Still Having Fun
After two years at the University of Miami in Florida and another two years at Bowling Green in Ohio, granddaughter Heather has a degree in Biology. Following another two years she earned her Masters degree and entered the job market just as the economy tanked and the job market dried up. Ever enterprising, she found employment at Imagination Station in Toledo - facilitating interactive science projects and demonstrations for the public.
On November 8th of 2009 I visited Heather at work and had an opportunity to immerse myself in the experience. Here I am strapped into a safety harness and ready to climb.
It seemed a lot higher from the platform looking down than it did standing on the floor looking up. Heather hooked up the safety lines to the harness and got me ready to go.
Then open the gate, get a steadying grip on the safety line and start walking.
Heather failed to mention the gate on the other end wasn't going to be opened until I was well on my way. I had to stop short, turn around on the wire and walk the span again.
Where I'm From
I was born in Landesburg vom Warthe, east of Berlin in an area that is now part of Poland. Before World War II it was a German town. My father was an electrician and my uncle a butcher.
After surviving the war our family relocated to Berlin in the western section and we made it through the recovery and the blockade. I was married and had two daughters. My husband moved to the United States to attend Ohio State University and I followed him there in the summer of 1956.
The relocation has endured the test of time even if the marriage didn't. About a year after moving to Columbus I was on the way to the grocery when I noticed a model home open for inspection. I stopped just to look telling the salesman I couldn't afford to buy a home. Turned out a $5 down payment - all the money I could offer - was sufficient. I contracted to have my home built and still live there after 53 years.
What I Do For Fun
I love gardening almost as much as I love animals. I grew up in a time and place where owning a plot of land and growing flowers and vegetables was just defining a part of living. And it wasn't my fault that flock of swans followed me home looking for a hand-out.
Traveling