my mom but I didn't think she could have gotten so far away.  Mom was very sick and she knew she had to go to a hospital.  She spent the next 10 years in a state hospital and we were placed in an orphanage.   Life either breaks you or makes you stronger.  I think I'm stronger.

Kate - Inverness, MS

I grew up in the country outside a very small town. We enjoyed farming and riding our horses. We lost our mother very young. My dad remarried  after about a year and added to our family stepbrothers and a new baby brother. We lost our dad about 4 years ago. We remain a very close family. I think a family bond has been an important impact throughout my life. I have been married for 27 years to the love of my life and we have 3 beautiful grown daughters and 1 grandson with another grandchild on the way. My life has been more than wonderful.  

Ann - Lebanon, PA

Many years ago, when our middle child was only 3 years old, we were vacationing at the beach in Delaware.  The waves seemed gentle but, unknown to me, the undertow was violent.  I held my son in my arms as we enjoyed the ocean water and suddenly he was swept out of my arms.  I was unable to find him and fervently asked the Lord to show me where our son was.  As I looked on shore my husband was holding our son and said " a woman brought him to me".  We never saw any woman of my husband's description and to this day, we are convinced our son was saved by an angel.  That day and that memory is forever etched in my mind and I will be forever grateful that we still have our son who is now 38 years old.

Denice - Henrico, Virginia

In my youth, pearls of wisdom were not always just handed to me kindly. Still, there was no reason to refuse them. My grandfather spoke with a strong voice and a quiet heart to me. The things he has taught me, I have carried with me through life and in my adventures all over the world. As I grew "older", not just physically, I realized what he meant when he said these things... "You can say anything you want to anyone you want! It's all about how you say it."   "Never, let anyone tell you what you can and can't do or will or will not become. You can do and become anything you want to, you just have to have the intestinal fortitude to earn it."  And the most impactful words of comfort I ever heard were, "When we die, you shouldn't fear or cry for us Denice. We pass on to a place of light to feel no more pain. Life is the temporary journey that you just have to travel and in the end we will be waiting for you at the beginnig." I learned that the hardest part, for me, is having the patience to wait. My time in the military has given me some insight to life and to other peoples customs, beliefs and cultures. These experiences have forced me into a new understanding of the world and that there is more than just the sunset on the horizon. We can be here all day, you reading and me writing about all of the marvelous things I saw and did. If I can "bend your eyes", so to speak, for a little longer I can tell you that "The toes you step on today, could be attached to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow". This made me learn to think about what to say or do before I spoke or did anything. I became enlightened about judgeing people and their ways of life, for this may be all they ever learned and knew for generations. I also learned to search myself and reckon with how I could refine my thinking, my ways and even my sins. I have accepted the fact I may not make it to heaven or be forgiven for this life I have lived so far. To achieve this feat one must ask for total forgiveness and maintain the strength in their own self convictions.

Walli - Tallahassee, FL

                                      POP CULTURE 40'S & 50'S STYLE

 

In my memory there was no such term as “Pop Culture” used during the mid-20th century.  Whatever was popular was simply popular and since we knew  that popularity was a fleeting condition, very little attention was paid to its iconic stature. 

 

Favorite radio shows certainly had large followings and certain family activities were structured so that everyone was free to hear “Jack Benny” or “The Hit Parade” for us or “Amos & Andy” and possibly “Dark Shadow” for others.  My own personal favorites were “The Goldbergs” and “Father Knows Best”.  Gabriel Heatter brought my family the news.

 

 The advent of television introduced us to Dinah Shore, as well as Elvis. who blew away our parent’s favorite singer, Bing Crosby.  Whatever Ed Sullivan brought us by way of entertainment on his weekly variety show usually created conversation.

 

Before and after television a major source of entertainment were the movies.  I grew up with crushes on Van Johnson, Alan Ladd, and Clark Gable.  On any given day I was sure that one of these heart throbs would swoop into my hometown in Alabama and take my grown up vision of myself away with him.  My adult fantasy life has certainly been a dull version of the fantasy offerings of my early teen years!

 

Before turning to the canned offerings of radio, movies and television, however, my youthful years were bound up in games of “Pretend”.  Best friend, Patty, and I were masters of make-believe and paper dolls allowed us endless scenarios for pretend adult life.  One entire summer was passed serving make-believe food to imaginary customers of our café, “Dew Drop In.”  A bench dragged outdoors served as counter, flower petals as food, and chipped saucers became serviceable dishes.  When we tired of being waitresses and cooks, we turned to playing “Jacks” or “Hopscotch”

 

School yard games we loved were “Pop The Whip”, “Red Rover” and “Kick the Can”.

The boy



Kristine - Wharton, Wharton

      The best day of my life was my wedding day! I felt that it was a brand new day to start the rest of my life.  When I awoke in the morning, it was a beautiful, sunny day.  I ate a leisurely breakfast with my parents savoring the moment, as I realized it would be my last meal with them as a single person.
       When I went upstairs to put on my wedding gown, I truly felt like a princess.  I was very calm, because I realized no matter what happened or how I looked or how the day went, I would be marrying the man who I secretly believed was "Mr. Wonderful"!  My mom and my sister kept running around, doing stuff (I still to this day, do not know what they were doing), but they were not calm.
     The bridesmaid arrived and looked beautiful, my sister was the Matron of Honor and looked beautiful too.  My father escorted me down the aisle, with the long train of my dress trailing behind.  My dad was extremely elegant and when I kissed him goodbye, we both said "I love you" at the same time.
     My mother looked like a queen in her silver lace dress. She did shed a few tears but I think they were from happiness.
     My soon-to-be husband was standing at the altar looking like a prince.  It sounds really corny, but he really did only have eyes for me!  It still is amazing to me, how two people can be so in love that they feel they are the only two people in the world.  They realize life is going on around them, but it's almost as if you are sharing a bubble with the person you love.  The vows were exchanged and everything went smoothly!  The reception was the best one I was ever at. The dancing was fun and the food was great and all the people were wonderful.  It was a great party.  And I will say that the action has never stopped after that day, some good and some bad but never a dull moment!  I had another three "best days" of my life following my wedding, which were the births of my children, but that is another story.  THE END.











Andrea - East Aurora, NY

One of the best times in my life was finding out I was pregnant with my first son. It was a tough pregnancy. I thought I was going to miscarry early on, and then he decided to come a month early. He was only 5 lbs. 9 ozs. I had a C-section. The minute they pulled him from my belly and I saw him for the first time I just started to cry. I couldn't help it. Every moment since he was born has been an experience, he is almost 2 1/2 now and has a 10-month-old baby brother. Every time he learns something new I get so excited because I know it was because of me.

Gerrie - Countryside, IL

Having had three failed marriages led me to my rock.Yes, I am in the best marriage of my life for nearly 25 years.  This marriage thing taught me to not give up on men, nor myself.  Both of my parents died before I was 40.  This taught me compassion for my friends with ailing parents. Then when my beautiful daughter was killed, in a botched female surgery for endrometryosis at the tender age of 22, I truly learned the meaning of friends and family.  I am still standing. 

A - Jackson, MS

My life could be described as a soap opera.  Though I sometimes wished it had been more like a fairy tale.  I grew up being both sister and mother to three other girls, including the oldest who was brain-damaged.  Anything good and decent that my sisters learned came from me.  Our father worked very hard to support us as the supervisor/manager in charge of all the substations in Mississippi through MS Power & Light/Entergy.  Our mother, however, did not.  She had an affair with our neighbor from across the street while his wife had an affair with a neighbor who lived up the road.  And his wife was mentally ill with dementia, etc.  I grew up being psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually abused for more than three decades.  Thank goodness I was kicked out of the house (never a home). I grew up on my birthday in 2004.  I had had to live in homeless shelters off and on until March 2008 when I rented a house with two great roommates.  I had been jobless for more than 14 months until I became a staffer at an agency that provides medical personnel on a temporary basis for medical facilities and private sitting.  I have been working at my job for almost 2 years now, and it's a mile from where I live.  I severed all ties with my birth family this past September, and I am so glad I did.  I wished them all well and decided to go my separate way.  They had considered me the black sheep of the family because I had the utter gall to follow my own lifepath instead of any of theirs.  The people I work with are wonderful and have been like a substitute family.  I had also found a group of people who I meet with every week to pray, meditate, and do creative visualization. They have been a family to me as well.  I have had so many prayers answered.  My next major prayer is to go on my very first real, honest-to-goodness vacation.  I have travelled, but it never felt like a vacation where one could relax, refresh, recharge, and have good, old-fashioned fun (kind you have zero regrets about).  My first vacation -- Walt Disney World in Florida.  Ahhh!  Along with my first vacation is to have my own home-based business which coincides with having my own home.  I'm trying to be as positive, optimistic, and patient as I can so these latest prayers are answered as soon as possible. What I have gone through has indeed made me a very strong person, who claims herself as a smarty-britches and a silly goose. Honk honk.  The end.

Carmella - Gore, Oklahoma

As a child and teen, I was fearless.  Perhaps it was the time in which I grew up or my mother's way of letting me explore my surroundings with no boundaries.  After graduating high school, I ventured off to college without a particular plan of study in mind.  While in college, I fell in love with such a variety of subjects it caused me to change my major several times.  After two and a half years and still not knowing what I wanted to do when I "grew up," I chose to enlist in the US Air Force to travel and see the world.  After finishing basic training and my technical training as a computer maintenance technician, I eagerly awaited my permanent duty assignment.  I had signed up for exotic overseas locations and knew I was heading somewhere spectacular!  Then, my assignment came.  Before being told my location, I was informed that I was going to be so excited.  My thoughts...Hawaii!!!  Then came the location.  Oklahoma.  I was coming home.  So much for traveling and seeing the world.  On the bright side, I wasn't going to be far from the family I loved so much.  After several years, at the age of 33, I finally knew what I wanted to be now that I was grown up.  A teacher.  I love my profession and am blessed to have inherited my mother's sense of humor and adventure.  A must in a high school environment!

Sue - Brandon, Florida

Currently my BIGGEST hobbie is scrapbooking. I have been doing this now for about 6 years but have only put together a complete album for my son's high school graduation in 2007. I am almost done with my daughter's album. She just graduated high school. I find this a great hobby because it brings me back down memory lane. I am also preserving the memories of my life, my parents' life and the lives of my children for generations to come.  There is nothing like looking at a picture of someone that looks just like you or a sibling but you don't know who it is and whether or not they are truly related to you. I guess you could say that I started this hobby back in 1989 when I moved to Germany while on active duty in the Air Force. I wanted to trace my American Indian heritage and ended up finding my father's cousin's in California, for which they had been doing the same thing.  Not only has this taught me my family history but it has made me feel that I belong so what better way to express my family history and heritage than through the pictures I take of my children and family and document their stories so others will get to know them better as well?

susanne - whitehouse, texas

My name is Susanne Trahan Miller Arey, and yes Trahan is my maiden name. Miller is my first marrage that was one that I should have listened to my parents. The only good things that came out of that were my two sons. The divorce was not as bad as it could have been, we just got married to soon and we should have grown up before we tried to grow a marrage. We were married in 1994 and were divorced in 2000.  I have had both of my kids since day one, but now one of my boys is 13 and he chose to go live with his dad  and I did not want to let him go but I did not want him to think that I was trying to keep him from his dad . That was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do in my life. I cried for days and miss him deeply every day. Still i see him every other weekend and  that is still not enough for me but now I know how my ex must have felt when I took both of them in the divorce. And on top of that, my younger son says that when he turns 13 he is going to live with his dad. I do not think that I can handle that.. My new husband and I have been together since 2001 and just got married in July 2008. He has had custody of this 13-year-old son since he was 1. We made it through - the two family into one thing took a lot of hard work and time, but we did it. My step son  and my two sons play good together, sometimes, but just like brothers they have their issues - didn't we all. The  family has been through a lot in the time that we have been together. My husband lost his job along with 450 other people but we made it through that even if the factory jobs are hard to come by because the goverment is just letting them move overseas. We both have good jobs now and we are making it just fine but it is never the same without one of your babies. My husband and I want a baby girl cuz we have three boys but where would we put a baby? We have a three-bedroom house and want to make another bedroom but we have to build a storage building for the thing first and all that takes so much money and our family lives paycheck to paycheck. So that will have to wait but I am 34 and I do not think that it is safe to have a child after 35 - too many things can go wrong. I just do not know what to do any more. I just live day to day and hope that I can win the lottery but that's not going to happen so I will keep working and trying to be the best mom-wife-stepmom that I can be. Thanks for letting me share  part of my life with y'all .

linda - gulfport, ms

As a child I am from a large family of 8 kids. Now as an adult I have two children and 1 grandchild. I have been a single parent for the last seven years and am a survivor of Hurricane Katrina. In the last two years I have undergone back surgery, knee surgery, carpal tunnel surgery and last year, 2008, I was diagonosed with a brain aneurysm which I have now had taken care of with surgery, a Titanium clip was put on it so that it can't grow or rupture therefore I am truly blessed with life. I coached community league basketball for 17 years - was team mom in baseball and football and am now on the booster club for my 16 year-old son's cheerleading squad. Iam unable to work due to all of my prior illnesses, so I live on disability with no child support help from my kid's father but after Hurricane Katrina I truly learned what family meant. I have seven siblings and 21 nieces and nephews and after the hurricane we had 27 people staying at one house for more than four months because they had lost everything in the hurricane. It drew my family so close and taught me that without family there isn't much left. We bonded and pitched in on everything. Now I help take care of nieces and nephews, getting them to doctor appointments and sporting events because their parents' work and I have the time in-between doing fund raisers for cheerleading and babysitting when they need me to.

Ann - Worcester, MA

My name is Rosemary. I am a mother of four children. So I have Michael, 32, Heather, 30, George Jr., 29 and Crystal, 28. I, in my life, have overcome true adversities and always wanted to tell my story. I grew up in rural Maine and late moved to the city as a child. Mom was involved with a few men and got marrried. I remember her drinking etc. men she lived with, partying with family and moving around a lot. As I got, I think 3, my mom got involved with Tommy whom later married my mom when I was a pre-teen. This is another time. See I have memories of being molested when i was small by a few teens. We lived in the slums. Mom as I said drank a lot.   Then some time, I don't remember when my stepdad started molesting me. He would later deny it and I wasn't believed. At 15 I was rebeling. I can remember being on streets and looking for a place to live. Finally went to a program for promiscuous girls who pregnant. I had a son and eventually gave my son to mom. Couldn't do it. I was wild and young. At 18 I met a man 8 1/2 years older than me. He was an alcoholic and abusive. My step dad  was like him. I was involved with Chico for a yearr or so, got pregnant this time. Before pregnant, I eventually got a place to live on my own after being treated like crap again. I met a young man whom i later married, moved in together at 19 years old. On wedding night I should have ran for the hills -  drinking, fighting, gave his sister a black eye, didn't spend our wedding night together. Later I had two more kids. All the time I was married I and kids were abused my husband's drinking. Finally finding out he was a pedofile, reeling from that I left him, got divorced, put him in prison, had many family crisis, dated again, partied like my mom ended up trusting a teacher teacher. He was wonderful. I thought had credentials, worked in court system with kids, attended my church. Eehh, wrong. He conned me - took custody cause of my son,I thought  was acting up couldn't  control George - he  ended up molesting son. Not enough room to tell details.This is just an outline, a tease/ Ended up meeting but still the drama goes on. There are many, many lasting effects to this whole visious circle. My children are still having some problems or had to over come. 

Carol - Ahousat, British Columbia

My name is Carol R. John-Mattersdorfer. I am origanlly from Ahousat First Nation Reservation. I am a proud daughter for Chester and Shirley John. I am the third oldest amongst seven children. I have lost a brother thorough alcohol poisoning.
My story here is about my family and the loss of their father/dad and my late husband.
I have just recently lost my husband  on April 17, 2009. This was through alcohol poisoning. I am wanting to share this story with all readers. I was the person that found my late-husband. My late-husband and I were separated at the time. So during this raw stage of having the loss. I had a lot on my plate. In regards to the people that loved and cared for my late-husband. However, in their grieving it was as though their anger and grief had affected me tremondously. I know that they were aware of our separation. The individuals, both knew my late-husband's story but they didn't know my side of the story (not that it is any of their business). I am now struggling with the fact that they are labeling my character - that it was my fault. Nevertheless, I have confronted the individuals. In the meantime, I am having a hard time letting my five blessed children that we had together. That he was my husband and I married him for better or worse/sickness through health or death do us part.
I had discovered my late-husband on the couch around 9:40 a.m. Friday, April 17, 2009. The early morning was like 1:50 a.m. when I had heard some commotion. My husband and I were separated at the time like I stated but this never stopped me from still being his friend. I was with my husband for a period of 26 years. Throughout this marriage, it wasn't a bed of roses. There were thorns found somewhere around our lives together. Needless to say that we grew together and we were blessed with five beautiful children. Samantha Shirley Marie Mattersdorfer, 23 years old; Nicholas Jonathan Brooke Thomas Mattersdorfer age 21; Frederick John Mattersdorfer age 18 years old; Jessica Fanny Mattersdorfer age 14; and our baby girl, Ashley Brittany Dawn Mattersdorfer age 9 years.
With all this I have captured my thoughts with positiveness and clearity. With the help of the Lord's Prayer, I've learnt that he is in a beautiful place and is happier, through messages in dreams and signs. I am blessed to know that so I am going to make my family beautiful and happy to today for the future tomorrow. I am okay.

susanne - whitehouse, texas

My name is Susanne Trahan Miller Arey, and yes Trahan is my maiden name. Miller is my first marrage that was one that I should have listened to my parents. The only good things that came out of that were my two sons. The divorce was not as bad as it could have been, we just got married to soon and we should have grown up before we tried to grow a marrage. We were married in 1994 and were divorced in 2000.  I have had both of my kids since day one, but now one of my boys is 13 and he chose to go live with his dad  and I did not want to let him go but I did not want him to think that I was trying to keep him from his dad . That was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do in my life. I cried for days and miss him deeply every day. Still i see him every other weekend and  that is still not enough for me but now I know how my ex must have felt when I took both of them in the divorce. And on top of that, my younger son says that when he turns 13 he is going to live with his dad. I do not think that I can handle that.. My new husband and I have been together since 2001 and just got married in July 2008. He has had custody of this 13-year-old son since he was 1. We made it through - the two family into one thing took a lot of hard work and time, but we did it. My step son  and my two sons play good together, sometimes, but just like brothers they have their issues - didn't we all. The  family has been through a lot in the time that we have been together. My husband lost his job along with 450 other people but we made it through that even if the factory jobs are hard to come by because the goverment is just letting them move overseas. We both have good jobs now and we are making it just fine but it is never the same without one of your babies. My husband and I want a baby girl cuz we have three boys but where would we put a baby? We have a three-bedroom house and want to make another bedroom but we have to build a storage building for the thing first and all that takes so much money and our family lives paycheck to paycheck. So that will have to wait but I am 34 and I do not think that it is safe to have a child after 35 - too many things can go wrong. I just do not know what to do any more. I just live day to day and hope that I can win the lottery but that's not going to happen so I will keep working and trying to be the best mom-wife-stepmom that I can be. Thanks for letting me share  part of my life with y'all .

Evelyn - Ajax, ON, Ajax, Ontario

I was born on a farm in rural Saskatchewan, the tenth child of 12. Some of my fondest childhood memories are going to our one-room school's Christmas concerts by horse and sleigh.The excitement of performing on stage and the anticipation of Santa's arrival was almost more than my little heart could hold!  Another joy was seeing the brilliant yellow and hearing the unmistakable song of the Western Meadowlark.
To this day I still remember the flash of blue on seeing my first and only Blue Bird on my way to grandma's house.
Yes, these were simple but pure joys. We had no radio or television so we spent  most of our time out doors. Because there were no street lights to spoil our view we were able to see and identify many stars and planets. Being raised during the Great Depression of the 1930s, money was scarce. A 5-cent ice-cream cone once a month was a supreme treat!
My mother was creatively frugal, sewing warm mittens out of the good parts of Dad's old wool coat. I wore a lot of hand-me-downs so a new dress from an aunt was something to celebrate.
I took grades one through 10 at a one-room school then went to the city for grades 11 and 12, then onto Teachers' College and University. I now live in Ontario, although I am 78 years old I still tutor learning disabled children.

Teri - Larkspur, CO

A mother teaches her children for years. I am a mother. I taught my children so many things that other mothers teach their children. Then in just a few short months, my daughter taught me a lesson I shall never forget. She taught me about strength and courage and faith. Stephanie was 19 and married for 3 months when she and her husband were in a tragic car accident on their way home for Thanksgiving. She escaped with minor injuries, but Steve's body was traumatized, and he had a traumatic brain injury. He would endure surgeries and lay in a coma for the next 3 weeks. Doctors told us he may never be more than a 2 year old, he may never tie his shoes, and if we are really lucky, he may learn how to feed himself within a year. Stephanie would not accept this, and while we all prayed and cried and hoped, she never gave up or in. Steve came out of his coma, and the strength that the two of them had was amazing, especially for their young ages. Steve would defy all odds and all of the doctors' words. He went into intense therapies, and within a few short months he was well beyond what anyone (except Stephanie) had hoped for. Stephanie knew he would be fine one day. Well, today, 5 years later, Steve has just completed his first 2 years of law school. He is a wonderful father and loving husband. Stephanie never accepted that Steve would not make it. Even after having to be revived twice. She never believed that things would not one day be ok. And today, their lives are amazing. My daughter taught ME how to believe and have faith.
This is a lesson that will stay with me forever!


nicole - new iberia, louisiana

As a child growing up in a single family home, I dreamed of a better life for me and a family.  When I met my husband, I knew I could begin that life.  My husband and I are missionaries in the country of Haiti and we have 3 beautiful children.  Our lives are so beneficial as we help some of the poorest people in the world.  I can't imagine a better life.

Stephanie - Fruitport, Michigan

When I was a child my Dad lived and worked in Alaska, we would visit durring the summers.  We would rent motor homes and travel.  We panned for gold in a K-Mart parking lot, walked on a glacier, lived in a mobile home and Unlce Gary bought us a room full of toys. 
One of the best times in my life was when I married my husband Chris.  We married at the Justice of the Peace in Rockford Michigan, then we got take out chineese and went to my sister Andera's and celebrated with some family.  Another "best time" was when he came home safely form a tour in Iraq.  We had only been married for two weeks when he left so I was excited to see him again.
He has just left again for another over seas deployment to Saudi Arabia, I won't see him for at least six months.  Hopefully he will come home to a pregnant wife.
A s a chils I lived in the country. I played with my cousins and we would biuld tree houses, play in the sprinklers and ride our bikes for hours.  Sometimes we were able to go with Grandma and Grandpa Irwin to a Happy Wanderers ralley where we would play with kids, have corn roasts and listen to music and bond with our grandparents.
I love to preserve memories in scrapbooks and to read.  I have recently learned that I live to garden and that I am pretty good at it.
I have learned that I am very good at work. I give a 110% everyday and that I love being around children.
The Special people in mu family have taught me to love myself for who I am, That my happiness is dependant on me alone and that love does indeed couquer all.
The most important lesson of my life to date is that no matter how hard it is to say good-bye to the ones we love, it is better to say good-bye for a while than to say good-bye forever.  Having everyone safe and happy is more important than having money.

Kris - Greendale, wi

I grew up before cell phones, computers, color tv's and dvd's and cd's.  I still remember the first tv we ever
owned, I was about 8 yrs old and it was small and had a round picture tube and all the relatives would come
over and we would watch the Milton Berle show.  Saturday mornings my sis and I watched Roy Rogers and
Mighty Mouse.  We thought it was a miracle!

I grew up in a German neighborhood in Milwaukee , WI where you knew everyone and everything you had
to do was in walking distance, including school and church.  When we were sent to the Butcher shop for
meat he would always give us a hot dog to eat on the way home.

The best times I recall  were before all responsibility, driving up north to see my cousins in Wausau.
Staying at a cottage every summer with relatives staying nearby in other cottages.  Loved swimming and
was in the water more than out during those vacations.

I used to collect seashells, had some big abalone shells that were beautiful.  Remember having sand
dollars and petrified seahorses.  Used to hold the big shells up to my ear to hear the ocean.  They were
so pretty.  I also remember taking them to school to show everyone.

I was always taught to work hard, no excuse for being dirty and be honest..  That held me in good stead
over the years I worked, starting when I was 16 earning 85 cents an hour to my last full time job before retirement.
Believe it or not, was always taught to save part of my earnings and pay cash, made it hard to get my first
charge card cause I never had credit.

My dad taught me to respect others and that you could always find good in people.  He was a hard working
man who took care of his family, including his mom in law.  He had a strong faith in God and goodness,
and he lived being kind to everyone he met.  If I could be half that kind, I would be blessed.

Carmen - Miami, Florida

I have learned from work, to get good experience and do excellent work.

angela - windsor, ontario

The special person in my family who has taught me a great deal is my son. He was born premature and has cerebral palsy and one of the strongest people I know he lets nothing get in his way and sets no limitations on what he can do. As a teenager I was always so worried about what others thought and if I would fit in, and to think my son a teenager himself could teach his mother about being yourself not living for others and enjoying life with what ever it gives you. I love him dearly and thank him daily for all he has taught me.

REBECCA - GARY, INDIANA

I've had a rough life and I hope that it improves.

QP3765@HUGHES.NET - bowdon, ga

We were a large family so there was always something to do. I always loved going to school. Then I met Quinon and I let him talk me into marrying.


barbara - , ny

The best time of my life was my niece and nephews being born. My neighborhood as a child had alot of kids and we rode bikes and played all together. My hobby is pictures ceramics. Work stinks but pays the bills.  I have been taught how to love and care for family and friends.

Monica - Youngstown, Ohio

One of the best times in my life was the birth of my daughter. As a child, I liked to climb the wall with my friends. I love to do crafts. The special people in my life have taught me that no matter what I experience I'm bigger than the issue.

Jean - West Palm Beach, Florida

I think I'll start with one of the best times of my life.To quote Brian Adams, the summer of 69 was the best time of my life. It was a whole different world then, love and peace everywhere while the TV showed the raging war in Vietnam. I was a 14 year old Jersey girl who loved music, my boyfriend, family and just about everyone. Some might of called me a hippie. Well, as the story goes, my boyfriend's family was going camping in New York State and asked my parents if I could go. After all, my boyfriend and I had separate tents. There really wasn't all that free love they talked about, not for us anyway. My boyfriend just got his driving license and was sharing the driving with his father. I guess it took about three hours to get to our campsite. We set up camp and walked all around to check out the place. When we returned we was listening to the radio when they announced this weekend concert called Woodstock. As I recall, it was not well known when it all started it just kept growing.There was only a handful of famous bands that were going to be there. Well, my boyfriend and I decided to take the family car and try to find Woodstock. From our campsite, we took these country back roads following these cardboard signs on fenceposts that said Woodstock this way. With every mile we went, there were more and more people all over the place. They were setting up tents everywhere even on highways. They were cooking, dancing and just having a great time. That's when my boyfriend and I knew this was going to be something big, but we never realized how big it would become. Eventually we couldn't go any further with the car so like everyone else we just parked it . As we started to walk, there were hippies everywhere. Everyone was so friendly offering food,supplies,and anything you might need on the way to Woodstock. We where probably about a mile away tired but amazed at the whole thing realizing we were gone for hours and already in trouble with Tom's parents. Then we find out that you needed a ticket for this concert and no way of getting one. So Tom and I decided to head back to the campground. If we knew how big this really became would we have stayed? After all his parents would have never found us, or been able to send the police after us. Would it have been worth the punishment,I think so. As Tom and I walked away with distant music in the air we were trying to figure out what band was playing. When we got back we heard on the radio it was now a free concert

Angela - Topeka, KS

About a year after my husband and I began dating, we decided to take our family camping. Since we had six children ranging in ages from 6 to 14, I was not sure how it would work out. The 14 year old opted not to go camping, but agreed to join us for boating activities. We borrowed a tent from a friend, purchased sleeping bags for everyone and bought each of the children a small tent. We bought skis, inflatable rafts w/ oars, and rented a boat. We also rented a UHaul trailer to pack all the great things camping requires, including bicycles for everyone. Once we found the perfect site, we unloaded the trailer and set up camp. Everyone went to work, to get the tents and dining canopy set up. As soon as that was done, everyone were eager to hit the water. Being light complected, I insisted that everyone wear sunscreen. We all took turns helping each other apply their skin protection. We got to the boat, then the fun began. Throughout the week, we enjoyed swimming, skiing, tubing, rafting, fishing, cycling and exploring nature. One evening while everyone was swimming, I was preparing dinner. It was then, I viewed one of the most beautiful sunsets ever. I grabbed my step-daughter's camera and snapped a picture. It was much to her surprise when she had her film processed and saw the picture. She was in awe, and I confessed that I had snapped the photo. She was thrilled to have such a memento from what may have been the perfect vacation for us all. With so many children, I was sure there would be the usual bickering among them, but there wasn't.

Lycette - New York, NY

One of the best times of my life was when I met my husband.  I grew up in New Jersey.  I used to hang out with
my friends after school and babysit.  My hobbies are watching tv, working out, reading magazines and
surfing the web. 

I have learned to do the best I can and work hard.  Do what you love and the money will follow.


Mary - Malvern, AR

There are vacations that you take, and then there are vacations that you experience and remember for a lifetime. This was such a vacation.  It started early one cool spring morning in the train station in Los Angeles, CA. Myself, my husband and our four young boys were about to have an adventure that we would never forget. The station was large and echoed when the boys talked or when the trains came and went. Excitement was high and when our train came into the station the boys were taking everything in. When we got on the train, they could not wait to explore their new surroundings. The train had been underway for some time and with its next stop they announced overhead that there was a special visitor onboard. He was a man that had worked for the railroad for 60 years and was very knowledgable about the history of the train and the are. The boys went up to the observation car and this man weaved his story of Billy the Kid, showing the caves which he had hid in. He told of the Chinese, Irish and other people that labored to build the railroad and of the old locomotives that once were.  He explained how towns came to life as the railroads came through. His story was full of life and death, good and evil, and of dreams that came true and those that were lost. That was over 25 years ago and they still smile and get a far away look in their eyes when the memory of that vacation is triggered.


gail - trenton, nc

I had a very sheltered childhood. I was the middle child in a three girl family. I was a shy little girl and never really did anything in my life. I got married to the first boy that liked me, and it ended because he was not happy with a simple person like me. I had two children with him, a boy and a girl. I had a nasty divorce and was left with nothing but my children. I had to work two jobs just to pay the rent and had alot of bad experiences with people that just wanted to help me. I found a really nice guy and have been married to him for twenty five years. My children are grown and have forgotten all about me, but I have a five year old grandson that lives with my husband and me. That is my reason for living.

Gwen - Conneaut, OH

I was a cheerleader in middle school and high school.  I always kept an active life.  And yes the boys loved me.  Now I am on facebook and alot of my school buddies are starting to look me up and speak with me.  Wow is that amazing.  I gave birth to 4 sons ages 23, 22, 20 and 16.  The oldest son just moved to Orlando, Florida.  The other 3 boys live in Erie, PA.  The 22 year old got married to a beautiful blonde-haired girl.  Seven months ago they had their first child -- a boy.  That makes me a grandmother.  No one believes it because I look so young for my age.  I make jewelry and also design my own clothes.  I want to learn how to start tie-dying clothes.  I am still in the 70's era I think.  Right now, I have been sorting through all my household items.  I am thinking about having a yard sale in a few weeks.  So I have been keeping real busy.  If I had more income, I always wanted to start a second-hand store.  I have very good taste.  And I am good at putting on makeup and changing my hairstyles frequently.  In my spare time, I ride on my friend's motorcycles, love to go to the beach, love music and watching movies, seafood, chinese food, and anything fun.  I have 5 tattoos and 3 facial piercings on my face.  I am an artistic person.  I make my friends laugh alot.  I get a little nutty sometimes.  All around I am a smart, fun, caring person. I love life.

Lori - Cookeville, TN

Life being what it is, some memories are good and some not so good. My Dad was a restless soul and liked to move a lot.  The grass being always greener and that sort of thing. One house we lived in had a large cherry tree in the backyard.  My Mom and I fought over that tree, especially when the cherries were ripe.  I wanted to eat them; she wanted to can them for pies.  She just knew I was going to ruin her tree.  The war raged until we moved.  That was my favorite house.  It also had grapevines and close neighbors and I could walk to school.  Life was good there, and then we moved.  Every time we moved lots of stuff had to be left behind.  If it wouldn't fit into one of the cars, it stayed.  Oh well, such was life with my Dad. 

Horses have always been one of my favorite animals.  I love the way they move, the way they smell, the way.......I just love horses.  I don't even mind cleaning up after them.  So anywhere we lived, that I had a chance to be around horses, I was in hog heaven. Or should that be horse heaven? Anyway, I managed to be around them 
enough to become a passable rider.  So, one of my favorite jobs was a trail guide in the Smokey Mountains. It was awesome.  I got to be with my favorite animal all day long. I could feed them, groom them, ride them and talk about them to my hearts content. It don't get no better than that. 

Robin - Houma, Louisiana

Some of the best people and times I have experienced were my family, especially my grandparents and parents when they were alive. I miss being able to ask them questions about their heritage and their experiences when they grew up. I have lost all of my grandparents, my father and a brother and I would give anything to have them back.

One of the best times of my life was when I was a child and my dad loaded all six of us kids up and we headed to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the 4th of July celebration at the Calgary Stampede. It was spectacular and I remember it as if it was yesterday and it was 40 years ago. My father created good times, whether we were at home, the lake or on vacation. It wasn't about the money, it was about quality family time and taking pictures that we would remember forever.

I grew up on a farm and I have so many memories from baling hay, picking rock, feeding the animals or just enjoying the Minnesota winters. Even before we could afford a snowmobile, my father took the hood off of his car and used that behind the tractor to entertain all of us kids. It was never about the money...it was always about family.

My hobbies include taking a run down house and bringing it back to life. My husband and I just recently (within the first two months) moved from Oklahoma City to Louisiana and will be looking for a house that we can redo again. This is what drives me...trash to treasure. I can see the potential in an object and bring it back to life and the fun of this is looking for the next piece or project.

Surprisingly, I learned most about work in the last five years. That you can enjoy your work and do the best job you can do at the same time. I had to leave my job to move but will never forget the tremendous influence my boss had on me. She was super intelligent, could do anything, but at the same time was down to earth and made you feel important. I am one of the lucky ones and hope to find that relationship again some day.

Barbara - Onalaska, WI

One of the best times of my life was my wedding day.  Everything was so beautiful but simple and I was radiantly filled with joy.  The wedding started one half hour late because of another wedding and then a funeral.  The reception hall was not air conditioned and it was 95 degrees by 11 a.m. but everyone enjoyed themselves.  I rode to the church in my uncle's Cadillac and to the reception in my new husband's red convertible with the top down and appropriately decorated for the occasion.


gwen - bowman, ga

They were just two kids that fell in love, back when times were really hard. They didn't know it took money or anything but their love to make a life.

They were blessed with a tiny, baby girl the first year. The day she was born, was a raw, cold day, in December.
And they traveled about three miles to the little town that day with a mule, and wagon. The little girl was born about 6 p.m.

The ambulance carried mother and baby home in those days, and that ride was to my grandparents home in the country. My mama told me that grandpa had built a fire in every fireplace in the house, and granny and grandpa were waiting on the porch for my arrival!

Every year on my birthday my mama told me my birthday story.

It has been many years since that beginning of my life. I believe I was the last generation to grow up in what was really the olden days. Born into a community that was populated with extended family, on land that my great great grandfather had settled before 1850.

There was no electicity, no phones. Just a few automobiles. Everything was still done by hand. We lived as my forefathers had.

Farming was our way of life.So planting cotton, hoeing it, and what seemed like picking cotton lasted forever.
Somehow as my memory takes me back there so often now, it seems like such good times. Playing as we worked in the fields, playing in the creek, always with a bunch of cousins.

We were in and out of everyone's house. We ate wherever we were at meal times. Going to church was a social event. Knowing everyone up and down the road, never seeing strangers. Lord, how far we have come from those days.

There are so many stories to tell, so many people to remember, it would take more than a book to do Dovetown proud. To see it today, growing up there, following my daddy's footprints behind the plow, the smell of rain in the red dirt of Georgia. Hearing all the singing, in the fields. And yes, we were black and white, working side by side.

Those were the days, my life, my memories, How precious they are!



IONE - DETROIT, MICHIGAN

I GREW UP WITH 13 SISTERS AND BROTHERS. I HAVE 3 OLDER SISTERS AND 3 OLDER BROTHERS. WE WERE VERY PROTECTIVE OF EACH OTHER. NOT ALL THE KIDS WERE IN THE HOME AT THE SAME TIME BUT WE ARE ALL ONLY A YEAR OR 2 APART IN AGE WITH THE OLDEST BEING 67 AND THE YOUNGEST BEING 44 OF AGE. I REMEMBER THE BEST TIME OF MY LIFE WAS WHEN WE ALL WOULD GET OFF WORK ON FRIDAYS AND WE WOULD MEET AT OUR PARENT'S HOUSE AND PLAY BASKETBALL IN THE BACKYARD UNTIL OUR MOTHER HAD PREPARED THE FISH, SPAGHETTI AND SALAD FOR DINNER. AFTER WE ATE, WE ALL WOULD PLAY CARDS UNTIL THE WEE HOURS INTO THE NEXT MORNING.

MY HOBBY WAS BOWLING BUT THE PAIN IN MY FINGERS MAKES IT SO I CAN'T BOWL NOW.
I WORKED FOR OVER 27 YEARS AND I AM RETIRED NOW, BUT I LEARNED THAT IF YOU WORK HARD YOU CAN LIVE A COMFORTABLE LIFE BUT NEVER GET RICH.

MY OLDEST BROTHER DIED IN APRIL 2009. BUT HE WAS VERY SPECIAL TO ME AND I LEARNED FROM HIM TO NEVER USE PROFANITY NO MATTER HOW ANGRY YOU MAY GET. IN ALL HIS 67 YEARS HERE ON EARTH, I HAD NEVER HEARD HIM USE PROFANITY IN ANY OF HIS CONVERSATIONS NO MATTER WHO HE MAY HAVE BEEN TALKING TO NOR HAD I EVER SEEN HIM SHOW ANGER. HE WAS JUST THAT KIND OF MAN.


Millie - Morgantown, KY

Hello! My name is Millie and this is a story of my life!  I was the first born daughter to a poor farmer and his wife. My parents told me they were really hoping for a boy but I changed their minds pretty fast.

Deborah - ,

Of all of us who lived and played on Bay Third Street in the 1950s, who doesn't remember Mrs. Genevive Wildner? We weren't permitted to walk on Mrs. Wildner's front lawn. There was a super climbing tree in her front yard; we would dare one another to climb it.  If our ball went over her fence into her backyard, she kept it. There was no use asking for it back. I think they found 55 balls in her house when she died. She wrote my mother in and out of her will so many times the lawyer said he couldn't read the pen marks any longer.  After he died, she kept her husband, Rudy's, 1955 Chevy in the garage. Mrs. W. never learned to drive.  It was still there in 1977 and maybe longer. Mrs. W. could not part with it. On any given day or night, we could hear Mrs. W. talking to Rudy. She was such an unhappy figure.    

Mrs. Strand lived across the street from Mrs. Wildner. I don't remember Mrs. Strand's first name, all anyone ever called her was Mrs. Strand. Mrs. Wildner and Mrs. Strand never spoke nor even acknowledged each others' presence. The story told to my mother was, during World War II, Mrs. Wildner called the FBI and reported that Mrs. Strand was a spy. Mrs. Strand had immigrated to New York from Denmark when she was a girl. Mrs. Stand had a lovely garden; my father would always admire her gardenia plants. She always had a smile and wave for us. She also had a fence around her entire property.

All the kids on Bay Third Street spent summers riding bicycles, roller skating, playing flag football and we put on neighborhood theater skits. My father bought me my first bicycle when I was seven. He would not put on the training wheels. He said I needed to learn to do things without a crutch. He held the bike the first day and let go as soon as I started peddling. I rode for many years before I said, “Look Ma, no hands; look Ma, no feet; look Ma, Ouch!” After that, I kept my hands on the handlebars and feet on the pedals.

 

Growing up on Bay Third Street taught me:  tolerance of others, leadership, how to love, cooperation, what a smile means, and life goes on.  


  

Robin - Westminster, MD

I am the third daughter of 4.  I always felt the need to be different from my sisters, so I joined the USMC out of high school.  I am not a big person, so I always end up with people trying to protect me.  My assigned duty was eventually to be an officer at a headquarters building.  By the end of my contract, I was newly married and pregnant.  I then became a stay at home mom for the next 9 years.  When I went back to work, it was for the local school system.  I worked my way through the clerical ranks and again have made my way to working for the boss.  I am a principal's secretary.  I was so busy taking care of my two children and my husband that I forgot to be a woman.  He instead found someone to treat him like a partner, not a third child.  So now I am on my own, for the first time in my life.  When I was not married, I was taken care of by the Marines.  Now I am truly new to the world of grownups.  What a scary place.  I have watched my sisters brave new relationships from a distance, but never realized how strong they are until I have had to try it.  I have found that it is hard because there is a chance now at failure, without all of my safety nets in place.  I have found that it is most important to be able to enjoy my own company, and laugh a couple times each day.  I have gone back to square one.  Maybe the next relationship will be healthy, or I will find it it OK to not have one at all.  I am lucky enough to have a wonderfully supportive family.  My children are so much stronger than I was.  Now, in my 40's, I am hoping for the second part of my life to be for me.


Terri - Rochester, New York

Going to Durand Eastman Beach/Park with my parents and all our friends' parents as a child.
A city neighborhood where we walked everywhere and we were always either playing ball, ice skating or many other things and never wanted to go inside.  I collect Dreamsicles and teapots.  I do many home decorating projects.  I learned that I am not the type of person that likes going to an outside job.  I am very happy being retired and having fun with my pets and granddaughters.  My children have grown into wonderful adults and great parents (a lot better than I ever was) and my granddaughters are my pride and joy.


Brenda - Artesia, California

My life biography could almost begin like most of our Fairy Tales! Once upon time, I, Brenda, was born to the nicest family and the best set of parents anyone could have.
I enjoyed so much pleasant memories of my childhood. The strong family upbringing, the core family values that were rooted in the Christian Judaic religion. The strong belief in education and the value of a good education no matter what vocation I was to choose.
The good schools, the best teachers were all instrumental in my foundation. This foundation allowed me to select and chose my dream of becoming a teacher. A profession that I thoughly enjoyed for over forty years. I have taught so many students in my career that I always described myself as an architect. I was building our nation's future.
Now that I have retired, I find myself wanting to still contribute to our youth but first and foremost I would like to write a book about all of my teaching experiences and become a motivational speaker for others so that our teaching profession would continue to attract the best and brightest in spite of the lack of financial incentives because without our educational system our society is doom!


Elizabeth - Oxford, Mississippe

I have lived or traveled on all continents except Australia and Antarctica.  I love traveling and learning about customs and peoples who are different from those I grew up around. 

I grew up in the segregated South, living and going to school in Memphis, Tennessee and spending idyllic summers in Holly Springs, Mississippi in the home my great, great grandfather built before the War Between the States.  It had 22 foot high ceilings and was always cool even in the hottest, muggiest days of August.  It also boasted the only swimming pool in town so we always had a gang over during the day.  We had watermelon spitting contests and played kick the can and baseball when the sun was shining.  If it rained, we went next door to Frank's Mother and played camouflage, murder and other wonderful indoor games.  I had two best friends who lived on our street and my older sister, Pam, also had two best friends  who lived down the street.  The house had a large central hall where we played murder at night when all the families on the street would gather at our house. 

The two great great aunts would come down from Connecticut for the summer and various family members would come from Memphis and Little Rock, so the house always seemed full of extended family.  Our Mother's parents, John and Darling, were my mainstay as we lived with them on Stonewall Street in Memphis until I was eleven.  I don't remember a time when they were not a central part of my life.

John drove me to school every morning from preschool through Snowden Elementary and Darling drove me to visit all her friends in Memphis who were numerous.    Enough for now.


Frances - Ocala, FL

In 2003, I learned I was going to lose my present employment of 20 years because my job was being sent to China.  At the age of 52, I lost my job in July, my husband was diagnosed with lung cancer in August, and he had major surgery in September.  In December of 2003, at the age of 52, I began my journey to become a nurse.  I graduated in February 2005 and my husband got to see me graduate before he passed away in April 2005.  Six weeks after my husband passed away, I took my nursing board exam and passed.  I began my nursing career in July of 2005 and have not looked back yet.  In November of 2008, I began work as a hospital nurse and wow what a change and challenge from rehab nursing to medical/surge hospital nursing.  Just a chapter in my life.

Denise - Bristol,

We (my siblings & I), grew up in a 3rd floor, 5 room apartment in the Bronx, New York. Our parents both emigrated from Ireland in the early 1920s. Dad was from Cork and Mom from Loughrea.  "We" consisted of 10 children (8 girls and 2 boys). There had been 1 other son, who sadly for my parents, was killed by a speeding truck in 1940 at the age of 4.
Growing up where we did, and at the time we did, I consider to be one of, if not the best times of my life!  The 5 youngest - all girls - shared 1 large bedroom, 2 brothers had the smaller room next door and the other 3 girls shared the 3rd bedroom. My parents slept on a pullout sofa in our living room.  We didn't have very much & yet we had it all!  Loving parents who always put us first no matter what.  The neighborhood we lived in was ideal at that time. We lived right off of Fordham Road on Tiebout Avenue. 
There was very little "technology" growing up in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, and therefore we all had to use our "imaginations", which we did playing "Tarzan" in our bedroom by jumping from bed to bed without "falling in the water".  The one who fell in was the loser. 
Outside the house, there were always kids around playing stickball, off-the-point with a Spalding ball, Ring-a-Levio, Hopscotch, and then there was always Tag!  
We never worried about leaving our apartment door unlocked or windows open, etc.  It was certainly a different time and place than the world is today!  But the memories we have are so cherished and unforgettable, that even given the opportunity, I wouldn't change a moment of them! 
Even in their quiet way, my parents taught us to always be respectful of others and that no one is perfect.  It makes me think of an expession I heard - "Never look down on someone unless you're going to help them up". 
My parents were deeply loved by all of us and I will be grateful to them always for all the sacrifices they made for all of us!  I only hope that I've passed on some of their qualities to my own children and they to theirs.

Pamela - Brown Deer, Wisconsin

I was born in the big city--Milwaukee on a cold snowy January morning, rushing to come out and see the world.  I grew up in the rural country side of a small town--Hartford, which was small at that time.  Now is it spread out and has lots of folks.  We had farms near by, mostly cows, but a horse farm and training center, and a pig barn.  Just up the street was a cemetery, a place of peacefulness and  calmness for me. It had a great view of the sunsets.  Our home was an old farmhouse, that through the years was transformed into a beauty.  Most of the work done was by ourselves, my dad teaching my brother and I how to plaster, drywall, hammer a nail without destroying the wood, painting and so much more.  We were taught how to be self sufficient and to do alot ourselves, including the chores and outside yard and garden work.
I loves our pets, Oscar the bunny, Rusty the golden retriever, our many fish, and Mickey, the scottie.  Wildlife was also around alot, like the time a rabid skunk wandered into our field and would not go away.  We ended up calling the sheriff's office and they came out to shoot it.  It sprayed the officer right before he got the killing shot off.  It stunk for a whole week after that.  Phew!!!   Another time, our neighbor to the east, had a garage/barn fire that destroyed all of the building, some chickens/birds and sheep.  His horse and cow got out safe. It took all night to put the fire out, and sitting on our back porch, we could feel the heat and it peeled the paint on the east side of our house.

I grew up and was an average kid with the average school hangups and issues of that time.  Fashion was not an issue back then.  I passed each grade, went through the usual crushes and did the basic stuff.  I was one of 475 in the class of 1980.

By the time I turned 18, I was ready to fly.  I moved to Wisconsin Dells to live and work, gaining alot of life experiences for myself and growing up fast.  At that time, 18 was the legal age for everything.  And my generation took advantage of that.  And we learned our lessons well.   In 1996, My great grandmother passed away and I was offered the chance to move into her home.  I took the chance and moved back to Milwaukee,  Brown Deer actually and have been here ever since.  I found my true love in 1987 through an ad in the Single Life Magazine and in August 1988, we married.  Had our lovely daughter in 1990 and 19 years later, she is starting her life as an adult.

Jennifer - Wilmington, North Carolina

Florida family vacation to Universal Studios and stay at Cocoa Beach
Older neighborhood, country living, playing with friends and working in the gardens
gardening
work hard and take pride in what I do.
to be patient and kind to everyone.

MARIANNE - UPPER MARLBORO, MARYLAND

I was born in Camden, New Jersey in 1961.  My Father was from a family of 10 and my Mom was from a family of 8, so family was always around.  We lived in a normal neighborhood. As I grew older, I realized that we lived in the "ghetto".  For us life was still good, my Father was a truck driver and my Mom worked at Campbell Soup so by all means we were doing O.K.  So much so that we always spent a week or two at the beach (Atlantic City) and we went to all the local amusement parks like Hershey Park, Willow Grove, Dorney Park as well as other beaches.  My parents took us to Canada and many trips to New York and down South as well.  My dad insisted on fresh food so you would find him at the many fruit and vegetable stands along the major roads.  He also went to the butcher for our meat and the fish market for our fish.  I only appreciated this once I moved away and had to go to the supermarket myself.  I can say that his preference for fresh food has stayed with me as I feed my family today. I can say that my childhood was more than great.

sherry - Berrien Springs, Michigan

I think that the most important thing to me is family. I have a daughter in the army and she is my pride and joy. I am such a proud army mom. I work for first student and take children back and forth to school that have learning problems. They have taught me that I have more time to slow down and smell the roses then I thought I had. They make me smile and brighten my day every day.

victoria - burlington, north carolina

When I was a child, we lived in a house in Mass.,consisting of my older brother, mom, dad and me. Dad was a cook in the National Guard at the time. He would go away once a year to Camp David for training. He would be gone a week and when he came home, he would bring my brother and me gifts and candy. The candy was like no other we ever tasted; it was so good. One time he brought my brother home a robot named Garloo. I don't think my brother realy liked Garloo because I was the one who played with him all the time. My dad also worked at the coal company when he wasn't at the guard. My brother and I liked going to work with dad. We would climb on the big oil tanks and play hide n seek. The national guard had Rex Trailor there in person one time for a show. My brother and I got to meet him and hang out with him at the guard. He was really nice. I collected Barbie dolls at the time. I had Barbie, Ken and Skipper. Barbie was my favorite. I took her to school with me everyday. We also had a dog named Cookie. She was a cocker spaniel. We had a white rabbit too that we kept in our big, old shed. He would be in there hopping around all over the place since we never kept him in his cage. Dad would give us a dollar each week for an allowance. He made us put half in the bank and the other half we could spend. I spent my other half on candy. Dad taught us that we should always save some of our money for emergencies or if we just wanted to get nice things. There is so much more I could tell you like how my dad was friends with the Kennedys and they used to always talk on the phone.  

Shlomo - Brooklyn, New York

My name is Shlomo Barninka, 25 years old, born and raised in Brooklyn. Jewish. Lived in the same apartment my entire life. Went to Yeshivah for elementary school and high school, before entering Rabbinical College. Now attend Kingsborough Community College. Hoping one day to become a social worker. Diagnosed in 2005, with Depression and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. A friendly person, I try to help people when I can. I volunteer in my spare time. I enjoy sports, writing, and reading. Currently looking to start a support group. Considerate, anxious, sensitive, a perfectionist, My parents and my therapist are my biggest supporters. Pray constantly, hoping G-d will things make things easier for me.


Angela - Middletown, New Jersey

I am a Mother, age 46, of three boys, ages 16, 13 and 11.  Two of them have mental health issues, the oldest has Bi-Polar Disorder and the youngest has ADHD.  I can remember when I gave birth to the oldest and my Mom, told me, "Remember that they don't come with manuals."  "Everyday is a learning experience and you mustn't use the words "should've, would've or could've."    My Mom and I become the best of friends after I moved out (isn't that always the way) and relied on each other for lots of stuff. Unfortunately, I lost my Mom three years ago to a devastating illness, LUPUS.  I have read everything I could about this disease and now join the LUPUS walk yearly to raise money to find a cure.  I helped my parents as much as I could and they were always there for me and my family.  You don't realize how much you love someone until you lose them.  If I won this prize, it would really help my family and I know I would definitely donate some of the money to the LUPUS Foundation, to help find a cure.  People don't realize the devastating effects that this disease has on people and that it is also hereditary.  I wish I had one more hour/day with my Mom to tell her how much she means to me and my family.

DIANA - N. LAS VEGAS, NV

OUR FAMILY TRIP TO YELLOW STONE, MOUNT RUSHMORE DEVILS TOWER AND THE FOUR CORNERS.

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD WAS MIDDLE CLASS AND I ENJOYED PLAYING HIDE AND SEEK AT NIGHT DURING THE SUMMER TIME WITH MY 2 BROTHERS AND THE NEIGHBORHOOD KIDS.

I COLLECT LIGHTHOUSES AND I LOVE DOING CRAFTS.

IT IS VERY TIRING.

THAT HAVING A FAMILY IS EVERYTHING, ESPECIALLY DURING A MAJOR ILLNESS. 

Carol - ,

I was adopted from Munich, Germany. I am an only child, and although I live in the United States, I have always been proud of my German heritage. My parents taught me about love and family. Your parents are the people who love you and raise you, not necessarily the people that conceived and delivered you!

One of my favorite vacations was the summer after I graduated from high school. My parents realized that once I went off to college, we would probably not have another vacation together as a family for a long time, if ever again. We took at 2 week trip out west. It was a wonderful vacation! Sadly, my mother died the next summer, so it was the last vacation I had with my mom and dad. I will never forget it.

Cindy - Reeds Spring, Missouri

I was born on the dawn of America's awakening.  Rock and Roll was about to be discovered.  Within the next decade, the American people were going to go through a revolution.  Some would say it would be our greatest
hour, while others would feel it was the beginning of a tremendous down slope to destruction. 
In the early 1960's, my father was a manager for Kerr McGee Gas Company and ran a Deep Rock gas station.  My older sister used to help pump gasoline or wash off windows and I always got to hand out "Safe-T" suckers out to the children.  There was a young mechanic named Richard.  I remember he was very good looking and very tall.  
I remember the fear in the young men and their parents when they were drafted and about to be deployed to Viet Nam.  However, in the early 70's I remember the elation in the country when we were all told the war was over.  Rock and roll was at its peak.  I think we knew at the time the music industry was setting a precedent that would never be matched.  Elvis Presley set his own standard by airing "Aloha from Hawaii" via satellite.  As far as I know, he was the first to make a music video.  His last splash was the day he died.  It was like the world stopped for a brief moment in time.  Many people didn't believe he was really dead.  It was at that time that it was made known that the world's most popular singer had gotten caught up in the drug scene just like all the other hard rockers.  All the trash came out about him, as well.
I was raised in Carbondale, Kansas, but I tell everyone I grew up in Denver.  I was so overshadowed by my parents, I was not allowed to grow up in the smaller town.  So, in a worldly manner, I really did grow up in Denver.  I found out about things in the big city that I never knew existed.  In the early 1980's I moved to Denver, after college. I saw skyscrapers there that I never knew could be built that high.  Opportunities were opened up to me galore.  I was able to spread my wings.  I made friendships with people from so many countries.  I have always been interested in geography and different cultures.  That is where I was able to learn much about many people.
In the 1990's I found the love of my life.  I became a pastor's wife.  It is a difficult life but I would not change it for anything. Here it is 2009, we are in a small church and we help people on a daily basis find their way through different trials and share their victories and triumphs.

Richard - Dayton, TN

Unless you were there too, you would have no idea that I grew up in a magical kingdom.  It was bordered on one side by Richland Creek and on the other side by Walden’s Ridge.  Some days those enchanted woods would be a pirate’s island, or the wild western frontier, or Tarzan’s jungle, or the front lines of World War II, or the battlefields where the Blue and the Gray fought it out.  But even magic days come to an end, and as the sun would begin to dip behind Walden’s Ridge, thoughts would turn toward home where I knew a tasty supper would be waiting.  I had many aunts and uncles, none of whom were blood kin.  In the South I grew up in, "uncle" and "aunt" were  titles of respect one bestowed on those who were always close, to watch, to guide, and to protect.  As committed as any blood relative, these "aunts" and "uncles" all had a hand in rearing me, teaching me and correcting me and instilling in me the values of my rural Tennessee home.  I grew up to become fluent in three languages, served as a volunteer in the interior of Mexico as a medical translator, and a school teacher, teaching all 36 years in the same school.  I have traveled the world, and have, in the words of John Keats, "many goodly states and kingdoms seen."  Life has not always been easy, and my road has often been bumpy and rough, but because of the nurture and care of my wonderful hard-working parents and the many "aunts" and "uncles" who lived on the edge of my enchanted woods, I never lost sight of my purpose--to be a decent, productive person.  They are all gone now, and the magical kingdom has changed, and no one builds palaces and forts in the enchanted woods any more, but mine are still there, guarded by the best of sentinels--my sweet and blessed memory.


Cammy - Gillette, WY

I was born in Kadoka, SD on August 10, 1961, to Dennis and Trudy Henle.  I am the oldest of three children.  I have two brothers, Wayne and Daren.  We all currently live in separate households, in Gillette, WY.  When I was young, my Dad worked on road construction, so we moved around a lot.  I switched schools four times when I was in Kindergarten and ended up graduating from Kindergarten in Buffalo, WY at the Catholic School.  I remember the girls had to wear black skirts and white shirts and the boys wore black pants and white shirts and we thought it was a really big deal.  I hated it when the nuns would check your hands and fingernails to see if they were clean, because if they weren't clean, they would whap you with a ruler.  When I was in the first grade, in Sterling, CO., my dad came to get me from school and it was winter time, and there was quite a lot of snow, so he brought Smiles, our dog, and the sled to pick me up.  All the kids wanted to go for a ride when they seen Smiles pulling that sled, but I got on and we went home.  When we lived in Julesburg, CO., I was in the second grade and it was winter time and we lived a good six blocks from school, so my Dad gave me a ride in the big old International truck that he used to pull our mobile home around the country with.  I was so embarrassed that I walked after that (and froze too).  When I was in the third grade, we lived in Stratton, CO., and my folks bought a pole tent, so every night for what seemed like forever, we had to put the tent up and then take it back down, so we could learn how to do it.  After we mastered this great feat, we started going camping up in the Rocky Mountains, almost every weekend, all summer long.  We had some wonderful times camping and fishing and still do, but now we have a camper!  I have always loved dogs and when I moved out of the house and on my own, the first thing I did, was get me my very own dog!  I've had several since then, but Muffy and Duffy have been the closest to me.  I love angels and hearts and collect them both.  As my favorite Aunt and Uncle get older, I realize the importance of my family and what they mean to me.  Greg is my love and can't imagine life without him.  I'm very blessed to have all of my family and friends and the things that mean the most to me!  Someday, I will have a nicer home to live in, but until then, I will try and make the best of what I do have! 

martina - clarksville,

I was born in Berlin, Germany. Shortly after birth, I was given up for adoption. It took till I was the age of 4 to be adopted. I have so many great memories about my childhood and places my new parents took me to.
When I was 19, I moved away from home and married my first American husband. Well, that didn't last long..lol.
In 1999, I finally became pregnant for the first time after years of trying.
I found out July 4th and July 16th I had to have major surgery because I had ended up with a ectopic pregnancy...
needless to say I was hurt and devastated...
Six weeks later, I lost my dad to a major stroke...my life was upside down....
Then in July of 2001, I met a wonderful man who helped me through all the struggles I still had. This man and me are happily married and live in a beautiful home in Clarksville, TN.
Even though he leaves for months at the time because he is a soldier with the U.S. Army, we are still very happy and he is my rock to lean on....

Marleen - Sandy, utah

Every morning I like to wake up and think of all the blessing I have in my life, otherwise I probably would not even get out of bed. How grateful I am to live in a free country where everyone can express their feelings and opinions.
If only everyone in the world would be kind and respectful to one another. If only greed and hate did not exist.

I have been blessed with meeting many wonderful and kind people in my lifetime. Some I have been fortunate to maintain a relationship with throughout the years and others have been part of life's learning.
The most wonderful time in my life is when I held my children as babies. It is an indescribable experience. 

My childhood was fine with some fun experiences but also some painful times. I never wanted to bring children into what I perceived as a hard, mean world. Somewhere along the line I did make the decision to have children and they have been the most JOYFUL part of life. 
Having lost my beautiful daughter to leukemia at the young age of 16, I often wonder if life had redo's would I have children next time. Many times I think absolutely not because of the pain. Other times I think what a huge emptiness life would be without having the joys and pains of being a parent. So in conclusion I do not want to redo life.
I just take this one I am living day by day and thank God for the miracles that make it livable.


amity - pine knot, kentucky

I'm soon to be a 27 year old woman--divorced, single with a daughter that's 6 yrs old. She is  a Christmas baby. She is my pride and joy. I was raised in a small country co. I'm still here. I live next to my dad and he is the greatest. We have had a rought year and 8 months.  We lost my mom to a very tragic death on Sept 6, 2007. I miss my best friend and mom alot. My parents always tried to teach me right from wrong. I had to make my own mistakes in the past to finally learn. I was raised in Christian church going home. I got sent to a private Christian school during high school. I was diagosed with thyroid cancer when I was 12. I have been through two major surgeries and a few radiation treatments. I have learned to live life to the fullest in a safe and fun manner. My quote when I get depressed is that there's someone out there worst than me. My daughter and I are both water bugs. We love pools and water parks in the summer. I wish this world would understand that drugs don't only hurt the person that's doing them but it hurts everyone that loves and cares about that person abusing. The reason I bring this up is my 24 yr old brother was so high on drugs on the early morning of Sept. 6, 2007 that he didn't know that he shot my parents--which killed my mom instantly and my dad was seriously hurt also.   I have such a strong hate against drugs. I wish I could do more to help people understand what it does to your family and friends.   My favorite times in my life were always taking once a year 10 day vacations to the beach with my mom and dad. We always had a fun-filled week. I love hearing older folks talk about there childhoods and what it was like 40-50 years ago. I'm a granny's girl. My grandma is 81 and she loves goin' up to people and asking them to guess her age; no one ever guesses her over 65 and she's got more energy than me sometimes. I'm happy that I'm only about five miles from her.  We own and run a small semi trucking company in my town. My dad don't ask much of me. I mainly keep the mail checked up.    

Joyce - Preble, New York

I was born in the small town of Little Falls, NY.  Our schools were close knit and fun to go to. I played baseball in my backyard with my sisters and some neighborhood boys.  We had a great time even though it was a small area; it seemed big at the time.  After graduation, I went to work at a nearby Air Force Base and stayed there for 36 years, 2 months and 1 day. It was an awesome experience and I made many good friends there.  I am still in touch with a lot of them.  I will always remember the jets flying overhead during the work hours.  It always gave me goose bumps.  It was a wonderful sound.
I enjoy gardening, walking and living in a great area.  The outdoor sounds of birds and animals is like music all day long and into the night.  I volunteer at a local elementary school with reading sessions with the children.  Each year brings a great class of children who love to read.  I leave there with a great sense of accomplishment.
One of my greatest pleasures are my animals.  We presently have two dogs and two cats. One dog is a special needs dog who brings a lot of love and joy to our lives.  We adopted him from an animal shelter, the same as the other dog and two cats.  At one time we had nine dogs, mostly from animal shelters or private homes adopting out from a litter of pups.
Another great pleasure are my grand nephews and nieces, two boys and two girls.  They love spending time with us as much as we love having them here.  Too soon they will be grown and on their way to bigger things in life.  We have been blessed with a great life and we try to enjoy each day to the fullest.


Rebecca - Burleson, Burleson

The best time of my life was when I was dating my husband almost 28 years ago.  I have never felt more special or loved in my entire life.

I grew up on a rural farm on the eastern shore of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia on a chicken farm.
My father grew chickens for Country Pride that was later sold to Perdue Farms.

We would play hide and seek with our family, siblings, cousins, and friends for hours on the farm.
And we would invite the kids from our school to come ride ponies with us.  We had such a warm, wonderful
childhood with family, friends and animals.  We had animals - you name it, we had pigs, horses, baby calves, dogs, cats and even a goose for pets.  

My hobby is photography and I have loved it all my life. I really like to take pictures of antique carousels and have found several in the United States that stand out, including the pier at Santa Monica and the
Breckinridge Park at San Antonio.

I was always up and ready to go to work.  My father taught us that you did 8 hours work for 8 hours pay and I tried all my life to live by that standard.

My Dad taught me work ethics and my Mother taught me love and compassion.  My husband has taught me not to judge other people and to be loving and kind during the worst of circumstances.
 

Carole - ,

1. Neighbor Hood Playmates, School, School Chums, Wedding, Births, Children's weddings, Grandchildren's Births, Bermuda, Jamaica and Las Vegas.
                                                                                                              
2. Meeting my Husband and Cape Cod Vacations with our family.

3. There were not too many children around. I was lonely and bored. Sometimes I stayed over at my friend's house; we went bike riding on her bike.
                                                                                                                
4. Restoring things I find at Yard sales and collecting Kewpie-dolls.

5. Tolerance, not to be critical and except that every one is different.

6. Brought me back to God, Prayer, Love, Sharing and lots of Happiness.

Laura - Bradenton, FL

The neighborhood bar and grill wasn't such a bad place to grow up. We lived in a three bedroom, two bath apartment adjoining the bar, which meant we had an endless supply of pop and potato chips and never ran out of hamburgers and fries. My dad was an alcoholic, although I didn't know it at the time. My mom and dad worked long hours – usually sixteen to eighteen hours a day, six days a week. It seemed like a normal childhood, but looking back I was surrounded by irrational morals and weak values.

My dad ran what some considered a respectable place. He demanded respect from his customers and he always received it. He had a wife and four daughters on the premises that he meant to protect. He didn't realize his attempts to protect his family harbored mixed messages that resulted in confused adolescents and dysfunctional adults.

First there was the beer and what it represented to our customers. Some were social drinkers, but for the majority of the “regulars” alcohol was an escape from reality that often resulted in broken homes and wrecked lives. It was the epitome of the small town Peyton Place. Our customers literally had nothing better to do than gossip about each other and seek out chaos in the form of adultery and substance abuse. This was the foundation of my upbringing and the starting point for a cycle of addiction processes.



Ruth - Morganton, North Carolina

I started my life out as the youngest of 4 children. By today's standards, my mother would be considered a single parent. You see, my father left my mother when I was probably two-three years old, if not sooner. At any rate, she, my mother, was a true "Christian" because she never spoke unkind things about my father, she never saw/dated another man, she did not go on the welfare system and she never put us in foster care. She resigned herself that we were her responsibility and she would take care of us no matter what.
I remember, all of my life, all my mom ever did was work! I resented this fact because, as I said, I was the baby and so I was very self centered and demanding. I am certain that I exacerbated my mom's patience to no end but, she kept me anyway.
However, back in those days, "Neighborhood Watch" and "It Takes A Whole Village To Raise A Child" really stood for something. The whole neighborhood watched after everyone children and the elders in the community would correct you if you were wrong and then would tell your parent who would re-correct you!!!!!

There is a whole life time between what I started out like and where I've ended up, but suffice it to say that after being absent from my life for over thirty years, my father returned home and ended up living with me until he passed away in my daughter's bedroom, and a year later, I moved back home with my mother whom I could see was getting sick, and stayed with her. I watched her pass from this life to the next, three years after my father.

As a result of this experience, I know that there truly is a higher power, "GOD", purpose to this universe, a "Holy Spirit" that does exist! I have felt it!

kit - Oviedo, Fl

My father taught me many things about life such as "Locked doors only keep honest men honest".
 "I would rather have a thief than a liar, at least with a thief you would know what he stole".

The most important thing he taught his 9 children was, "It is better to give than receive." Share with those less fortunate than you even if you only have a dollar left to your name. God will bless you 10 times over.
I have witnessed this throughout his life. He would give to others less fortunate and do it anonymously.

After his death, I had many people tell me that the way he lived his life made them want to be a better person.
I want to live my life this way every day and have instilled it in my now grown children. I strive to be a better person in honor of my father every day.

Rosa - Palm Beach gardens, Florida

Greetings LifeBio,

It is a pleasure to write about my life experiences and day to day living.  While growing up in  the 50's and 60's we did not have much, but we made the best of what we had.  My oldest brother and I was always interested in drama and storytelling, so to entertain the neighborhood children we would gather them all up and tell them stories of little people living in our walls.  The people would have parties day and night with cupcakes, balloons and toys. We would tell them that they would come and take us to their home in the walls and we would have a great time with them.  But, the little people would not let anyone else see them.  It was so beautiful, because the neighborhood children would beg us to take them to the little people's house, so they could meet them.  I would write plays and skits and we would perform in my backyard for parents and friends, I knew from an early age that I wanted to write, direct, produce and be a leader, organizing events, trips or whatever came up at the time.  I have organized many events, planned many afterschool productions for the community, have won first place with my writings for our local Palm Beach Post newspaper on "Menopause" and Black History Oratorical Contest.  My dream has come true, from putting on plays in my backyard, and my local Church, to producing Gospel Stage plays for the Community.  My plays have been a great success and I am grateful to God for my talents.  I went a little further and wrote a book and it will be coming out soon.  I can truly say that if you dream it you can achieve it.  My dream and goal is for my book to be made into a movie. Life experience has taught me that you should never ever give up your dream.  I would be honored to follow in the foot steps of Mr. Tyler Perry, and bring Gospel Stage plays to our area and continue to put my talents in a book.

Sincerely,
Rosa M. Lowe



Carla - Port Barre, Louisiana

As a child I loved to be bare foot. I was always getting cuts, scrapes and bruises on my feet. My mom would always tell me to keep my shoes on. But I always took my shoes off anyway. I loved the feeling of the cool grass under my feet.


madeleine - arnold, MD

I have led a very interesting life. On June 10, 2002, everything that had happened in my life before then became insignificant. At 5:30 p.m. that day, I was standing in the lobby of  a hotel in Nanjing, China, where I was handed my year-old daughter Zoe. In those brief minutes, I became a mom and my whole life changed for the better.
I always thought, quite arrogantly, that I could become a mother at any time. When I was 40, I decided it was time to have a baby. What a shock it was to be told that I was infertile. Never one to accept defeat, I realized that my path was being pointed elsewhere.
After jumping through hoops and more hoops, I flew to China to meet my daughter. Armed with cute clothes and toys I anxiously awaited this "little" being. They carried in a screaming banshee the size of a two-year old and handed her to me. The crying stopped and she looked at me with wonder and suspicion. A few minutes later in our room we sat eyeing each other, both wondering "What the hell have I gotten myself in to?"  For my part I began to panic, I wasn't prepared to be a mother. I had more places to see, how did I feed her? Do I hug her or give her space? I began to cry and wanted my own mom, but she had died in 1988 so that wasn't about to happen. After I gave her an uneventful bath Zoe fell asleep and as I looked at her sleeping so soundly I realized how much I loved this little girl.
Oh the plans I had for us, Zoe and I. I was an only child and Zoe would be too. Fate, however, was not through with me.  My cousin, who also adopted a little girl from China at the same time, died six months after adopting. Since we had made each other guardians of our daughters, her daughter Mia came to me. Here I was with an 18-month-old and a 17-month-old - twins but not twins, double the dating hell but double the love. Eight months later I was in a serious car accident and became permanently disabled due to a spinal injury and lost my job. I probably should have been panicking but when I looked at my daughters I realized that we still had each other and it could have been worse. Today we are a stronger family, marching to our own drummers and living life to the fullest. There are still many more wonderful chapters to write in this story.

Kathleen - Lighthouse Point, Florida

I have the privilage of being born in the mid-fifties in the Bronx, N.Y., within 11 months of my sister's birth. Irish twins, Pat was born in January of 1955 and I followed in December of 1955! I attend Catholic school for five years and have the experience of being taught by nuns! Oh the stories. My parents moved our family of five to Connecticut in 1965. It was a large adjustment living in the surburbs, having only experienced city life, New York city life. Raking leaves, shoveling snow and bringing out the garbage took on a life of its own. I had a new appreciation for Herman Duncan, the building super back on Webb Avenue. Three years into our life in the surburbs at the age of 13, my dad at age 39 died of pancreatic cancer. My life was changed forever. We went from a happy family of five to a very sad family of four. My mother, a homemaker at age 38, was given the largest challenge of her life in raising three children without a father and all our family living back in New York or New Jersey.  My sister and I took on babysitting jobs, picking tobacco in the summer and helping our mom with our younger brother Dennis. The security of having a dad was now gone and we had to all learn how to make a life without our father and to help our mom cope with our devastating loss. My teen years were good, many friends, cheerleading, boyfriends, proms, getting my driver's license -  just wonderful memories.  I graduated high school in the summer of 1973 and that is the year I met my husband to be. Life was filled with joy. We got engaged in the fall of 1974 and married in the spring of 1975.  We purchased our first home in October of 1975 and I gave birth to our precious daughter Sheri one day shy of our first wedding anniversary. Talk about a busy year and I was only 19 when we married, Walter was 23 and at the tender age of 20 I became a mother. Our life was filled with ups and downs...but as the song says..the downs were due.  Throughout the 30+ years of our marriage we won and lost in business, we beamed with pride when our daughter graduated college on the Dean's List.  We were humbled by the deaths of family and friends but we always danced when invited to. We were blessed with family, friends and good health.  Walter had a mid-life crisis at age 50 and after 31 years of marriage, we divorced in the Spring 2007, devastating is an understatement. Sheri married the man of her dreams in February 2008, it was such a joy to witness my daughter become a wife.

Miles - Canon City, CO

One of my favorite memories of childhood was the holidays.  My mother would write down the names of all our cousins and neighborhod children.  She would then put them into a large bowl and draw two names at a time.  After drawing all the names she would then call everyone and let them now if they drew a boy or girl name.  Everyone would go to the local dime store and purchase a gift for $2 or less. Then, my cousin, Dusty who was a young man would come to our house and with everyone there he would come in with a large bag filled with gifts.  He would call us up one at a time and we would get a gift from him and then he would ask what we wanted for Christmas. After the party we put him in the back of any old pick-up truck and drove around the neighborhood and then everyone would load up in their cars and we would follow him down Main Street. My mom always made the holidays magical. I also remember her and my dad fashioning a small coffee can to look like reindeer hooves and leaving tracks in the snow outside for us to find. 
I also remember her making my sister and I a full set of Barbie doll furniture with empty tissue boxes and Saran wrap boxes.  She would fill them with beans and rice then she would use scrap material and cover them.  She and my dad would make a lot of our gifts and we felt like we were the richest kids in the neighborhood. My dad attached a train track to a large piece of wood and then he and my mother spent many late nights making canoes from modeling clay, building cabins with Lincoln logs and attaching them all to the large piece of wood making it look like the train was going through different parts of the country. My dad made my sister and I a full set of kitchen appliances from wood. He fastened old knobs to the stove and drew on burners with a black magic marker. He made a play fridge and and play sink. 
My mom and dad taught us that family is so important.
We often went fishing together as a family and I remember my dad teaching me to cast a line.   We would go on picnics and play games together. 
My grandparents were very special, too. My grandmother canned a lot and I remember always helping her by smashing the grapes for grape jelly. They always had a large garden and we would always get caught in the garden eating fresh veggies right off the stems and stalks.


Kay - Coudersport, Pa.

My name is Kay. I was born in the middle of the Baby-Boom era between two brothers. I had the usual childhood
with the usual day-to-day excitement and endeavors of children who grew up in that era. We had no video games or computers to entertain us. All we had were outdoor activities that were popular in the day - Hoola hoops, roller skating, (which in our day you wore the key around your neck on a ribbon), playing football or baseball in backyard,
good old fashioned tag, or going for a hike in the woods. We used to take our little red wagon, pick up old pop
bottles and then turn them in for money to buy snacks which we packed in little brown bags to take on our hikes with us. Simple times, simple fun. On rainy days, the boys played with their Matchbox cars while us girls played with our Barbies. Many nights in the summer we would sleep out under the stars.
Winter time we would still be outdoors building snow forts and going sled riding for hours on end. Our parents would let us go out and never have to worry where we were or what we were doing. No cell phones to check in and see what was up. We always seemed to be ok and always seemed to know when we were to be home and when it was time for dinner.
Teenage years brought lots of good memories. My happiest is when we bought our farm and I was able to buy my first horse. Riding became one of my favorite passions which I carried with me my entire adult life unto this day. It is one of the best feelings of freedom I have ever had.
I am now 53 years young. Three boys and one daughter later and a grandson and two grandaughters, I feel my life
is complete and almost full circle. I have enjoyed watching the boys grow up and when the youngest boy turned
11, I was blessed with my daughter who is now 18 and getting ready for college. I feel so blessed with the lessons life has taught me and the blessings God has bestowed on me. I am so thankful for everything and I pray I make it into the golden years with many more memories.


Annette - El Paso, TX

 I am German and what do I miss living in the U.S.!

I was born and raised in Germany.
When I was 27 I married a U.S. Army soldier and moved to Texas. I always try to keep my "Germany" with me, in memories, telling my kids about Germany and in my cooking. So here is what I have experienced and miss now very much about Germany.
Germany is pretty strict - there is a law for everything, there is no 24/7 shopping. Sundays - besides gas stations and entertainment things - everything is closed. I miss my German bakery - the good bread, the cakes, the sweets. I miss sitting on Sundays in a street cafe during the few times when it is not raining, sipping on a coffee or eating a ice cream. I miss certain stores like Aldi and Lidl. Yes, the U.S. has Aldi but it is still not the same.
I miss the German furniture stores - nothing goes over real wood furniture. I miss fighting for a parking space and paying an arm and a leg for it because my pickup truck needs two spots. I miss the rain and the smell of fresh cut grass.
I miss going to the Metzgerei (slaughter house with store) and buying actually fresh cut meat and cold cuts.
I miss the cable cars (Strassen Bahn) with all the rude unfriendly people looking at you - if they do - over their Bild Zeitung.
May/June is the nicest time around in Germany - it is white asparagus time. You find the fruit stands everywhere. Our vegetables, salads, eggs, milk come from real farmers. I love and miss it. I miss my mom's kitchen - she is in my eyes ready to get a star for her cooking. During Asparagus time she comes up with the best recipes and nothing ever made me thinking I do not like it. Yes, I love white Asparagus. I miss going in the garden picking fresh strawberries, peas, raspberries - anything what grows in the garden mom has it, so do the neighbors - just everyone what does live in little towns. I miss my family get-together even so they can get on my nerves.
Germany is actually a clean place. We do a lot of recycle; we go green; we grow our own vegetables; we safe on electricity. We cook our own homemade jelly and it is even in my age still fun to do so. Since I live in the desert with a daily heat index of 95 and above - it is hard to even keep your grass green.
I miss going to the fairs there - lots of things to do, lots to eat and drink and you do not have to buy tokens for it at all. I do miss Germany!


Sarah - Roanoke, Virginia

 I was born in Norfolk,Va., at Norfolk General Hospital. My mother was Pauline Evangelo McCall. When I was around 3 years old, she divorced my father and remarried.
 My grandmother, who was full-blooded Greek, gave me a history lesson about the Greek culture and also gave me recipes in Greek cooking. Her husband was a traditional Greek chef.
 The Sundays around my childhood consisted of  Greek dishes, cooked by both of them. They are now deceased and I try to do the same for my daughter, not every Sunday but at least once a month.
 I have four lovely children, to me that was the best experience in life. Giving birth to them was a gift from God. I thank Him each and every day for the joys of motherhood and for giving to me four healthy children. They taught me patience, love and mostly the joys they give to you when they are growing up. Each little word, steps and discoveries of their own that make them unique in their own way.
 

Linda - Alcoa, Tennessee

I grew up in the foothills of the Smokey Mountains.We lived where there was no electricity or running water. We had kerosene lamps to see by, a fireplace to heat our house and we carried our water. We grew most of what we ate. I learned to cook on an old wood stove. I was the oldest of five childern, so I helped my Mom take care of the younger ones. I went to a school that was one room and a teacher that taught all eight grades. Then we moved into civilization. We thought we were rich. We had electricity. We went to a school with many rooms and life seemed easier. Even though I still helped take care of the younger children, I had new friends outside the family. Then, one day, I came home from school and there was this thing sitting on a table. It was a telephone!!! We sure did feel rich then!! That was a long time ago, but, I haven't forgotten how hard it was then. I was taught to prepare for the future as much as possible. I still do can the vegtables from the garden that we still raise. That is what I'm trying to teach my grandchildren - to prepare for the future. Today's generation is in such a hurry, they don't have time to learn the old ways, but I keep hoping. I know that we're in the "computer" age, and that's fine, but I would like to know that they can take care of themselves by their wits and not a computer.

Barbara - Santa Maria, CA

Barbara wanted to be a movie star like Doris Day or a school teacher. What were the choices for girls in 1951? An airline stewardess? Getting married and raising a familly?  She was a recent graduate of Santa Maria Union High School in Santa Maria, Calif. She was girls' league president, baseball queen, in the senior play, the Glee Club, the orchestra, the string ensemble, and very active in other school clubs. This was an important decision that would affect her for a lifetime. She couldn't choose quickly. Her aunt and uncle in Fullerton, Calif., volunteered to let her stay with them and attend a terrific Junior College in their town. They bragged so much about it that she finally agreed to go there. Their neighbor, Beverly, was about the same age. They both enjoyed the performing arts and spent many hours with Beverly singing and Barbara playing the piano. Barbara danced in the musical show 'Oklahoma' which performed many times and especially a memorable show at Knotts' Berry Farm in Buena Park, Calif. After two grueling years she finally received her Associate of Arts Degree. Her major was Elementary Education. She married a classmate, had two children - the second one, a son, passed away at the very tender age of six weeks. This was a crushing blow, but she kept busy. She sang in the church choir, was fortunate to be one of the groups to sing during the first Christmas season in the Pavilion at the opening of Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. That was 1955.  We also enjoyed the first hamburgers that year from McDonald's!  In 1960, Barbara went to the University of California at Santa Barbara, Calif., to finish her Bachelor's Degree in General Elementary Education, which allowed her to teach grades kindergarten through the eighth grade. She retired from fulltime teaching in 1991.  After 30 years of teaching elementary school, it was time to go to Hollywood!

Donna - Carney,

My life has been just average, I guess. I was born in Indianapolis, Ind. My mom was young and my dad was just 20 years and 9 days when I was born. I grew up in middle class family. I have one brother six years younger then me.  I would not trade him for anything now, but boy when he was born. I had been the only child and was very spoiled by my maternal grandma. It was bad enough that they wanted to bring the baby into my house he had the nerve to have orange hair. I tried to trade him off all the time and bite him when he was asleep and make him cry thinking my parents would take him back because he was so much trouble. Now I am glad that they kept him. Some of the best times in my life was when our family and the Taylor family were together. There were five kids in that family, the oldest two boys were older then me and at the time I never thought about it but not being really related they were great "big brothers" to me. They tried one winter to teach me how to ice skate. It was terrible and I never tried again. We went to Minnesota for vacation almost every year to Cutaway Lodge on Cutaway Lake. It had eight cabins and two trailers on a lake that was 1 mile wide and 2 1/2 miles long. The only other house was the lodge that the owners lived in. I have a lot of good memories of those trips.
I have a number of hobbies. I enjoy reading mostly Christian romance and mystries. I sew and do different needlecrafts. 

hedrich - ,

I was the first born child and the apple of my daddy's eyes. We lived on a fram in southern Minnesota, but daddy farmed some land in northern Minnesota. He would take me with him. I stayed with relatives during the day until daddy got home. My mother would stay home to do chores and care for my baby brother who arrived 14 months later than I. I was a mischivious child and was climbing to the top of the grain bins and trees by the time I was 4 years. When I was 5 years my baby sister came along and we moved to northern Minnesota. I'm still daddy's girl and go everywhere with him. I'm a real tomboy and have started to learn to drive tractor and the truck in the fields during harvest. As we grew older we all had to help from the garden to picking eggs, feeding chickens and other chores, learned to milk cows, ride calves, pigs and horses. I also had to learn to cook and got quite good at it. I stared school at 5 years and graduated when I was 16 years. I got married at 17 years and and 15 months later had our first child, a boy. I married a farmer so I still did the field work, milking etc., no change there. Three years later a daughter arrived. She was a special child and our gift from God. The kids were typical brother, sister - but no one had better pick on Tammy or Gene - and his friends were right there to protect her. We moved to town after the kids started school and I held a full time job. Then out to the farm after work to farm. We had to work full time to afford to farm. The kids spent many hours in the field entertaining themselves while we worked. As years passed, Gene married and we became grandparents to one boy. We had him in our lives for 15 yrs before he was killed in an auto accident. What a great loss but God had decided to take him home and we can be thankful for the time we were allowed to have him in our hearts. Life goes on and retirement comes into our lives but we are still kept busy with everyday things that come our way. My husband now has a severe heart problem and my daughter and I have to care for him. He will soon be having a second open heart surgery and hopefully all will go well and his problems will be rectified. All things are in GOD'S hands and we have faith.

Terri - Horseheads, NY

The best day of my life was when I gave birth to my daughter, Amanda Leanne, on March 25, l979. I had a very easy pregnancy and delivery. I heard all kind of horror stories about birth. None of those things worried me because I just knew I was going to have a good time. I was told by my doctor that I would have my child on March 25 so I planned everything around that day. I woke early on that day. I took my shower and carried my suitcase out to the car. I woke my husband to tell him we needed to get going. He asked if I was having contractions and I told him no, but they would probably start soon. He reluctantly drove me to the hospital. While he parked the car, I went into the emergency room entrance and explained that I was there to have my child. They probably thought I was a planned C-section. I was wheelchaired to the maternity ward. I got undressed and got into bed. The nurse came in to check me. Since I wasn't dilated one bit, she suggested I go home and come in later when I was actually in labor. I explained that today was the day and I couldn't go home. They did let me stay and I walked in the hall as much as I could. Very shortly, I was checked again and was dilated 6 centimeters. From there, everything went pretty fast. I held my beautiful daughter in my arms at 10:49 a.m. Pretty good seeing as how I had arrived at 6 a.m. I didn't realize until much later in life how unusual this was. I have won things in contests before and since March 25, but nothing compares to the prize I won that day. 

LORRAINE - JACKSONVILLE, FL

Growing up in a mixed community, I was fortunate in having family, friends and neighbors that took an interest. We all cared about each other and helped whenever there was a need. My mother and father taught me at a young age to appreciate the life God gave us.
One of the best times I remember as a youngster was when we had snow so high you could not drive and we had to walk to where ever we were going (church, school, stores).  We were able to experience quality family/friends time as this was always a group thing. We had the best fun walking and running through high mounds of snow, sliding, laughing and just enjoying the company of each other. 
I have always enjoyed cooking. I regret not having had the opportunity to open my own catering business. I relax the most when I am creating and cooking especially for someone having a special occasion. It is such a pleasure to please anyone with food that they enjoy eating.
I am 62 years old and over the years I have learned we get out of life what we put into it. If we choose to be negative and dwell on the sad/bad events, we bring ourselves down. Life is so short and if we wallow in self pity because of the things we don't have, we will never be happy with what we do have. I have appreciated all God gave me, good and bad(trials). My family means everything to me. God gave me five wonderful children and 13 beautiful grandchildren.I always gave my best for them so they would grow up with priorities and responsibilities and know that when they work to get things for themselves it is the most rewarding experiences of their lives.

margy - Buckeye, Arizona

When I was 6 years old I wrote this original poem: "I stung the bee and the bee stung me. Now how in the world could I sting a bee?"  And I have been writing ever since!!!! Writing in one form or another has been the hallmark of my life. I have written for myself, for my children, my grandchildren and for many friends. I have written funny things, sad things, words of hope and words of  consolation. I have even written angry words and words of desperation. But never have I written words that fully describe the life I have lived and truly tell of the person who I really am. Now is that time....60 years later after having written that first poem.....and before it becomes to late!

Sharon - Antioch, IL

Well the best part of my life is when I met my husband and his four daughters. When I met him his youngest daughter was  3 and the oldest was 12. We all had a good life. It was fun and and we enjoyed camping every weekend, met lots of interesting people and still am friends with them 30-some years later. Like all familes we had our ups and downs. My family thought I was crazy being age 22 to marry a man with four daughters. But I never had children of my own, these are my daughters now and I love them dearly.
The oldest is Connie. She is 51 years of age, had one daughter who is a mother of two children, ages 1 and 4.
Connie's husband Emil is very sick now with cancer.
Second daughter Lisa she is 46 years old, lives in Green Bay with her firend Steve and they like to work in their yard and have friends over. She has a daughter Renee who lives in New Orleans.
The third daughter is Ginny. She is 44 years old. She and her husband Joe have two daughters Jennifer and Amanda who are both in collage.They live very close to me always have. They have a pool in their back yard and love it like going to movies and hanging with friends also.
The fourth daughter is my dear Wendy. She is 42 years old and married to Rick. They have two sons Cody and Troy. They lived through Katrina, in Mississippi and now live in Baraboo, Wisc. They have been through a lot and are a very close family who loves traveling, sking and fishing .
I am so thankful that as I am writing this that it makes you think about their lives and how far they have come.
So here I am also with six grandchildren and two great-grandchilden.
Great part of my life.

Dagmar - Maywood, NJ

I was born in New York City in 1931. My parents were German and lived in New York while my father worked for an international oil company. The German parent company recalled him just before WWII and we headed back, not realizing what we were in for. Once back in Berlin, we had to remain there, and so I lived through the war and survived. It was a horrible time, probably the worst time in my life.
When the war was over, I was allowed to returned to the United States since I was  a citizen, but my parents were not. As Germans, they were considered the enemy! I was only 15, but my parents let me go and stay with distant relatives since things were so bad in Europe. Once I arrived in New York and saw the food and clothes in the stores, watched people moving around peacefully and realized how kind everyone was, I thought I had landed in paradise!
I completed high school, worked for a year, and then went to college to become a teacher.
Although I never saw my father again, I was able to bring my mother to the U.S. once I had a teaching job.
I had made so many friends but had kept in touch with friends and relatives in Germany as well - to this day. There were many trips overseas and a stint with the U.S. Army,as a civilian in Germany and in France. Those were wonderful years! I met and married my husband in Paris and had two children after we returned to the U.S.
Now I am retired after having spent 40 years in the field of education, and have three grandchildren!
I feel that I had a great life so far and expect to have more wonderful years.

Frances - Winnsboro, SC

I have learned that working is the best time of my life. Lots of people look forward to retiring but not me. I love to learn something new each day.


Stephanie - Tallahassee, FL


I grew up in a small town in Ohio, Ironton, a beautiful little town on the banks of the Ohio River. When I was a child it was safe to walk pretty much anywhere. One of my fondest memories is walking "downtown" with my Grandpa. He would help me climb up on the courthouse wall, and I would hold his hand to balance me as I walked the length of the block. It seemed so high off the ground. In reality it was probably only a foot and a half high, but I felt like a giant walking up there. The fact that my Grandpa was right there beside me made me invincible.


frances - baltimore, maryland

I lived in the city. I loved to play baseball in the parks. I would walk around the city and see all the things, I know  like the back of my hand. For the summer I would go to visit grandparents and see how they all the lived. They lived in small towns in West Virginia. Every thing they ate came from the farm. It was different too see the two worlds. The people in my life showed me how to treat people and live each day; that family is the most important thing in life; and to make sure to say 'I love you' every day. Things I learned at work - do the best you can do and be good at what you do. Don't think that all people are your friends! The best times in my life was giving birth to my two kids. I love dogs and if I could I would take all the homeless dogs in, give love and food.

Phyllis - Double Springs, Alabama

I have a great family. Both of my parents' families have strong values. They believe in family, working hard, being honest and contributing to the community they live in. I live in a small rural area and one of my best memories of what our life was like was when my aunt died. My uncle was left with five children to raise alone. The following summer he planted a garden, when it was time to harvest the garden. All the ladies in the community brought their children and helped the oldest girls gather the vegetables and perserve them. We spent almost a week there. The kids played while the women worked. Those girls would never been able to do all that work by themselves and nothing was ever said about helping them, it was just what you did for someone who needed help. They taught us what it means to be part of a family.

Melissa - enfield, connecticut

 When I was a little girl we played outside from sun up to sun down. We played cowboys and Indians, rode our big wheels and played in the dirt. I remember being 5 years old and writing a note to God. I didn't know how to get it to Him so I burried it in the back yard. It said 'I love Jesus and God.' The neighborhoods were friendly and safe. People looked after each others children. 
 We went to many churches over the years and settled into one when I was 7. We were forbidden to have friends outside of the church even from other churches. We were not allowed to listen to radio, watch most television shows or see most movies. They told us in the year 2000 the world was going to end. That was the begining of the end for the church. Most people lost faith in the pastors then, as the millenium changed. Many families were damaged in so many ways over the years by them. The church had been controlled by fear. As our eyes began to open we all realized  we had been in a cult. It was reopened and most of the former members refused to go back. Marriages had been destroyed and families torn apart in the name of God. 
 The year 1998 was a tough one. I have survived an awful car accident in which my head hit the windshield. I had the accident in March, my best friend moved  away in January, February was my divorce as well as a family tragedy, and in June my parents divorced after 20 years of marriage. 
 I survived a relationship with an addict, marriage and divorce. He was controlling, abusive, and a liar. He would threaten me, my family and keep me in fear. His love was amazing, his tears real and he was always sorry. He was a cheater and I couldn't see anything at the time.I was blind to the truth by fear and determined to make it work. We broke up and got back together so many times. I really believed he loved me and every time he promised it would be different. 
  I have been the good little wife, the party girl, homeless and had a beautiful apartment. I've lived in motels, been on 50 blind dates from a chatline, and found inner peace.( After much soul searching and countless self help books) I am finally free! I have found a beautiful loving church, and created a life I love. I have been super blessed with good friends, and an amazing family I love dearly. Love is the answer and the meaning of it all. In the end it is what matters. That's the short version of my life so far, the best is yet to come!

Tracy - Akron, Ohio

My Name is Tracy Sims. I am a 35-year-old single mother of two beautiful children. I have a son named Marcus Lee Allen Wright who is 12 and a daughter named Briánna Mae Rose Sims who is 8. I was raised by my maternal grandparents who had 11 kids and raised myself. I graduated from Kenmore High school in 1992, the only one in my family. I am thankful for my grandparents. They took me in when no one else wanted me. They loved me like their own. My grandmother Opal and I are very close. She is not only my grandmother but my best friend. I talk to her about everything and she gives me advice without criticizing. She just listens. She says it's up to me if I take her advice or not. My grandfather passed away six years ago and I lost my mother 13 years ago. I have worked in many different fields - retail stores, factories, restaurants, convenient stores, fast food and even the dreaded telemarketers. You name it, I've done it. My favorite job would have to be convenient stores because I love working with the public. You get to meet a variety of people every day. You also get your regular customers who come in and talk to you. It's like being a personal counselor for some who just need someone to listen to them. I always said I wish I had more money to open up my own convenient store. I recently went through a really hard time, something happened to me and my children that really changed my way of life. After a domestic dispute with my son's father I found myself evicted with two children and no where to go. I lost everything I had ever worked hard for. I had to put all my kids and my stuff in storage and move into a shelter. Never in a million years had I ever thought I would end up in a shelter with my kids. It was hard, at times I felt like a horrible mother but I knew there was a reason why we going through that. I didn't know why at first but now I know God put us there. See I was just living life, I mean I knew God but I just lived and forgot to thank him for everything. Losing everything made me realize that he was there all along and never left me. He was just waiting on me to realize that. We were at the shelter for six months. My children both got saved while we were at the shelter and I was able to get back my relationship with God. You know in life people don't realize what they have till it's gone. We are finally in our own place and I take things one day at a time. I thank God every day for everything He gives us. Thank you for listening!!!         

Kerry - Mamaroneck, NY

My grandmother passed away when I was only 13 but she had a huge impact and influence on my life.  My "Nanny" often babysat for me and my younger siblings as my mother was taking care of my father's mother who had cancer.  She would tell me stories of her childhood and beyond. Her mother died on her 16th birthday in March 1916 from a flu epidemic. It was a snowy March day when she was buried. Her coffin was brought to the cemetery in a glass, horse-drawn hearse. Only a few years later, her younger brother would die in France, a casualty of the "Big War." 
Her early troubles made her strong. She married and proceeded to have 12 children. My mother was her youngest. At a time when it was not the done thing, my grandmother had the strength to put her abusive husband out and raise her family on her own during the Depression. My older aunts and uncles helped to keep the family housed and fed. My five oldest uncles were all part of the CCC. My grandmother could recall postcards they sent from their jobs as they traveled.  With the start of WWII, the "Big 5" all joined the armed services. My Uncle John took Nanny with him to join the Marines as he was only 17 and needed her permission to join. Years, later her eyes still glistened when she told her story. Through her, I learned that hard work and faith can overcome any difficulty.

Mike - Windsor,

Bad Industrial Accident

Hello my name is Mike Ladouceur. I am writing this to let people know that there is recovery after a traumatic injury. I was in a bad accident at a factory I was working in, it’s called Border Steel Inc. In Windsor, Ontario, Canada. I was working midnights and I went to work on Jan. 5, 1994. When I had gotten to work I found out a fellow employee had called in sick and I needed his job done to have my job done. So I had to do both jobs. It was at about 2 a.m. when I was doing the other job. I was lifting a 10-ton steel plate with the over the head crane using L-shaped clamps. I lifted the plate about waist level when one of the clamps had shot out and hit me right between the eyes and went about a half inch into my skull. It knocked me back a couple of steps and I banged the back of my head against a concrete block wall then I fell forward and banged the front of my head against the cement floor. After that had happened it put me into a coma. I was laying there in a pool of blood. There were only two other workers in the shop at that time - one at the front of the shop, he was a laborer, and one at the back of the shop, he ran the Blanchard grinder. The worker in the front of the shop had heard the steel plate fall and crash into the floor so he came to see if everything was ok. When he got to where the plate was laying on the floor he was looking around for me and couldn't see me. He walked around the steel plate and saw me lying in a pool of blood, So then, he went running to the nearest phone to call an ambulance. After the ambulance came, he led them to where I was and they picked me up. They brought me to Met Hospital but then transferred me to Hotel Dieu Hospital where I was born. I was in a coma for 32 days after the accident had happened. The case had gone to court when I was still in a coma so I didn't have any say into what had happened. After the accident happened the owner of the company had gotten rid of the steel clamps so there was no evidence of faulty clamps because they were supposed to be saftied and they were not. The owner of the company had gotten a fine for $6,000 for no evidence when I almost lost my life - my heart stopped beating for six to eight minutes. I was lucky that the doctor got it beating again.

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Hello my name is Mike Ladouceur. I am writing this to let people know that there is recovery after a traumatic injury. I was in a bad accident at a factory I was working in, it’s called Border Steel Inc. In Windsor, Ontario, Canada. I was working midnights and I went to work on Jan. 5, 1994. When I had gotten to work I found out a fellow employee had called in sick and I needed his job done to have my job done. So I had to do both jobs. It was at about 2 a.m. when I was doing the other job. I was lifting a 10-ton steel plate with the over the head crane using L-shaped clamps. I lifted the plate about waist level when one of the clamps had shot out and hit me right between the eyes and went about a half inch into my skull. It knocked me back a couple of steps and I banged the back of my head against a concrete block wall then I fell forward and banged the front of my head against the cement floor. After that had happened it put me into a coma. I was laying there in a pool of blood. There were only two other workers in the shop at that time - one at the front of the shop, he was a laborer, and one at the back of the shop, he ran the Blanchard grinder. The worker in the front of the shop had heard the steel plate fall and crash into the floor so he came to see if everything was ok. When he got to where the plate was laying on the floor he was looking around for me and couldn't see me. He walked around the steel plate and saw me lying in a pool of blood, So then, he went running to the nearest phone to call an ambulance. After the ambulance came, he led them to where I was and they picked me up. They brought me to Met Hospital but then transferred me to Hotel Dieu Hospital where I was born. I was in a coma for 32 days after the accident had happened. The case had gone to court when I was still in a coma so I didn't have any say into what had happened. After the accident happened the owner of the company had gotten rid of the steel clamps so there was no evidence of faulty clamps because they were supposed to be saftied and they were not. The owner of the company had gotten a fine for $6,000 (a fraction of what most life insurance policies provide) for no evidence when I almost lost my life - my heart stopped beating for six to eight minutes. I was lucky that the doctor got it beating again.

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