SPOTLIGHT #4

March 22, 2002
"LORIBE"
Hi, my user name is LoeiB ( Lorraine Butts)
My husband Billy and I live in Elko, Nevada.  I was born in Hollywood, Los Angeles County, California. I attended high School and some collage, mostly the school of hard Knox.

I was a  Short order cook. My husband retired from the U.S Navy
submarine force in June of 1990. Since he retired he has been working for
Newmont Mining here in Northeastern Nevada.

 I have three adopted children, a daughter 28, married and
going to have their first baby in late July.  Two sons ages 20 and 18
they are still trying to find themselves.

 I have lots of hobbies and interest, sewing, quilting which
had become a passion, knitting and crocheting I love to crochet
bedspreads and tablecloths, Genealogy is another one of my
passions/addictions. And of course the computer, I like to chat, which I
do not do as much  these days. I really miss Chatting. I do most of my
genealogy on line when I can. I also like to try and build web pages. I
am not very good at it, but love the learning process.

 Pets: I have three dogs, Bandit, Boris, and Cisco, also three cats:
Venus, Stormy and Mariah,we also have a 55 gal, fish tank,

My Pet peeve is: When you say you live in Nevada, most people
automatically  think Las Vegas is Nevada!!! it's not!

Travels: I love to travel, but have not done much in many years.

My favorites books/authors, since I have become addicted to the
computer reading has been but on the back burner. My favorite authors are
Tom Clancy,Frederick Forsythe,   William F. Buckley,Pearl S. Buck, Agatha Christie, Victoria Holt.They are very different authors,  I know !!! My daughter is introducing me to James Patterson.

 I've been on line  about 8 years. Being on-line has enhanced my life.
Beside exercising my little gray cells !!! I think my typing, spelling
and writing has gotten a little better. I still have a hard time with my
dyslexia,  differentiating  between words like Lion and loin.  To help
over come some of the problem I have with being a dyslexic, I bought a
program called Dragon speak. It is a  dictation program to help me withmy writing and spelling problems.

 I have met one chatter in real time.  Marybear lives about 320 miles from me. I really I enjoyed meeting her. when ever I am in Salt Lake City I always call her to see if she can join me in Salt Lake City for lunch or dinner. There is also one other person, her name is Snoopter,  I have know here for 27 years, I brought her into our little chat room, a few years ago.  does that count?

If I had one day to go anyplace or do anything, how would you spend that  day?
This is a tough question, because I really enjoy genealogy and what
have learned about my ancestors. I would love to go back to North
Carolina, an explorer the different counties and  communities that my
Lambeth family lived and worked in. I would really like to see Charlotte,
North Carolina, this is where my mother was raise and went to school.
There is so much family history. I would also like to go back to New
Haven CT. this is where my Abbott ancestors settled lived and worked
They also helped found many  of the surrounding communities. That is what I would really like to do, if I could.
 
Ny favorite quote is a Buddhist saying
"take poison and, turn it into medicine".

What, in your opinion, is the moral or lesson of your life, that would encourage others:
For me this question and my favorite quote are the same they go hand in
hand. When you can over come the adversities that life  hands you, turn
them around, you learn from them and learn how to help others with the
same kinds of problems if you can.  Life is about learning and giving back what you learned.  I think in some ways we do a little of this when we chat.

I have no problem with others knowing my e-mail address or my I.C.Q# for that matter,

loribee@ctnis.com
ICQ#499391

 

 

Kidsmom and hubby, Vernon

March 2, 2002
Hello there fellow chatters. Some of you know me as Margie, others know me as Kidsmom. I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 11, 1940. I am lucky enough to live here still (however, Florida sounds like a nice address too).

As a girl my family, consisting of my mother, father and sister toured all 48 original states and actually lived in about half of them. My first few years in school were in South Carolina. I remember the chain gangs along the road (every Saturday we would meet them and give them comic books). We also lived through a hurricane. The rest of my schooling was in Catholic schools in Louisville. I graduated from Ursuline Academy in 1959.

My father was a horse trainer whose job took him all over the country, thus touring all 48 states. My mother, who was one of eleven children, was a secretary at an elevator company and later a chemical engineer at Tube Turns. My sister (Mary) and I are actually twins, who were so small at birth that we were brought home in shoeboxes, and our beds were dresser drawers. Some of you chatters are fortunate enough to have met Mary. We bear no physical resemblance, but do feel we share the "twin bond".

I met my husband, Vernon, by flirting out the same window my mother flirted with my father at Ursuline Academy. We dated for three years. When he graduated, he joined the 100th Division, 100th Regiment of the Army, in August of 1961. We married in September of the same year. Two years later, we were blessed with the birth of our first daughter, Mary Jeanne. We lost one child in 1965, then had our son, Michael in 1966. Our youngest daughter, Susie, soon followed in 1967. We now have three grandchildren, one in heaven and one on the way (due in August). Our oldest daughter and her family live right next door to us so we are able to spoil two of them to no end and then send them home. Our son lives in Washington, D.C., about a mile from the White House. Our youngest daughter lives in Louisville with her husband and son - she is the one expecting in August.

For years I worked cleaning houses and for two builders, sometimes averaging 70 hours a week. Two years ago I went to work for Kroger in the Deli and plan to be there until I retire. Vernon also works at the same Kroger (he has been there 43 years), in the Nutrition Department.

The only pet worth mentioning was the cat we had when our children were younger. She was just a regular old grey cat, named Hortense, who lived to the ripe old age of 15. She was like a child to me and I cried like a baby when she left. The kids will not let me live this down. We also had the various other normal type pets kids have - fish, hamsters, gerbils, bird, sea horses, guinea pig, hermit crabs, etc. The kids favorite story of pets is when a hermit crab left its shell and its cage and was MIA for a couple of months. I had a plant stand that resembled a small stepladder and was watering my plants one day when the dirt started to move! I did the female thing and screamed - everyone came running - and we found the MIA hermit crab alive and well. We still giggle.

I have always enjoyed travelling and still do. We are getting ready to go to Florida for three weeks and then again in July. We take lots of small trips to Indianapolis and Cincinnati and Kentucky Lake. We also visit our son in Washington, D.C., whenever possible. We have been as far north as Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada, as far south as the tip of Florida, all up and down the East Coast and have even been across the Golden Gate Bridge (as a child). For about ten years we had a travel trailer and one year we camped 48 weekends out of the year.

There are lots of hobbies I enjoy - cross-stitch, crocheting, knitting, sewing, making Christmas ornaments, just about any craft you can think of. My main interest is spoiling the grandkids. I love to read, especially true crime stories. Favorite authors include Fay Kellerman, Jonathan Kellerman, Ann Rule and John Lescroart, my all-time favorite is James Michener.

Just about four years ago, while I was visiting our son, Vernon had a stroke. The staff at the emergency room thought Mary Jeanne was his wife - it wasn't too funny then, but we get a chuckle out of it now. My son and I both rushed home as soon as we heard. The doctor did not think he would survive, but Vernon had other plans. When we brought him home, he could barely take baby steps and could not use his right side at all. Now he is driving and back to work full-time. He walks with a limp and his right side is not back all the way, but he does not let that stop him. He creates a multitude of things out of seashells (he says it is great therapy) and he loves to spoil the grandkids too. He also finds time for his favorite pass time - fishing. We had a couple of bad years from 1996 to 1998 - first we lost our granddaughter, Joanna Jean, on our other granddaughter's birthday. The same year we buried Vernon's mother the day before Christmas Eve. In April of 1997,my mother found out that she had lung cancer. She went through surgery and radiation, which promised her at least five years. She passed away on mine and Vernon's wedding anniversary six months later. Six months after this is when Vernon had his stroke. Thank goodness things have gone better since then.

I had quit my cleaning jobs and was taking care of Vernon when our son suggested I get a computer. When he came home Christmas 1998, he went with me to pick it out. This was to be the beginning of a wonderful love affair. At first, the only thing I knew about a computer was how to dust it. Boy have I graduated. I have come a LONG WAY baby, with the help of my kiddos. When I went to my first chatter luncheon in Philadelphia, my son insisted he go with me because he said "you never know who is out there". He has now become adopted by several of my on-line friends and Elayna is his second mom. I have met so many wonderful, wonderful men and women, who I feel are some of the best friends I have ever had. I have met over 100 chatters in real time. Gnomes and I are like sisters, we share a lot of the same interests. I have been to many luncheons (I even set them up now) and three bashes. One is better than the other. We have about four luncheons a year in Cincinnati, and all of us know each other so well. We are always looking for new people to join us.

Imagine my surprise (and horror) at the events that unfolded on my last birthday - SEPTEMBER 11, 2001! I, like most Americans, will never forget the moment that terrorism entered our lives and invaded our country.

If I had one day to anywhere and do anything, I would go to Florida with a pocket full of money and shop until the cows come home, pigs fly, or I drop - whichever comes first. I would also have to throw in some time on the beach searching for that perfect seashell.

My favorite quote is golden rule - treat others as you would like to be treated yourself. It works wonders.

In my humble opinion, the moral or lesson of my life would be the grass is not always greener on the other side and God never gives you more than you can handle (even if at times this does not seem to be the case). Everything happens for a reason, only we might not realize it or understand it at the time.

For those of you are not already the proud owners of my e-mail address, it is: kidsmom@lou-telecom.net - feel free to drop me a line anytime. There is no such thing as too many friends. A stranger is a friend we have yet to meet.

I would like to thank Jann for the honor of having me be a Spotlight Person. It is a thrill beyond measure, and I feel honored to do so.

February 22, 2002

Purple

My name is Phyllis, nickname Phyl, user name Purple, used to be Purple67 when I chatted in SeniorCom. That seems so long ago now. I live in New Jersey and have since birth. I am the oldest of 3 daughters of Michael and Jennie Barber. I am the oldest grandchild in my family. I have been married twice, most recently 8-1/2 years ago.

I have three great children from my first marriage, Jeanine, Dominic, and Darlene. They are my treasures. They have given me five grandchildren, Dominick, Jessica, Jennifer, Michael and James. My husband Richard has one daughter from his first marriage, Denise, and she has given us four beautiful grandgirls. We are so blessed. My grandson Dominick, who was married in September 2001, and his wife Sandy are expecting in July and I will have a new title, Great MomMom. My grandchildren call me MomMom.

Much to my regret, I did not attend college, but have had very interesting jobs during the last 40 years. The most exciting one was Project Manager of a student exchange with the then Soviet Union. It was a two-year program and involved college students and host families. I have been to Russia twice and would not have traded the experience for anything in the world. I sponsored a young Russian man to come to the US, he lived with Richard and I for 6 months before he went on to become a proud citizen of this wonderful nation. He has married his Russian sweetheart, has two sons and is a very intricate part of our lives. He is indeed our adopted son.

I enjoy chatting, reading, cooking, baking, and singing. I love being with people and belong to the Women's Club in my community. I attend Calvary Episcopal Church and am a member of Cursillo. I am one of the founders of our local Habitat for Humanity which has build 10 houses since it was founded some 10 years ago.

I am still working at 70, started a new job in September. Actually have come full circle, working again with the woman who gave me the opportunity to do the student exchange. When I moved from North New Jersey to Central New Jersey back in 1983, I got a job with her corporation. She is a multi-millionaire who has always been very involved with launching not-for-profits like a food bank, a handyman project, aid for friends, working wardrobe, homesharing. She started an organization some seven years ago called The Heritage Trail Association. I am now the Executive Assistant for that group. Work three days a week.

I love to travel and have attended many of the bashes. Been to San Antonio twice, Branson, Florida 3 times, Philadelphia, and am hopeful that my health will allow me to travel for many years to come. Looking forward to attending the bash in Memphis in September.

I love to write poetry and have enjoyed being part of the Poetry Groups online. My favorite writer is Mary Higgins Clark. I enjoy mysteries. My other favorite book is "The Phophet" by Kahil Gibran, it is a masterpiece.

I have been chatting for almost 5 years now and have made so so many friends. We are fortunate here on the East Coast to have several lunches during the year. Some of the lunch group include Coaster, Asher, Elayna, Cecehere, Helpful, Makela. DancingJack, who passed away recently, attended one our lunches. We have lost a dear man..

One of my dearest friends Aussiegypsy came to visit me in March, 2001. She attended one of our East Coast lunches. She drove to Florida with Richard and I to attend the bash. Everyone just loved her as I do.

I love playing cards, and especially enjoy bridge. Leaving for Florida January 24, will be visiting several of my gal friends and will be playing cards every day for three weeks. We stay up until the wee hours of the morning, its such fun.

I love the beach and spend as much time as I can at the Jersey shore in the summer. My son has a house at the shore, so I try to get down there as often as I can.

If I had one day to go anyplace in the world, I would choose to travel to Tibet to meet the Dalai Lama. This has been a wish of mine for many many years. That would be one of the greatest days of my life. The greatest days so far were the days my children were born.

I believe that the lesson I have learned in my 70 years is that when the storms of life gather round us, we should not run for cover but rather spread our wings and soar far above the troubles of life.

My favorite quote is, "Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now." by Goethe.

My email addy is phyldiak@eclipse.net, please drop me a word or two.

Thanks to Willow and Jann for the great job they are doing on the Newsletter and the Spotlights.

February 15, 2002

Hello everybody, this is "Snoopster". Alot of you may not know me, as I was only at the senior.com chat room for about a year...maybe. I had a blast whenever I was there. I "met" lots of really nice people.

I now live in South Carolina, but I was born in York, Pennsylvania. After graduating from high school, my bestest friend got married to a sailor and lived in Hawaii. She was kind enough to give a single sailor my address. To make a long story short, we wrote back and forth for 2 years. From the day we first met, exactly 3 months to the day, we were married...and this August we'll celebrate our 28th anniversary! I don't work outside the home...so guess I'm not really retired..LOL

Joe and I have 2 daughters. Jennifer is 26, and married. Amanda is 22 and a senior in college. We also have a very, very, spoiled 14 yr. old Yorkshire Terrier named Banjo Willie.

I love doing crafts of all kinds, especially ones involving sewing, and I also love to bake sweets..you'd never know it to see my shapely figure...LOL LOL LOL!!!

Being married to a sailor definitely involved some traveling. For starters, we got married in Hawaii, we lived there 3 years, then to Vallejo, CA, to Troy, NewYork, next South Carolina, then LaMaddelena, Italy, and finally to Reading, PA. He retired in Reading with 21 yrs of service,(he was a submarine sailor). He was born and raised in South Carolina, so that's where we now live.

I enjoy reading books by an author named Nicholas Sparks...The Notebook, Message in A Bottle; A Walk to Remember, etc. I also enjoyed reading the One Year Bible two years in a row.

I've never met any of the chatters that I've spoke to online. I hope to one day get to a bash and meet some of you.

Okay jann...how was that? I haven't been able to get a pic of myself yet, so guess you can just go with my "story". You can post my email addy if you like. Hope this is okay to print..haha.
Take care, and God Bless, Snoopster/Sharon/Shay
ps..."see" ya at the reunion!

February 8, 2002

RCflyer and KClady

Sez RC Flyer===

I lived near Los Angeles from about 1958 till the time I left in 1998, during that time I was married to a wonderful lady for 35 years. She died of cancer on May 5th, 1997. In Sept I made a visit to Elkhart, Indiana to surprise my sister on her birthday, it was during that five days that I decided to buy a home in Indiana and sell out in Calif. It just wasn't home anymore and there had been so many changes from the Calif. that it was when I moved there 45 yrs earlier. I purchased a home in Elkhart, Ind. and on March 23 of 1998, I moved into that little house I had bought, what a change. I never did really like living in that little town, probably because of being used to the big city.

It was in the summer of 1999 that I first logged into Senior Com chat. I admit that I was just about the loneliest man on earth and made some wonderful friends in Senior Com but it was in the fall of that year that I met online one very special lady. On Oct 29th I flew to Kansas City and as I walked off the plane, there she was with a friend, (Lizzie, also a Senior Com chatter) holding a sign that said, "Hi RC, I'm knoodles and Lizzie had one similar. I walked past them, not even giving them a glance, then I walked up behind the and said, "Are you ladies looking for someone called RC or something like that, because if you are, he is very drunk and laying in the isle of the airplane and they are trying to get him on his feet. Whereupon, Lizzie said,"RC, you stop that!!!! I don't know what gave me away, neither of them had never even seen a picture of me. We all had a good laugh, in fact we are still laughing about that day.

I stayed in Kansas City only two days that trip then in January of 2000 I flew here (Kansas City) again, for 5 days that time. In March KC Lady, (she changed her nickname from knoodles to KCLady) KC flew up to Indiana for five days and it was during that time that I "popped the question" and of thank goodness she said yes. I sold my home in Indiana and not long after, I and my son Jeff moved here and I bought a home that he is living in and I'm living here in the home that KC has had for many years.

There you have it, and I have never been happier. During those lonely years after Stacey died, I prayed that God would send someone that I could love and be loved in return. Then I just started having faith that it would happen and sure enough, it did=====

---

Sez KClady.................

I have lived on property my parents bought in 1937 except for about 7 years spent in Kansas City overtown.The year of 1950 was a year of change and challenge for me. I graduated from high school in May and got married in October. In the fall of 1953 Bob and I moved back to the farm where we built a very small humble house.. We were blessed with a son and a daughter and 38 years of happiness until Bob passed away in August of 1988.

Alone for almost four years, I met George and we were married in May of 1992. We were looking forward to many happy years together. We were seemingly in good health. However, our time together was cut short in April 1995 (40 days from our third anniversary) because George underwent emergency by-pass surgery. Post-surgery complications took his life within a few hours. Finding myself alone again was devastating but with faith in God and resolve to "live" my life I survived.

...........Fast forward to 1999 and my entry into the Wonderful Wide World of the computer. I found Senior.Com in that famous publication "PCs for Dummies"!!! I joined the chat room looking for fun and friends. I found those things and also started talking to RCflyer who lived in Indiana.

The only thing I have to add regarding our courtship and wedding is that we were married on October 29, 2000....one year to the day that we first met at the Kansas City airport.

Sez RCflyer and KClady........Life is so good. We are blessed to have found each other. We travel some and enjoy our hobbies of model trains (RC) and woodcrafting, quilting and clowning (KC). We are pleased to share our story with our computer friends....There is life after 50...or 60 even!!!!!

January 25, 2002

I am Papi, also known as Papi33, Papi1933 and Papicanada.

I live in Montreal, Canada. I also have lived in Toronto,Trenton, Clinton, Sherbrooke, Laval, Quebec City and a few other places. I was born in a small town south of Montreal called StLambert. That was in the good year 1933 (at least my parents thought it was a good one). Being from a French family I soon discovered the bad words the English vocabulary has, but not in the dictionary. That's how I started to get bilingual.

As with any kid I started and completed the first 6 years of school a walking distance from my home ( no yellow monsters in those days). After the elementary years my dad decided I was mature enough to send me to school in the Big City. So for the next 6 years I hopped on a street car everyday, and barely managed to graduate from High School. Then I got my first job. Wow was I proud. I was earning 0.45cents an hour and I could buy my own cigarettes. My mom was charging me $5.00 a week for room and board. I was rich! Then I decided to join the Royal Canadian Air Force for $75.00 a month, clothed, fed and board I was richer. But life was boring in the armed forces. My trade was then teletype mechanic. The last base where I worked had 5 teletypes and 3 technicians. I got very good at cribbage. After 3 years I was released and went to work for Burroughs Corparation as an accounting machine mechanic. And soon I started working on computers (what a difference from today) 25 years later, after moving 3 times to different cities, I started my own business in mechanical and electronic accounting machines. That lasted almost 10 years, then I bought a convenience store. Very bad move. It was fun even with the long hours. But I lost it all when the insurance companies would not continue to support my business. Too many holdups, breakins and entering and vandalism. But the bad guys didn't care, and continued to patronize my store, mostly at night. I then applied and got a job as a security guard. Today I still work but I am trying to cut down on the hours. The pension plans in Canada make it possible for me at this time to lead a fairly good life.

I married in 1960, adopted a baby girl in 1968 when she was 4 months old, and she is the joy of my life. She has blessed me with 4 grandsons that are growing to be I hope good mature young men. I separated from my wife in 1986. Today we are best friends. I live alone and enjoy it.

My free time is spent on the computer online and offline. I also love to cook, quite good at it I think as I'm still healthy. But I don't enjoy cooking for just me. Both my good neighbor and I like to cook for each other. One day she cooks and I eat at her place, the other day I take charge and she eats at mine. This way we don't have to eat the same roast for 3 days in a row.

Travels are the best thing that ever happened in my life. I have been to many Islands in the Carabeans, enjoyed most of them but Cuba is my favorite destination. I have been there 7 times and I'll be there again this year. The beaches are fabulous, the people are so friendly and the climate in March is superb. Not to mention the cigars and the rum (hick). I took one trip to Asia last year (Thailand) but did not enjoyed it that much. If I had enough money I would travel 6 months a year, so I keep buying lottery tickets.

I used to be an avid reader, up to 3 books a day. I think I read all of Agatha Cristie's books, Perry Mason, Sherlock Holmes, Mickey Spillane just to name a few. But the best reading material for me is a book on history mostly on WW II. I have a wall full of books about both sides of the WW II. Unfortunately I have not read a book in over 7 years. The reason is that I can't do it anymore. As soon as I start to read a book, my eyes start to water (even if it is not a sad story) and I can't continue. Too bad for Oprha. Funny my computer screen does not do that to me.

I got interested with the modern computer 3 ½ years ago, when I purchased a PC 266Mg with 64MB memory. I was soon online and chatting. I logged on to Senior.com and I wanted to talk to the rest of the world. The first person that talked to me was a close neighbor. Gee rest of the world.. Thought the world was bigger. But I soon found some very interesting people in the US and Australia (now that's far). I then went on with an other site 50+.net and met more interesting people. Also I made a few friends at Seniors.com, went on to Retirerefire.com in Australia, and ended up in Paltalk. Wow voice! And then later videos. What's next? I was fortunate to meet a lot of the chat friends. 2 years ago I attended a bash in Winnipeg (50+) and we were about 40 to spend a great weekend together. On the Monday I called my boss and told him I had missed the plane and I spent 4 more days in that city.

I was asked a few more questions before I wrote down this "biography". I'll try to answer them now. One was: If I had one day to go anywhere. Simple, the one day is today, and when I woke up this morning I said to myself: you' re still here enjoy! I don't remember quotes, but one that I do is "It ain't over till it's over" Well with me it is never over, there is more good things to come, as long as you help them come.

The last question I was asked is: Moral or lesson of my life that would help others. Answer is none. I tried to do the best I could. I made mistakes that were costly. But I made things happen, good or bad and when you make things happen they are mostly good. I have not a lot of education, never went to college or university, but through interest, and determination I can say today that I know a heck of a lot more on what makes tick than a lot of graduates. I never stopped educating myself the entire time I was on this planet .