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Relationship

Married. Interested in meeting people for friendship and meeting people for networking

Hometown

Granite City, Illinois

Places I've been

While born in Granite City, Illinois, I've lived a number of places. Those that figure most prominently in my life are Piedmont, Missouri; Collinsville,Edwardsville, Charleston (EIU), Dixon, and Champaign-Urbana (U of I), Illinois; West Bend, Wisconsin; and, Ann Arbor, Michigan. During my childhood, my family followed my dad from job to job so in the midst of most of those Illinois moves there were periods of time spent in Florida, Texas, California, Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. These are the places I've lived, attended school, and worked. A love and appreciation for the wonderful diverisity of places, people, sights, and food have been the result of such a gypsy lifestyle. In addition to where I've lived, vacations have taken me all over the United States and several countries in Europe. Key to any trip I take is finding historic bars, taking walking tours, eating great food preferably found in "diners, dives, and drive-ins", checking out any antique malls in the vicinity, and of course, the standard sight-seeing that makes any location unique.

Education

• Eastern Illinois University, English, Middle School Education - 1967 to 1972
• University of Illinois, Teaching of English - 1979 to 1980
• University of Illinois, Educational Administration - 1987 to 1989
• Collinsville High School - 1963 to 1965
• Edwardsville High School - 1965 to 1967

Work

• Dixon Unified School District, 8th Grade Language Arts Teacher - 1972 to 1975
• Mahomet-Seymour Public Schools, 8th Grade Language Arts Teacher - 1975 to 1986
• Scarlett Middle School, Ann Arbor Public Schools, Principal - 1989 to 1996
• Carpenter School, Ann Arbor Public Schools, Princpal - 1996 to 2000
• Angell School, Ann Arbor Public Schools, Principal - 2000 to 2009
• Badger Middle School, West Bend WI, Assistant Principal - 1986 to 1989

More about me

Me?  I've been married 38 years and I have a son who is 27.  I've been the principal of my current school eight years but an educator 38 years.  I retired as of June 30, 2009.  I'm about to begin exploring places, interests, and opportunities.  I'm an incurable optimist.  The glass is always half full.  I am introspective and reflective.  I like to contemplate the why's of myself and others and situations.  I'm a learner.  I loved going to and teaching school.  I will love going back to school.  I plan to take classes in writing, pottery, photography, and drawing first.  I am a traveller.  From an early age I learned the joy of exploring new places.  I'm creative.  I like to garden, cook, sew, knit, crochet, pot, and write.  I consider all of those creative endeavors.  I love to read.  I'll read almost anything.  The last book I read was OUTLIERS by Malcolm Gladwell.  I'm currently reading THE ELEGANCE OF THE HEDGEHOGS by Muriel Barbery.  Totally a good read but I admit I have to keep my dictionary handy to fully appreciate the complexity of her writing.  That's not the total of me but it's a pretty good start.

Favorite Places

Chicago; Zermatt, Switzerland; Toronto, Canada; Tyron, North Carolina; New York City; Ann Arbor, Michigan; and so many others...

Activities

Collect vaseline opalescent glass, antique bottles, and pop-up books. Listen to music, especially jazz, preferably live. Read all kinds of books from trashy romance novels to classics. Learning ceramics, both throwing and hand-building. Gardening. Travelling.

Favorite Charities

Red Cross. Southern Poverty Law Center. Nature Conservancy. Local charities.

Favorite Music

Classic jazz, especially female vocalists. Country/Western. R&B.

Favorite TV Shows

Sex and the City.

Favorite Movies

Woody Allen movies. Titanic. Gone with the Wind. The Godfather and sequels. Almost any movie that tells a good story or brings belly laughs.

Favorite Books

Stranger in a Strange Land. The Fountainhead. Atlas Shrugged. To Kill a Mockingbird. Jodi Picoult books. Malcolm Gladwell books.

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