I am a retired high school English teacher and a mother of two and a grandmother of two. My son Rob has a 6-year-old son named Jesse; my daughter Shawna has a 12-year-old daughter named Traci. I'm a native Virginian, having been born in Staunton, Virginia, and having lived out in the country at the foot of a mountain all my life. I've always been interested in reading, especially biographies, histories (especially about the American Civil War), and the mysteries of life. After graduation from college in 1968, I began dating my former roommate's boyfriend Larry. In 1969, he entered the USAF and left for basic training in Texas, then tech school in Colorado. Afterwards, he was sent to the Azores for a year! It was a little difficult to carry on a relationship with him being that far away, but somehow we did. When he came home on leave just before Christmas in 1970, we became engaged. After Larry completed his Azores assignment in April 1971, he returned home on leave, and we were married May 8th. We Have lived in California (Rob was born here.), Langley AFB, Taipei, Taiwan ROC, and back at Langley AFB, where Shawna was born and also her twin Traci (who is the namesake of Shawna's daughter). Unfortunately, our Traci was born with Down's Syndrome and she passed away at the age of 7 months. I still miss her very much, and ironically, so does Shawna in some ways, although she was only 7 months herself when Traci passed away. I managed to secure a teaching position at each of our assigned bases. Thank goodness! Unfortunately, Larry and I divorced in 1999. We are still friends. Now, I'm in the autumn of my life. I'm enjoying my grandchildren and spending time doing some of the things I could not do while teaching!