School Story
I left VA reluctantly in 1970 as my family had moved to Wisconsin and I was therefore considered an out of state student at William & Mary which was cost prohibitive. It was a painful time but as we all learn, what seems unbearable at the time initially turns out to be a blessing. I attended UW Madison and earned my BA and MSW in social work. It was an exciting time to be in Madison and I truly appreciated what I gained from those experiences. After working as a school social worker in the Wausau, WI public schools, I took a year off and traveled and enjoyed life. In the late summer of 1979 I met my wife to be, Donalee. We moved to Duluth, MN soon thereafter as I tried out a new job in specialty advertising. This turned out to be a short stint and I returned to my original profession and became a school social worker for the Cloquet, MN public schools where I remained for 27+ years. Donalee earned her BA & MSW from UW & U MN and became a school social worker for the Duluth, Mn public schools for her career. We owned 2 fantastic homes, one a 1914 classic overlooking majestic Lake Superior and the other a lovely passive solar home on 40, then 80 acres. We retired early, sold our home & possessions and set out on our new adventure. We have lived in Indiana to be with my mother before she died, then the southern Outer Banks of NC, Savannah, Sedona, AZ (where we had an estate sale and sold just about everything again) and then moved to the northwest. We lived in Ashland, Eugene , Portland (3x), Brookings and Florence OR; Olympia and Bellingham WA and fabulous Victoria, BC for 3 consecutive winters. In 2017 we came to San Diego and have been here and enjoying life since then. We rent furnished all inclusive places that we find on various sites with the one we are currently in having just earned the prize for the longest we have stayed in one domicile in the 12 & 1/3 years we have been on this odyssey.
Update-March, 2024
We left San Diego to spend time in the city of my other alma mater, Madison, WI. We then moved on to Santa Fe, where we rented Brenda Beck and her husband, Tom’s lovely home overlooking the majestic Jemez Mountains. Then on to Austin, Texas for 10 months. From there we went to Victoria, BC which is one of our favorite cities and where we spent parts of 3 winters while we lived in the Pacific Northwest. Then on to Barcelona, Spain where we stayed 3 months in the old Gothic Quarter in addition to exploring much of Spain. We then spent a short period in Montreal before returning to Austin in the same wonderful location across from the beautiful University of Texas campus. In August, we traveled to St John’s, Newfoundland where we rented a home from a friends of a couple we had met in Barcelona. In September, 2023 we moved to a lovely art filled home in Tucson where we will be (at least) through August, 2024. Update, September, 2024 - we are enjoying Tucson so much that we have decided to renew our lease here!
I am grateful for all the good fortune I & we have experienced in the 44+ years we have been together.
I look back fondly on my experiences at Garland Rodes, Robert E Lee and EC Glass and all the wonderful people who touched and influenced my life in such positive ways. Thank you!
