Tell us about your life?
After Graduation, I took a quick trip to New York, then I went to Europe on a concert tour with All City Orchestra, came home, did my laundry and headed for the University of Hawaii, which would not make the top 500 party schools in America, for those of you who are ha-ha-ing. Well, it would for summer sessions, the coeds from the University of Texas sure have fun, but the rest of the time it's serious business. Most of the students are highly motivated Japanese and Chinese kids who don't even know Hawaii is fun.
I learned to fly my senior year, in an old "tail-dragger" from WWII, I got my Private Pilot license, then the summer after I graduated I got my Sailplane license and a little summer job at a new flying school - and ended up marrying my boss (he was only 4 years older) and had quite a few good years of fun fishing, diving, traveling and a little flying. I also ran the Honolulu Marathon - I decided that people who ran were Gods (and Goddesses) and if I could run a marathon...hmmmm...you see my logic, right. Life changes though, and my hubby fell for my best friend...a blond.
So I took myself off to Europe to sooth my savaged soul, and never made it past England - where I rebounded into husband number two. I call him the expensive, imported model. His main motivation seemed, in retrospect, to be a Green Card and my money. Well, he got both, then found himself a young - say it with me now---blond. There were good times though. We lived in a ski area and the first year I skied over 100 days. It was powder heaven, and I got a lot better than I ever expected in this lifetime! I'd spent 2 weeks a year in ski lessons at Sun Valley for 5 years, but as I lived in Hawaii, didn't get too much skiing in between (like none) I loved to ski - and never expected to become a powder hound, but I had a very patient friend who made it his job to be sure I loved powder, since that's mostly all there was. One day I was skiing down this untracked glade, about thigh deep in light, fluffy confection, and I heard someone whooping and hollering and having a great time. When I stopped at the bottom, my friends were laughing and told me I was sure loud today!
After my second divorce I swore off men and worked very hard to support myself, and pay alimony for a year to the Englishman. I also got a good councilor to get my head on straight. Several years later a Realtor friend of mine set me up on a "Blind Date" with a friend of hers. She thought since we both liked skiing, classical music and sailing that we might like each other. That was in about 1993 or so. We've been married for 16 years now. I guess she was right.
I still do a little Real Estate, but I've been a bit preoccupied by my parents' health. They live in Arizona, but if Dad calls in the morning, I can be there by the late afternoon. He was a 1st Div. Marine in Guadalcanal and several other little islands in the Pacific, and now he is fighting the battle of age. So far he is winning beautifully, but he took care of my mother, who is now in a group care home, far too long. He had a heart attack from the stress. Fortunately, I was visiting to give him a little break. I ended up spending a year there with him. It was a wonderful experience to spend all those hours talking with him as an adult…And it was awesome to see someone so determined to get well, and then watch as he did get well. Now he is adjusting to living on his own, and getting his life back, while still visiting my mother who is not getting well, and never will. Getting old...not always fun.
So the most fun these days is my grandkids. Disneyland lines are really fine with me when my grandkids are chattering away a mile a minute. We live less than an hour away, so when they visit, with a few friends, of course, our house is littered with bodies and air beds. The parents get the guest room, the girls get the couch in my office, and the boys, there have been 7 at once, take up space where ever they land...couches, under the dining room table, in the entryway...We've also visited Hawaii a couple of times. I see how tired the kids get surfing, and I wonder that I ever did that. I spent hours cold and wet and bruised, for a few moments of rush - what was I thinking.
My latest hobby is painting-watercolor mostly, although I've also started painting acrylic scenes of some of my diving experiences. My last one was of a day off Kona when we were on the way back home from SCUBA diving with some friends who collected fish. A pod of dolphins came up to the boat and were riding the bow wave. My friends stopped the boat and we put on fins, masks and snorkels and rolled into the water. Their advice was to stay still no matter what, and enjoy. They'd swum with this pod frequently. About 5 dolphins swam around us. One dolphin swam right up to me full speed, spinning, and stopped abruptly about 6 inches from my nose, (cont'd.)
