It's Been A Long Road

But What a Nice Ride!

Where I Come From

In order that you might know what brings me to this place I am writing a short biography.

I was born in the summer of 1937. As was the custom at the time, I was born at home, in the hills of South Missouri. Home was a small cabin with no running water, no electricity and very little furniture. My Dad was working for a sawmill and this cabin was part of a "sawmill camp" I'm told.

My Mother was quite ill after my birth and was taken to what was called a hospital at the time. It was a room in the home of a Doctor who had his office in his residence. I am told she didn't see me again until I was three weeks old. My Grandmother took care of me until she was back home.

The Great Depression was coming to an end but work was very difficult to find and there was no money for anything except the bare necessities. My Dad hitchhiked to Colorado to find employment. When I was three months old one of his brothers and his family (wife and two children) brought my Mother and I to join him. The uncle told me in later years that I rode on a pillow and cried all the way.

For many years Dad worked in Colorado and we moved back and forth to Missouri. We spent the winters in Missouri and went back to the mountains in the Spring. I loved the montains and I still do. The altitude prevents me from going there now but I have pictures of them in my head that will always be with me.

During the war years he worked in St. Louis at a Defense Plant and we lived there a while. After the war was over we started the process of moving around again. Eventually as I got in the upper grades in elementary school we settled in our hometown and Dad kept an apartment in the city to live there during the week. He was still working there when he died of a massive coronary.

I was an only child and my early years were spent with adults almost entirely. There were occasional visits with families with children but not many. My first real contact with kids my own age was when I started to school. I was astonished at how little attention they paid to what I said. They would rarely ever do what I said and were rowdy and loud. It took about two years for me to learn how to get along with them.
I learned a lot of valuable lessons those two years.

I didn't go to college. At that time a high school education was considered adequate for girls and even if it had been available there was no money for me to go to school. I graduated top in my class with three scholarships but no way to accept any of them. I had married by then (early marriages were also common) and that added to the roadblocks to keep me out of college.

In 1961 a special tax to support a County Health Department was voted in place and I went to work there. I have worked in the Department of Health in some capacity since then until my retirement three years ago.

I moved away from my home and a bad marriage and with my son, came to the State Capitol in 1966. I met my husband here and we were married in 1972.

My health had always been good. I was strong and energetic. I had started smoking as a teen ager and had a two pack a day habit and sometimes more when I finally became ill and stopped smoking.

Emphysema is not a glamorous disease. Doctors don't like to treat it because the outcome is not good. I found it almost impossible to get medical care. I finally found a physician who is caring and understands that I need help to get through the end phases.

It has been so interesting to me that when I would see Doctors they would never tell me that I had Emphysema. I would be given antibiotics to treat the bronchitis that I had as a result of the Emphysema but no one would diagnose the disease. I, of course, did not want to admit that I had it so it lived there and got out of control while we all played games.

The day I saw my present Family Doctor was the first time in many years that I felt like anyone heard what I said. He diagnosed me that morning, sent me home with inhalers and medications and an appointment to see a chest man. He has been a big blessing in my life.

The moral of this is that if you suspect that you have this disease please ask the question. Don't wait for someone to tell you. Treatment does make you more comfortable and at times will slow down the progress of the disease. It isn't curable but you can be comfortable enough to enjoy life.

Life has been very good to me. I've been fortunate enough to have a healthy son. I've had a job that kept us well fed and a roof over our heads when we were alone. I have a wonderful step daughter and grandsons who are a special joy to me. Many people have been very kind to me along the way.

Ralph and I have been able to travel a bit and do some of the things we enjoy. And, we still do. Maybe not the same things we did but we always have a good time. There's always something funny going on if you look for it and take the time to enjoy it.

Maybe this will give you an idea of where I started this life and came to be where I am now.

I hope you enjoy the ride.

Peaceable Kingdom

The Journey

Here and Now

Who's Going With Me

Where I'm Going

Emphysema: A Roadblock

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