Yes, I am a baby boomer. I was born in 1951. I came from a reasonably large family. We were Irish Catholics. My parents had six children. I have a twin sister. My mother had another set of twins after we were born, but they did not survive. They were twin boys.

I grew up in a small town in New Jersey called Maple Shade. It was a great time and a great place to grow up. Most of my neighbors were either Irish, Catholic, or Italian Catholic. I had a best friend who lived three houses away from us. So, there was never a shortage of kids to play with. Because there were many other children in Maple Shade, including the friends I made once I was old enough to attend school. I attended Catholic School from elementary through High School.

My parents were not strict as long as we came home from school on time and were home in time for dinner. We didn’t get in trouble. My parents never really questioned me about where I had been up to.

The house where I grew up. Male Shade, NJ

All the kids in the neighborhood had bikes, and we rode them to explore the area, even visiting nearby towns. And only by the luck of the Irish did I survive my childhood. Because I was all for doing somewhat dangerous things. For instance, I used to go swimming in my neighbor’s pool that was six feet deep, even though I didn’t know how to swim. If I got water over my head, I would grab onto whoever was nearest me to keep from drowning. And by some luck, they didn’t drown, and neither did I. But we sure got sunburned. Back then, there wasn’t any sunblock; there was only tanning lotion.

My Family when I was a baby.

One hot Summer day, I was in my neighbor’s swimming pool, and I went too far out and almost drowned. Luckily, my neighbor, Denny Pheiffer, swam close to me, and I grabbed onto him. And almost drowned both of us. That was the plan; we would go to a hotel on Route 73, park our bikes, and go swimming in the hotel pool. Luckily, there was a lifeguard there; fortunately, he didn’t have a clue that we weren’t staying at the hotel with our parents. We did that for many summers. My parents never had a clue. They just told me to be home in time to eat lunch. They never asked where I had been or what I had been doing. Anyway I would say I was playing at a friend’s house.

We all had bikes to ride. Our parents never told us where we could or couldn’t go. They just warned us not to be late for lunch or dinner. And after dinner, we would go outside after it was dark and run all over the neighborhood. If it were summertime, we would follow the mosquito trucks that sprayed DDT to kill the mosquitoes. We didn’t know it was poison, and apparently neither did any of the kids. Since we all rode our bikes behind the trucks that were spraying DDT. I don’t know how, but we all survived, more or less intact.

All Summer long, I would say, “Let’s go to Strawbridge Lake.” This was a park two towns away. And we would either walk or ride our bikes there. Once we arrived, we would take off our sneakers and walk into the lake until the water reached up to our knees. This was a lake that contained fish. It wasn’t a lake where kids should have been swimming. But there weren’t any adults there, so who was going to say anything? In the winter, the big lake would freeze over, and we would take off our shoes and put on our ice skates to skate across the ice. It was only blind luck aht none of us broke through the ice and didn’t drown under it. And in the Summer, we used to walk across the waterfall and sometimes jump into the water. By some luck, none of us drowned, or came close to it. Somehow, regardless of the crazy things we used to do. We all survived; no doubt it was blind luck.

Sometimes I would talk my friends into walking to one of the larger stores outside of Maple Shade. And we would walk about three miles along the side of the road and head toward the part of the road that was an overpass above Route 73. We would get this: we used to throw things down onto the roofs of the cars passing underneath the overpass. And it was only by the luck of the Irish that we never broke a car’s windshield or caused an accident. I can’t recall what thought went through my mind at the time. But, apparently, common sense wasn’t one of the things residing there.

I also had a friend who lived near the CLAY PITS in Maple Shade. We had to cross the railroad tracks to get there, and we would wait until there was a train in the distance, and then we would run like hell and cross the railroad tracks as fast as we could. It was only because of dumb luck that none of us were run over by the train going sixty miles an hour. And somehow by some miracle we all survived “our childhoods, more or less intact.”

And then there was Halloween; we would plan our costumes for weeks before the holiday. And get this, one year I made a costume that was supposed to look like I was a hot dog in a bun. And for some reason, that I could not comprehend, my mother thought I would like wearing in. I didn’t. Many of the kids made fun of me, but after a while, they got over it. And we continued going door to door all over town. How many of us have a tooth left in our mouths after years of eating Halloween Candy is a complete mystery. Even on a regular day, my mother had trouble getting me to brush my teeth. Add to that that this was back in the early 1950s, when you could buy penny candy. It really was a freaking miracle that I had any teeth left by the time I was a teenager.

By some miracle, I managed to graduate from Catholic Elementary School. And my parents decided to send my twin sister and me to St. Mary Of The Angels Academy in Haddonfield, NJ, which happened to be a private, All-girl school. I didn’t have a problem with that, since I had attended a Catholic elementary school for eight years. I wasn’t particularly fond of boys my age, so I thought, Why not? In fact, my twin sister and I applied to both Holy Cross High School in Riverside, NJ, and St.Mary of the Angels Academy in Haddonfield, NJ.

I have to admit I didn’t put a whole lot of effort into my school work, but somehow, by the grace of god, or just good luck, I passed out of twelfth grade. And it just so happened that I found employment immediately after graduating from high school. Because Dr. Wozniak’s wife had attended St. Mary of the Angels Academy when she was a kid, she inquired at St. Mary’s if a student was looking for a job after graduation who wasn’t going to attend college. And guess what, the dear nuns recommended me as a possible candidate, so they contacted me and asked if I was interested. My parents said I was, and voila, I had a full-time job right out of high school. And I worked there for six years. It turned out that I was highly organized and enjoyed talking to both child patients and adults.

And that, my friends, was the beginning of my working years. To be honest, I found that I really enjoyed working and earning money. And as it turned out, over the first year of my working life, I was able to save enough money to buy a 1970s yellow Volkswagen, which became the love of my life for many years. It took me all over New Jersey, eventually to Florida, and then to California.

You never know where your life will take you. But here I am, retired and living in North Carolina, living the good life. Take one day at a time and enjoy it;, life goes by quickly.

Yes, I am a baby boomer. I was born in 1951. I came from a reasonably large family. We were Irish Catholics. My parents had six children. I have a twin sister. My mother had another set of twins after we were born, but they did not survive. They were twin boys.

I grew up in a small town in New Jersey called Maple Shade. It was a great time and a great place to grow up. Most of my neighbors were either Irish, Catholic, or Italian Catholic. I had a best friend who lived three houses away from us. So, there was never a shortage of kids to play with. Because there were many other children in Maple Shade, including the friends I made once I was old enough to attend school. I attended Catholic School from elementary through High School.

My parents were not strict as long as we came home from school on time and were home in time for dinner. We didn’t get in trouble. My parents never really questioned me about where I had been.

The house where I grew up. Male Shade, NJ

All the kids in the neighborhood had bikes, and we rode them to explore the area, even visiting nearby towns. And only by the luck of the Irish did I survive my childhood. Because I was all for doing somewhat dangerous things. For instance, I used to go swimming in my neighbor’s pool that was six feet deep, even though I didn’t know how to swim. If I got water over my head, I would grab onto whoever was nearest me to keep from drowning. And by some luck, they didn’t drown, and neither did I. But we sure got sunburned. Back then, there wasn’t any sunblock; there was only tanning lotion.

My Family when I was a baby.

One hot Summer day, I was in my neighbor’s swimming pool, and I went too far out and almost drowned. Luckily, my neighbor, Denny Pheiffer, swam close to me, and I grabbed onto him. And almost drowned both of us. That was the plan; we would go to a hotel on Route 73, park our bikes, and go swimming in the hotel pool. Luckily, there was a lifeguard there; fortunately, he didn’t have a clue that we weren’t staying at the hotel with our parents. We did that for many summers. My parents never had a clue. They just told me to be home in time to eat lunch. They never asked where I had been or what I had been doing. Anyway, I would say I was playing at a friend’s house.

We all had bikes to ride. Our parents never told us where we could or couldn’t go. They just warned us not to be late for lunch or dinner. And after dinner, we would go outside after it was dark and run all over the neighborhood. If it were summertime, we would follow the mosquito trucks that sprayed DDT to kill the mosquitoes. We didn’t know it was poison, and apparently neither did any of the kids. Since we all rode our bikes behind the trucks that were spraying DDT. I don’t know how, but we all survived, more or less intact.

All Summer long, I would say, “Let’s go to Strawbridge Lake.” This was a park two towns away. And we would either walk or ride our bikes there. Once we arrived, we would take off our sneakers and walk into the lake until the water reached up to our knees. This was a lake that contained fish. It wasn’t a lake where kids should have been swimming. But there weren’t any adults there, so who was going to say anything? In the winter, the big lake would freeze over, and we would take off our shoes and put on our ice skates to skate across the ice. It was only blind luck aht none of us broke through the ice and didn’t drown under it. And in the Summer, we used to walk across the waterfall and sometimes jump into the water. By some luck, none of us drowned, or came close to it. Somehow, regardless of the crazy things we used to do. We all survived; no doubt it was blind luck.

Sometimes I would talk my friends into walking to one of the larger stores outside of Maple Shade. And we would walk about three miles along the side of the road and head toward the part of the road that was an overpass above Route 73. We would get this: we used to throw things down onto the roofs of the cars passing underneath the overpass. And it was only by the luck of the Irish that we never broke a car’s windshield or caused an accident. I can’t recall what thought went through my mind at the time. But, apparently, common sense wasn’t one of the things residing there.

I also had a friend who lived near the CLAY PITS in Maple Shade. We had to cross the railroad tracks to get there, and we would wait until there was a train in the distance, and then we would run like hell and cross the railroad tracks as fast as we could. It was only because of dumb luck that none of us were run over by the train going sixty miles an hour. And somehow by some miracle we all survived “our childhoods, more or less intact.”

And then there was Halloween; we would plan our costumes for weeks leading up to the holiday. And get this, one year I made a costume that was supposed to look like I was a hot dog in a bun. And for some reason, that I could not comprehend, my mother thought I would like wearing it. I didn’t. Many of the kids made fun of me, but eventually, they got over it. And we continued going door to door all over town. How many of us have a tooth left in our mouths after years of eating Halloween Candy is a complete mystery. Even on a regular day, my mother had trouble getting me to brush my teeth. Add to that that this was back in the early 1950s, when you could buy penny candy. It really was a freaking miracle that I had any teeth left by the time I was a teenager.

By some miracle, I managed to graduate from Catholic Elementary School. And my parents decided to send my twin sister and me to St. Mary Of The Angels Academy in Haddonfield, NJ, which happened to be a private, All-girl school. I didn’t have a problem with that, since I had attended a Catholic elementary school for eight years. I wasn’t particularly fond of boys my age, so I thought, Why not? In fact, my twin sister and I applied to both Holy Cross High School in Riverside, NJ, and St.Mary of the Angels Academy in Haddonfield, NJ.

I have to admit I didn’t put a whole lot of effort into my school work, but somehow, by the grace of god, or just good luck, I passed out of twelfth grade. And it just so happened that I found employment immediately after graduating from high school. Because Dr. Wozniak’s wife had attended St. Mary of the Angels Academy when she was a kid, she inquired at St. Mary’s if a student was looking for a job after graduation who wasn’t going to attend college. And guess what, the dear nuns recommended me as a possible candidate, so they contacted me and asked if I was interested. My parents said I was, and voila, I had a full-time job right out of high school. And I worked there for six years. It turned out that I was highly organized and enjoyed talking to both child patients and adults.

And that, my friends, was the beginning of my working years. To be honest, it turned out that I really enjoyed working and earning money. And as it turned out, over the first year of my working life, I was able to save enough money to buy a 1970s yellow Volkswagen, which became the love of my life for many years. It took me all over New Jersey, eventually to Florida, and then to California.

You never know where your life will take you. But here I am, retired and living in North Carolina, living the good life. Take one day at a time and enjoy it; life goes by quickly.

PART ONE, MARRIAGE, CHILDREN, AND COLLEGE

Well, here I am moving closer and closer to the end of my days. How do I know this? Well, I know that I turned seventy-four on my last birthday, on May 24^th. 2025. I remember so well when my mother turned seventy-seven. Because that was the year she passed away. My dear father had passed the year before. He died of lung cancer. He smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. They were Pall Malls. I remember this because he usually gave me the money to go to the store, which was several blocks away from our home, to buy him a pack. Back in the day, the store owners didn’t question children about their purchases. They just took the money and handed you whatever it was you just paid for. They probably don’t do that now. But, back in the day, that’s how things worked. At the time, I didn’t know that smoking caused cancer.

But when my father developed lung cancer when he was sixty-seven, I guess I made the connection—smoking/ Cancer. My mother smoked as well, but not as heavily as my father did. My mother died of congestive heart failure when she was seventy-six, a year after my father.

I have congestive heart failure as well. I started showing symptoms in my early fifties. I made an appointment with a cardiologist very soon after I started having shortness of breath. It is a gene that is passed down to progeny. I was diagnosed at fifty-two with heart failure. But here I am, seventy-four. And generally I feel fine. I have t take six pills a day for my heart. And a handful of vitamins too. And I think well overall. I go to the heart doctor once a year for a check-up. My health is good overall. I have been a vegetarian for forty years, never drank, never smoked. So, all in all, I don’t have anything to complain about. I just take one day at a time.

As I reflect on my life, I feel overall that I am satisfied. Generally, I made good choices. I got married in 1974, when I was twenty-three. I married my best girlfriend’s cousin. And here we are now, retired and living in North Carolina for the past nine years. We have been married for fifty-one years. That is a long time, and we have had our ups and downs. But, still here we are in the nader of our years.

We also lived in California, where Bob attended Brooks Institute for Photography. We lived there for almost four years. California is a beautiful place to live. I worked at St.Vincent’s School as a counselor working with mentally handicapped teenagers. I have to admit that working there was the best experience I have ever had. I came to love those girls who were ages twelve to about sixteen, with all my heart. It was a great experience. It was hard for me to say goodbye to them when Bob completed his education and graduated.

After Bob graduated, we decided to move back to New Jersey, as there were more job opportunities in the Northeast. We pack up all our worldly belongings. And headed back to New Jersey. We ended up living with my parent for almost a year until we had the means to purchase a home of our own after Bob found employment. Unfortunately, it turned out there wasn’t a lot of need for photographers. And Bob eventually found a job in electronics at GE in Camden, NJ.

Meanwhile, we started looking for an affordable home in South Jersey. We found a home in Pennsauken, New Jersey, which was about a twenty-minute drive from my parents. It was a vast and expensive home. But it was ours. And we put a lot of work into it, inside and out. We lived there for fourteen years. During that time, we started our family and had two daughters, Jeanette and Bridget, three years apart. They are now in their early forties.

When I was thirty-six, I decided that I wanted to go to college, since both of my kids were in school. And I didn’t have the opportunity to go to college after high school. I got a job right out of high school working as a dental assistant for Dr. Edward G. Wozinak. He trained me to be a chairside assistant, and I worked there for five years. I applied to all the art schools in the Philadelphia area. And after they looked at my resume and my artwork, I was accepted at all the schools. Temple University offered me financial assistance, and I went for it. I was the oldest Freshman at Temple that year. I was as old as or older than some of the professors. Well, I won’t lie. It was a struggle to go to college full-time with two little kids. Nonetheless, I did it. I graduated Magna cum Laude when I was forty-one years old. It was hard, but it was the best choice I ever made.
I learned a whole lot while I attended Temple. And I graduated magnum cum laude (Great with Honors) I graduated with teaching credentials and a BFA Art Degree at the top of my class. It was hard work going to college full-time and taking care of two young children, a house, and a yard. Not to mention the hours and hours I spent studying for my classes and writing papers. Nonetheless, I graduated at the top of my class, and my younger fellow students gave me a standing ovation when my name was called out at graduation. My family came to my graduation. It was a great day, and I felt some relief, but I was proud of myself for not giving up. And succeeding at my goal and achieving it.

PART ONE, MARRIAGE, CHILDREN, AND COLLEGE

Well, here I am moving closer and closer to the end of my days. How do I know this? Well, I know that I turned seventy-four on my last birthday, on May 24^th. 2025. I remember so well when my mother turned seventy-seven. Because that was the year she passed away. My dear father had passed the year before. He died of lung cancer. He smoked two packs of cigarettes a day. They were Pall Malls. I remember this because he usually gave me the money to go to the store, which was several blocks away from our home, to buy him a pack. Back in the day, the store owners didn’t question children about their purchases. They just took the money and handed you whatever it was you just paid for. They probably don’t do that now. But, back in the day, that’s how things worked. At the time, I didn’t know that smoking caused cancer.

But when my father developed lung cancer when he was sixty-seven, I guess I made the connection—smoking/ Cancer. My mother smoked as well but not has heavily as my father did. My mother died of congestive heart failure when she was seventy-six, a year after my father.

I have congestive heart failure as well. I started showing symptoms in my early fifties. I made an appointment with a cardiologist very soon after I started having shortness of breath. It is a gene that is passed down to progeny. I was diagnosed at fifty-two with heart failure. But here I am, seventy-four. And generally I feel fine. I have t take six pills a day for my heart. And a handful of vitamins too. And I think well overall. I go to the heart doctor once a year for a check-up. My health is good overall. I have been a vegetarian for forty years, never drank, never smoked. So, all in all, I don’t have anything to complain about. I just take one day at a time.

As I reflect on my life, I feel overall that I am satisfied. Generally, I made good choices. I got married in 1974, when I was twenty-three. I married my best girlfriend’s cousin. And here we are now, retired and living in North Carolina for the past nine years. We have been married for fifty-one years. That is a long time, and we have had our ups and downs. But, still here we are in the nader of our years.

We also lived in California, where Bob attended Brooks Institute for Photography. We lived there for almost four years. California is a beautiful place to live. I worked at St.Vincent’s School as a counselor working with mentally handicapped teenagers. I have to admit that working there was the best experience I have ever had. I came to love those girls who were ages twelve to about sixteen, with all my heart. It was a great experience. It was hard for me to say goodbye to them when Bob completed his education and graduated.

After Bob graduated, we decided to move back to New Jersey, as there were more job opportunities in the Northeast. We pack up all our worldly belongings. And headed back to New Jersey. We ended up living with my parent for almost a year until we had the means to purchase a home of our own after Bob found employment. Unfortunately, it turned out there wasn’t a lot of need for photographers. And Bob eventually found a job in electronics at GE in Camden, NJ.

Meanwhile, we started looking for an affordable home in South Jersey. We found a home in Pennsauken, New Jersey, which was about a twenty-minute drive from my parents. It was a huge or expensive home. But it was ours. And we put a lot of work into it, inside and out. We lived there for fourteen years. During that time, we started our family and had two daughters, Jeanette and Bridget, three years apart. They are now in their early forties.

When I was thirty-six, I decided that I wanted to go to college, since both of my kids were in school. And I didn’t have the opportunity to go to college after high school. I got a job right out of high school working as a dental assistant for Dr. Edward G. Wozinak. He trained me to be a chairside assistant, and I worked there for five years. I applied to all the art schools in the Philadelphia area. And after they looked at my resume and my artwork, I was accepted at all the schools. Temple University offered me financial assistance, and I went for it. I was the oldest Freshman at Temple that year. I was as old as or older than some of the professors. Well, I won’t lie. It was a struggle to go to college full-time with two little kids. Nonetheless, I did it. I graduated Magna cum Laude when I was forty-one years old. It was hard, but it was the best choice I ever made.
I learned a whole lot while I attended Temple. And I graduated magnum cum laude (Great with Honors). I graduated with teaching credentials and a BFA Art Degree at the top of my class. It was hard work going to college full-time and taking care of two young children, a house, and a yard. Not to mention the hours and hours I spent studying for my classes and writing papers.  I graduated at the top of my class, and my younger fellow students gave me a standing ovation when my name was called out at graduation. My family came to my graduation. It was a great day, and I felt some relief, but I was proud of myself for not giving up and achieving my goal.

It’s hard for me to believe, but it’s nonetheless true. I turned seventy-four years old in May of this year.. Life passed by quickly. It seems I’ve moved closer to the end than the beginning. And the sad truth is that in the last years of my life, time has passed very quickly. We moved to North Carolina from New Jersey when my husband and I both retired. And we have been living here in NC for nine years. We relocated to the south because of the lower cost of living. And a slower lifestyle.

I haven’t always been a person who liked to be busy, and the first year after I moved to NC. I volunteered in the Guardian Ad Litem. I had to take a college course before I could start volunteering. A Guardian ad Litem works within the family court system. I was assigned a family who seemed unable to recognize that their children should be protected from harm. Their children needed to live in a clean and healthy environment and eat three meals a day. No matter how many times I tried to discuss the care their children needed, I couldn’t get the adults to realize that if they didn’t take proper care of their children, these children would not remain in their homes. There was often a lack of funds, and parents or family members had addictions. I found that no matter how many times I talked to them about proper care of their children, they didn’t change their behavior.

As a result, I decided this was not what I wanted to do for my retirement. I had spent years working with at-risk kids, and found it rewarding to some degree. But the parents of these children had significant problems with abusive spouses and drug and alcohol use.

As a result, I decided to find a different outlet for my time and energy. I had always loved animals, and I discovered an animal sanctuary twenty minutes away from my home. And I volunteered there for nine years. I took care of parrots, macaws, pigeons, doves, etc. I always loved animals. But, at some point, I decided that at 74 years old. I was getting too old to continue doing this work for much longer.

So, here I am truly retired and putting all my energy into my family, my pets, and my hobbies. I have been writing short stories and memoirs for the past nine years and publish a new story every week. It is on Facebook and called WRITE ON.

And just recently, I decided to start painting and drawing again. I attended Temple University, Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, and I have a Bachelor of Fine Arts and teaching credentials. I graduated with magnum cum laude. I was thirty-six when I started as a Freshman and graduated as a senior at forty-one. The oldest graduate in my class. It was challenging, but it was one of the best decisions I ever made. Not only was my age a factor, but the fact that I was married and had two young children, who were three and six when I started. They were in day care. I didn’t take any Summer classes because I wanted to spend the summer with my children. I can’t say it was easy, but I graduated at the top of my class and made a great many friends of all ages while I attended Temple University for four years. It was one of the best decisions I ever made.

The Race

After I graduated, I found out that elementary schools in New Jersey were no longer teaching art in public or Catholic Schools. And as a result, I was unable to find employment in New Jersey or Pennsylvania. I felt that Temple University should have informed me and my fellow students that there wouldn’t be any teaching positions when we graduated.

My response to this unfortunate news was that it wasn’t going to stop me from teaching art. We ended up finding a large home that was for sale, which used to be a doctor’s office. We decided to sell our present home and renovate this much larger home. I could teach art in the rooms that had formerly been a doctor’s office. And so I taught art for many years to people who lived in Pitman and the surrounding area. I taught children during the day, and adults in the evening and on Saturdays.

So, here I am many years later, and I’m seventy-four years old. I no longer teach art, and I have retired from volunteering at the animal sanctuary. And so, I’ve decided to start painting again and continue writing. I have written one book, and I’m going to try to get it published. And I have written over two hundred short stories. I believe I have many other stories yet to be written, and perhaps I will write another fictional novel.

And who knows what I will do next. As long as I have the energy and the imagination, I will continue to write and paint, and draw and make things. It is my nature, and I’m not giving up yet. I may even consider creating three-dimensional artwork. I haven’t done that since I attended art school at Temple University. But, as long as I have breath in my body and an active imagination, I will keep going until I have no breath left in my body.

     I have recently mentioned that I am 74 years old. I know it’s hard to believe, but that is how many years I have lived. Overall, I feel that I, for the most part, have made good choices along life’s highways. Yes, I may have hit a bump or two along the way. Nonetheless, I believe I’ve made a few wrong turns, but somehow I ended up where I hoped I would be.

     There have been, as I said, a few rough spots. One of the most challenging events in my life was when I was in my early fifties, and I was diagnosed with congestive heart failure. I had a hard time accepting this diagnosis, but eventually I did. Initially, I was told I might last five years, no more. But, by the grace of god or the doctor who was caring for me, I am still alive and generally feeling well. Luckily, about the same time I was diagnosed, a new cardiac drug was developed, and I was one of the first patients to take it. It is called Entresto. I took this medication for many years. And about a year ago, my present cardiologist told me that I no longer needed to take it. So, here I am, seventy-four, feeling, well, pretty damm good. I hope to live another ten years.

     I retired at sixty-two years old, as I didn’t think I would live much longer, but guess what, I have lived and hope to live another ten years. I recently stopped volunteering at my volunteer job, taking care of at-risk animals at an animal sanctuary here in North Carolina, for nine years.

     I have to admit I have had an interesting life, although I didn’t always follow the path that most people follow in their lives. In my early working life, I was a dental assistant, and then I worked a psychatic aide in a state mental hospital, Ancora in New Jersey. Then I sold high-risk insurance with the Ellis Brothers in New Jersey,

     Then, when I was about thirty-six years old, I decided that I wanted to go to college, and had two young children who were four and seven.. I applied to three universities and art schools. And I was accepted at all three after they examined my art portfolio. I was offered a scholarship at Temple University in Philadelphia, PA, for the first year. And then I took out student loans.

     It took me twelve years after I graduated to pay off all my student loans. After four years, I graduated Summa cum Laude (with great honors) and had art teaching credentials.

     I was the only adult student in my class. Nonetheless, I had a good experience. I was popular among the younger students because I decided to befriend as many fellow students as I could while I was there. And sure enough, I was accepted and treated as a friend and fellow student. Overall, my experience was positive and life-confirming since I graduated at the top of my class.

     I was given a standing ovation at my graduation. This was some thirty years ago. Unfortunately, when I got out of school, I found that New Jersey and Pennsylvania were no longer funding art programs in Public Schools. I was devastated at the time. Nonetheless, I didn’t give up.

     After almost a year of sending out resumes to public and private schools I gave up. And then one day, I got an advertisement in the mail saying a large home in Pitman, New Jersey, was for sale. And they were having an open house that following Saturday. I jumped on this. And we went to the open house that weekend.

It was a huge old home; it had been empty for about eight years. And needed significant repair,

At that time, we were living in Pennsauken, NJ, in a family neighborhood. The elementary school was a ten-minute walk from our house. It was a quiet neighborhood for the most part. Although we had a couple of neighbors who had loud fights and disagreements, we could often hear them arguing. But, overall, it was a safe and decent town for our children, with many children living within walking distance of our street. We lived there for fourteen years, and then we or should I say I decided we needed to buy a larger house. Since I had just graduated from Temple University Tyler School of Art, I wanted to live in an area where both children and adults would come to my art classes.

     And it just so happened that one Sunday, I found an advertisement for a large, older home that was for sale in Pitman, New Jersey. And so, we went to the open house. And sure enough, it was a huge, old house. I felt it had great potential. It required extensive renovations, including a new heating and air conditioning system, since it only had two air conditioners in the windows on the second floor. So, we made an offer for the house, and it was accepted, since no one else made an offer, given the house’s extensive repair needs, including a new roof. The house had belonged to a doctor but had been empty for eight years. We fell in love with the house even though we realized it needed a great deal of work and updating.

This is our former home in NJ where I taught Art for many years to children and adults.

     But we went for it. We put our house in Pennsauken up for sale, and it took some time and effort. We ended up renting it for a short time until the renters were able to procure a down payment loan, etc. It was touch-and-go for a while.

     Eventually, we sold the house in Pennsauken and moved into what would be our home for the next twenty-four years. We didn’t know anyone in Pitman or anyone in the whole area. But, over time, we made friends with all of our new neighbors, and our children were able to walk to school in Pitman, and they made friends. Over time, they came to love Pitman as much as we did. But, I wouldn’t say it was an easy transition, but over time, it all worked out for the better. Good schools. Plenty of kids, a safe area with a downtown with stores. We came to love Pitman and made many friends while we lived there. We lived there for twenty-four years until we were of retirement age. At which point we had to sell our house, because there was no way we could afford both the upkeep and the real estate taxes in New Jersey once we retired.

     I would be lying if I said it was easy. We had made many friends in Pitman, and so had our children. But we realized once retired, we would have to move to a more affordable part of the country.

     And, that my friends, is how we ended up retired and living in North Carolina. We have now lived here for nine years. Our oldest daughter is married and living in Philadelphia. Our youngest daughter chose to move with us to North Carolina.

     Was it easy? No, no, it wasn’t. We didn’t know anyone in North Carolina, so it was like starting all over again. But here we are, nine years later, living in Willow Spring, NC. Is it perfect here? No. We live in a small development with about twenty-five homes. And believe it or not, our neighbors keep to themselves and rarely even wave at us or say hello. I often say hello, but they don’t acknowledge it. It’s weird, but we adapted to it. Our youngest daughter lives with us, and our eldest daughter is married and lives in Philadelphia with her husband. It’s not ideal since we seldom see her more than once a year. But that’s how life happens sometimes. You have to learn to adapt, as the saying goes.