: About Me

"Good night, John-Boy! Good night, Daddy. Good night, Mary Ellen. Good night, Elizabeth."

Remember "The Waltons" TV show? John-Boy Walton is responsible, at least in part, for my passion for writing. I wasn't the oldest child in my family like John-Boy was, but we were both compelled to write things down and certainly shared the same desire for privacy that was often lacking in large families of that era. How I longed for my own room with a desk, tablets, pencils and a window with a curtain blowing in the breeze like John-Boy had!

I grew up in small town Indiana, tucked safely between an older sister, a big brother, a younger brother, and a baby sister. I had few worries and two loves: music and books! Like the Waltons, we were poor, but I didn't know it because Mother was a wonderful encourager, keeping us busy on those long, hot, humid summer days with summer reading. She'd walk ten blocks with us to the city library, then wait patiently while we stood in line to give a verbal book report for each book we'd read. The library rewarded us with another stack of books to take home and read, with stars on a roster the whole town could see, and a special movie in the fall at the local theatre. They had no idea their dedication to the town's children was building in me a dream that would last forever!

The more I read, the more I wanted to write. I kept diaries, and realized as I grew older that I didn't want to create characters, I wanted to write about life. I wanted to paint with words the huge black ominous clouds that rolled in after hot humid days making my knees shake and my stomach hurt, and share what it felt like to peek through the stairway banister and watch my parents roll back the rug, sprinkle resin on the hardwood floor, then dance the night away to the big band sounds of the 50's. I longed to convey the warmth I felt standing between my sisters and brothers around the piano in the evenings singing gospel harmony while Mother played the piano, and put into words those lazy summer teenage days on my grandparents' farm where my cousin and I detasseled seed corn one summer. (The job wasn't all that, but the boys were cute, and at .75 per hour, we were finally rich)!

Then something wonderful happened! My Sophomore English teacher praised my essays and themes in front of the class, and I was hooked for life!

How ironic, then, that the same life I longed to write about stifled that dream until now.

Now a retired mother of two and grandmother of nine, I am thankful for so many things; a loving husband, playing flute in a band designed for baby boomers, the privilege of caring for my aging mother, technological advances that were never even dreamed of in the John-Boy Walton era, and Helium.com!

Thank you, Helium staff, for allowing me to write and be read by others who share my passion for writing! Now that I'm blessed with the desk I longed for as a child, and even a window with a curtain blowing in the breeze, I look forward to many years of writing and publishing, and pray that your site will prosper and grow beyond your wildest expectations!

My passion is ...

Music interpretation, writing, playing flute in New Horizons Band, playing handbells.

I know too much about ...

Owning and taking responsibility for my mistakes.

My parents always told me ...

Strive for excellence in all you do.

My childhood ambition ...

To write and publish a book, to learn sign language, and to have a family.

My favorite memory ...

Being baptized as an adult in Wildcat Creek in the midwest.

Why I write ...

I write because I am compelled to do so from within me. I write to teach, to inform, to entertain, and to encourage.

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Dave Ramsey's "Total Money Makeover," the DVD, "Radio" and The Dave Ramsey Radio Show.

My first job ...

Rising at 3 am to detassel endless rows of Indiana Pioneer seed corn at 15 years old.

My best moment ...

Realizing my sons had grown into respectable, God-fearing, successful citizens.

My inspiration ...

My grandmother. When facing insurmountable health problems she said to me,"You can't just lay down and die because you sat down too hard once!"

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