I am a mother (of 1 son), a grandmother (of 1 granddaughter), a concerned citizen, and a practicing independent management consultant, not necessarily in that order. I grew up in the midwest but spent most of my adult life on the east coast. I've recently returned to St. Louis mostly because my small family is here.
After the Vietnam War era, my political activism dwindled. I was a long-time member of the League of Women Voters in Providence, RI, so I kept up fairly well with both local and national political events, but my involvement wasn't passionate. My particular concern was the environment. Rhode Island politics are so bizarre (I thought) that I was taken unawares by the conservative climate - social, political, you name it, it's conservative - I encountered back here. Whoa! Rhode Island has nothing on St. Louis (I live in the city), where it seems that we have yet to stop fighting the Civil War.
George W. Bush is responsible for putting the paasion back in my political life. I started worrying when the 2000 election remained unresolved for so long, and I could see that,while Gore was waging an honorable fight for the office, W pulled out all of his street-smart infighting skills and associates and
prevailed. He has more than fultilled my wildest expectations. I'm not going to say any more except that he and his administration literally make me feel nauseated. I turn off my TV whenever one of them shows up on it. For the first time in my life, I'm ashamed to be an American.
I don't consider myself to be a democrat; I do consider myself to be a progressive. I worked really hard in the 2004 campaign, but the democrats were runnying such a terrible campaign that I worked with ACT. I was out pounding the pavement somewhere in St. Louis County that I couldn't get to again if I tried. I met some nice people and a few really creepy people who were scary in their rigidity and evangelistic fervor.
I did some work for Claire McCaskill (sp?), but not a lot. I'm sure glad she defeated Jim Talent - every contact I had with his office was unpleasant. If I e-mailed him about some concern, he would e-mail me back a lecture about why I was wrong - I'm sure everyone got the same e-mail. The tone was simply awful.
And let's don't discuss Missouri, our baby governor, and our reactionary politics.
Eventually I wrote a book about the US government which has not been published and probably never will be. But at least I educated myself about it and read a lot of books about the founding fathers.
Aside from the above, I like to garden in my teeny little back yard, walk, bike, and have real conversations with people who have actual Thoughts. I like to cook, but it's much more fun to cook with someone else. Meals with congenial friends are particularly special. Oh, and I like wine. For medicinal purposes only.
I read a lot. I probably read more non-fiction at the moment than fiction, and I'm always reading several books. I love dogs. Since my dog died, this is the first time in my life that I have been without one, and I miss having one.
Finally (i could go on, but I'm going to stop), I take great pleasure in my son. I am very proud of him. He and his wife are very good people. Since he has become a father it, his interactions with his little girl move me more than I can say. Doting Dad doesn't even come close to describing him.
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