I was born in 1958 in Warren, Ohio. I have two younger sisters and two younger brothers. Being born at the end of the baby boom, I had many neighborhood friends to play with. We walked to school or the market together, invented games together and screamed ourselves hoarse at football games. With five children in our family and not a lot of money, something like going to McDonald's was a big deal.
One of our favorite family memories is of visiting my dad's sister and her husband in Cleveland. It was just an hour's drive, and we went there fairly often. Aunt Trish had no children of her own, so she had plenty of time and attention for us. Her husband was a NASA engineer, so they were able to treat us pretty well.
My mom's side of the family lived mostly in western Pennsylvania and we saw them pretty often during our childhood, too. I had 21 first cousins on my mom's side, of whom I was second oldest, I believe. Gram and Gramps lived in the heart of coal-mining country and I have unforgettable memories of their old house, built into a hillside. Not to mention the lack of "indoor facilities."
Well, I was a good student all through school, and, although a bit on the shy side, I counted all my classmates as friends, I think. (And we had big classes in those days - averaging about 38 per class, according to my old school photos.) I think my shyness came from embarrassment about my skinniness and lack of any ability whatsoever at sports.
I didn't think twice about college - it was Ohio State or nowhere. Since my strengths lay in the English language, I decided on a journalism major. Little did I know how NOT ready I was for that! In the end, I managed quite well and came out a different person. I gained a lot of confidence, learned a lot about people and became much more outgoing.
to be continued |
