About Me

01 — Family

My children and pets are my closest family. I cherish the time we spend together and do my best to earn their respect. I learn from them every day and appreciate their perspectives (yes, I mean my dogs, too). Born and raised in Jacksonville, North Carolina, I now live in San Angelo, Texas where the stars at night are big and bright (deep in the heart of Texas). I love watching Marvel movies with my family and participating in local community activities. As a mother and grandmother, I’ve learned that listening to their thoughts and opinions and asking thoughtful questions about their experiences has helped build not only a stronger relationship between us, but helps me and them grow into mature, resilient adults with solid coping skills.

02 — Work

More than 30 years of work history has taught me that with few exceptions, if I am miserable with my job, it is because I am miserable with myself and my performance. Aside from dealing with an occasional bad actor at work, if I am unhappy, it’s not really the job I am unhappy with. I am capable of finding my own purpose and path to meet my potential. It’s taken me a while to realize it, but I am responsible for any level of misery or happiness I am in. That does not mean every moment I am sad or angry is inappropriate or my fault…, or a fault at all, but I am capable of finding solutions to problems and responsible for changing my situation.

I enjoy my current job and appreciate the variety of experiences my career has provided to me. I started out in a community college work-study program, maintaining a circulation desk and shelving books at the college library. I loved that job and thought I would one day become a librarian. Three children later, I decided earning a salary with growth potential was more fiscally responsible and within my reach. So, I entered the US Air Force, signing up for a job with a large (to me) sign-on bonus: Aerospace Ground Equipment. I do not regret the decision one bit. I learned about electricity, hydraulics, basic mechanics, heating and air conditioning, and specialized in diesel and turbine engines. In the second half of my enlistment, I found out teaching those topics was very rewarding. Getting degrees in Education were made easier because it aligned with my teaching job. The higher education made it easy to stay with the Air Force as a civilian and move up the ladder as a training developer and manager. Now, I’m a civilian, working for the Department of the Air Force as a Training Specialist, assisting training developers and managers with process improvement.

03 — Education

I’m a life-long learner with lots of room to grow my knowledge base and skill sets. I feel at home sitting in a lecture hall and enjoy science panel discussions the most. Most of my degrees are in Education, but I really like learning and talking about physics (all forms of physics), chemistry, and biology. I find those topics relaxing and enjoyable. My favorite streaming channels include NASA TV and Curiosity Stream. I regularly watch NDT and Brian Greene (and a list of others) on YouTube. Leonard Susskind most eloquently stated that he found it hard to believe evolution somehow created a species just one step above monkeys and that we can not only ask questions about how nature works, but also follow the dots and figure out how nature works. I find the same thing amazing and like the idea of capitalizing on our abilities.

I read and write more often than I watch TV, but I do enjoy a good comedy or Marvel movie. I often read autobiographies, but one of my favorite science fiction stories is Project Hail Mary, by Andy Weir. …Wonderful story I’ve listened to and read more than five times. I highly recommend it.

Once in a while, on a clear and dark night, I’ll take out my telescopes and find interesting objects in the night sky. I enjoy looking through my telescopes the most when friends and their children are interested in looking with me. I like talking with others and teaching them about our universe. I really like seeing and hearing the reaction of others the first time they see craters on the moon or one of the planets in our solar system through a telescope. Venus is my personal favorite, probably because of how I discovered it. I was purposely looking for it in my telescope, but when I found it, I was genuinely surprised, not just by it’s intensely bright luminescence, but by the crescent-shape caught in my telescope. It captured my imagination and I fell in love, even more so after I learned about all its unique properties …and I continue to learn about it as we (science lovers) continue to learn about it. (We need VERITAS!) But I enjoy several things about the night sky, like finding binary stars, details we can’t see with our naked eye. But even without a telescope, laying flat on a clean porch or truck bed (assuming pillows and bug spray are available) to look up at a clear, dark sky and count meteors until dreams take hold is my idea of a good time.

I understand my privilege in looking at and thinking about the night sky. So many others cannot afford the time and thoughts as they are just trying to survive. And so I cherish and make those most of those moments every time I indulge myself.

04 — Publications

Check out these links for my publications that encourage happiness and well-being.

Children’s Book - I Could Never Stop Loving You …Targeting 0-10 years old, this children’s book started out as a poem that addresses emotional intelligence, empathy, and provides a path to better communication.

Podcast - The Wind & The Rain …A podcast for liberal-minded poets and science enthusiasts who appreciate great conversations and commentary. This podcast is available on most major platforms, including Apple Podcasts.

Blog - The Wind & The Rain …A blog aimed to create a space for self-reflection and awareness with the goal of helping others fine self-acceptance and empowerment.

The Wind and the Rain From Twelfth Night Act V, Scene 1

When that I was and a little tiny boy, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, A foolish thing was but a toy, For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came to man's estate, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, 'Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate, For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came, alas! to wive, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, By swaggering could I never thrive, For the rain it raineth every day.

A great while ago the world begun, With hey, ho, the wind and the rain, But that's all one, our play is done, And we'll strive to please you every day.