Dennis Gruwell....the only reason I don't remember you is because my ANS yearbooks did not survive our many moves and it would take a picture of you to dust off my brain! I now recall Neil because of the pictures Bruce posted. How very sad that some of our friends from the Nicaragua period of our life are no longer with us. You mentioned that Neil was involved in great controversy that changed his college "for good".... I'd love to hear more details about this if you don't mind sharing them. I've made more than a few "waves" here in Kentucky myself!
It seems you and I have a few things in common. You were the "little" brother and I was the "little" sister that tagged along with our older siblings! And what a ride we had! At the age of 12 or 13(?) I was ill equipped to cope with what came my way while ripping and running with them. I've shared these memories with several others so this is getting repetitios.....I spent much of my time in those days climbing trees, ducking and running away! I have a vague memory of Nadine Austin and I sitting high in a tree and watching as "the guys" drove up to our house, knocked on the door, only to be told we were not home. We really thought we were "special" for pulling this off! If you had a "crush" on me, you were probably one of the "bad boys" from which I was running and ducking for cover!
You and I are also both retired...how great is that? I retired in December of last year, spent the winter "gutting" my house and am now ready to turn around and start a new chapter in my life. I love not knowing what I'm going to do tomorrow or the next day, or the next.... This would stem from the 40 or so years in the fast track where every day & minute was planned and scheduled...For about 2 months after I retired, I missed the "structure" that working provided in my life...I got over that quickly! Right now my life is a blank slate waiting to be filled and I am looking forward to finding out what I will end up doing.....(In case you can't tell, I do not like to plan ahead!)
You and your Missy had 7 children!!! You will certainly not be bored in your dotage! We had 2 boys, both married (4 grandchildren) and happily making their own way through life! I love seeing them but I love seeing them leave more!
When my parents sent me off to college, they told me it was just to "broaden my mind"....the thought of a career never entered my head! ( We Coverstons spent our entire childhood in Latin America and missed out on all of the Women's Lib Movement here in the USA....this goes a long way in explaining my many quirks!) So, to make a long story short, I was packed off to the University of the Americas, an American University in Mexico City, where I spent much of my time dodging drugs and alcohol....as opposed to bullets and boys in Nicaragua! Yes, I did a lot of escaping in those days!
Because I am fluent in Spanish, career opportunities found me, not the other way around,...My "claim to fame" would be that I was asked to translate for a court case that involved the molestation of a minor. The lower court decided that the molested child should not be forced to face the person that molested her. (In the USA the accused "had" the right to face his/her accuser). No more. This case went to the US Supreme Court and the lower court's ruling was upheld because the defendant was provided with a translator.
I also taught Spanish (K-12) for a few years at a college prep school. After a short time, I thought I would go nuts if I had to conjugate another verb.... I finally ended up working for the "great" LOL Commonwealth of Kentucky. A trip I will not soon forget! This, too, became a translation career.....As I was raising 2 sons, I used to tell them "If you don't decide where you want to go in life, life will take you somewhere!"
Well, Dennis, Bruce started this trip down memory lane and it has been fun hearing from long lost friends. We will always share a bond because of where we found ourselves at such a young age! I seem to recall we were a bunch of good kids trying to survive La VIDA LOCA! Were I not retired, I would not have the luxury of emailing on and off all day!
Hope this finds you well....
No comments:
Post a Comment