As the admitted Queen of TMI, I often struggle when asked “About Me.” Sometimes, I’ve been accused of being a Californian chameleon, or being a masterful illusionist. I was born to a teen-aged Cajun mother of the long forgotten ones. I carry within my DNA shared generational mysterious ancestral ancient wisdom and secrets. My life has been an enigmatic synesthesia kaleidoscope. My upbringing was a hodgepodge of hand-me-down beliefs and remedies that often seem to defy logic.
There are some who say I am a walking compendium of forgotten lore and native history. I know things about how alligator grease becomes a balm for asthma, buried potatoes possess the power to banish warts, and a cactus holds the elixir to conquer sugar related ailments. However, all of this gift of multi-generational instruction came with a price. It sets me apart from other septuagenarians like me, leaving me occasionally feeling like a lone star in a clouded sky.
I’ve traveled to scores of far away places and encountered many of my own kind, with some that might as welled belonged on alien planets. They weren’t Cajun, Irish, nor Native American like I am, but I was not deceived. Young or old, affluent or destitute, famous or infamous, the recognition was mutual. None of them were not nearly as captivating as the ordinary souls I still encounter daily.
Now it’s true, that I’ve straddled the spiny back of an elephant, pressed my lips against his hairy knee, endured the indignation of an angry camel’s spittle at the thought of carrying me across the scorching sands, and flew on the back of a gyrating ostrich. I’ve been chased by a bear, stalked by the gaze of a mountain lion, and tethered by my boot laces to a rabid raccoon while I shot him in self-defense. I’ve served in an unpopular war, tagged the great right toe of those destined for a body bag after a hurricane, and lived so far back in the woods, that only the coyotes spoke my name.
Professionally, I’ve been a WAF in the Air Force, legislative aide on Capitol Hill, a health care lobbyist, a political speech writer for more than one member of Congress, and handed the wife of a President Kleenix to wipe her tears on the day he was shot as a legal and legislative aid to the hospital administrator, a legal liaison for corporate agribusinesses, a market research analyst for Fortune 500 companies, an antique shop owner, and ran a private detective’s office — and my most important jobs of all, have included being a life long wordsmith.
With over seven decades beneath my knowledge base of amour, I am enjoying today when my everyday life is tamer. I am currently the caregiver to my 91 year old mother, traveling back and forth between my home in Florida and her rural home 1000 miles away. I am also a long time published freelance author, internet junkie, part Cajun traiteuse, Cajun music and history preservationist, diabetic educator, daughter, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
I gratefully survived 48 years of marriage between 3 husbands, my late husband’s Alzheimer’s journey, a heart attack, invasive breast cancer and its return, and being in a Covid19 ICU ward as the only woman Veteran during my stay. Long Covid has slowed me down, but as the saying goes, “Cajuns are tough.” I am tough. I believe in not just surviving, but also thriving. I’ve learned more from those opportunities for introspection than I am even capable of expressing.
I prefer to live beneath giant old growth oak trees dripping with Spanish moss, while I sit and write. I am still talking to the squirrels and birds, in my well-loved gardens who help to remind me of all that’s important. However, at this time in my life, the majority of my time is spent tending a northeastern garden that brings joy to my mother and brightens her world. This trade-off does leave me with plenty of time to do what I do best — write. As you may have guessed, I have a lot to say.
My life has been a grand list of improbable encounters, each chapter’s twists and turns written to paint a fate filled surreal life with brush strokes of extraordinary tales, poems, and lyrics. A life unexpected perhaps, but if you like what I write, be prepared for the unexpected.
Here on Medium.com I hope to share the bounty of any useful knowledge I possess across a number of niches, that my well lived life gifted me with. I hold degrees in horticulture, neuroscience linguistics, and am currently pursuing a degree Behavioral Neuroscience. I am also thrilled to take Harvard EdX classes for the sheer fun of learning from the best.
You may also find me (and on other sites):
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