It
seems I have always written, but have never been a writer, just
as I have always made art, but never became an artist. Perhaps
it is the incredible ingredients in the stew of my life.
I graduated from Ball State (then a teachers’ college)
with majors in English, Speech and Theater, and received a Master’s
from St. Francis College (IN). I taught for 36 years (junior
high in California, high school and college in Indiana). I was
even a finalist for Teacher of the Year in Indiana. Most classes
were labeled English, but they included filmmaking,
journalism, creative writing, creative dramatics, humanities,
Art & English (team-taught), Advanced Placement, IU literature
and composition, speech, independent reading, etc. Many of my
students became proficient writers: one year five of them placed
in a Purdue writing contest; a professor at Ashland (OH) College
told one of my students she was the best freshman writer he
had had; a professor at Notre Dame could not believe one of
my students had graduated with such proficient writing skills
from a public high school. During that time, my work was published
in newspapers and journals, including The English Journal
and The Humanities Journal. I also spoke at several
state and national conferences and received national fellowships
to study at Bennington College, University of Chicago, and Reed
College (OR).
After retiring, I moved with my husband, who had taken a job
in Chattanooga. I became a docent at Hunter Museum, a clogger
at Allemande Hall, a carousel carver at Horsin’ Around,
a coordinator with Allied Arts, a writing specialist at several
schools, and a writer of children’s stories, all unpublished.
One of my pieces was runner-up in The Tale for One City writing
contest. Another piece, I had hoped to published, involved my
trip on a towboat on the Tennessee River.
My two grown children, who live in Ohio and Indiana, have provided
me with ten grandchildren, aged 4-18; thus, a great amount of
my time is spent traveling to see them or taking them on trips.
Indeed, much of my writing is journaling during travels to all
50 states and more than a dozen foreign countries. This April,
two will accompany me to France. My other pastimes include reading,
skiing, playing tennis and working out at the Y. Ten years ago,
Mark Kennedy wrote an article for the newspaper on how I was
never bored.
This year, my goal is to make time for writing and self-publishing,
if only for my family.
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