Who are you?

I am
  • a mother, a grandmother, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a good friend and a neighbor
  • a traveler, ever curious about the world most of which I'll never see in one lifetime
  • an avid reader and people-watcher
  • a published author many times over in widely read scientific and medical journals
  • careful about who I let into my inner circle of friends but once you're there, it's for life.
  • a survivor of childhood trauma, an abusive marriage, heart surgery and cancer
  • on the border of introvert and extrovert but probably closer to introvert
  • just saying most of this aloud for the first time ever in my life
  • struggling at times
 

MountainRa said:
I could list a lot of different things I am but at this point in my life what I am is a Caregiver and it takes nearly 100% of my time. Anything else that I am or used to be has been put on the back burner for now.
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@MountainRa have you checked out "www.agingcare.com"? It was really helpful to me when my mother was in hospice. Lots of great information and insight there. I think it may help you find comfort to hear that so many are going through the same thing.
 
Re: the posts on the necessity of a college degree, I received a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. I ended up in sales management, which required virtually none of the skills I learned in college. What it required was the ability to understand people and what makes them tick, the ability to focus on their skills and put them in the right positions, the ability to keep them happy and productive and the ability to manage budgets. So, it was good common sense, intuition and an innate ability to do math that helped me succeed... not my college degree.

Prior to my retirement, some "genius" at our company decided it was time for the entire sales force to take online courses from the Wharton School of Business. We were already working 24/7 so we had no time for this. And most, including myself, could not get through the tests so we used to call each other to compare answers! These courses had nothing to do with what we needed to know to be successful in our jobs, and the initiative was dropped after a couple of months.

IMO companies too often pass up great candidates because they too focused on college degrees.
 
officerripley said:
I was also told that, "...if people want to be treated decently, they need a college degree."
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Ohhhh that is so class whorish. Makes my blood boil. Education in an academic setting is one form of available knowledge, but far from the only one. Some of the most knowledgeable people I have met were/are autodidacts. As for the respect thing, that is about character, not degrees. Honour yourself for your personal pursuit of knowledge. 💕
 
dseag2 said:
Re: the posts on the necessity of a college degree, I received a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. I ended up in sales management, which required virtually none of the skills I learned in college. What it required was the ability to understand people and what makes them tick, the ability to focus on their skills and put them in the right positions, the ability to keep them happy and productive and the ability to manage budgets. So, it was good common sense, intuition and an innate ability to do math that helped me succeed... not my college degree.

Prior to my retirement, some "genius" at our company decided it was time for the entire sales force to take online courses from the Wharton School of Business. We were already working 24/7 so we had no time for this. And most, including myself, could not get through the tests so we used to call each other to compare answers! These courses had nothing to do with what we needed to know to be successful in our jobs, and the initiative was dropped after a couple of months.

IMO companies too often pass up great candidates because they too focused on college degrees.
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I wholeheartedly agree. In many cases, a person’s people skills matter far more than their academic creds. I certainly found this to be true in my line of work.
 
I am a very creative person:
~composer/arranger, recording artist.
~an artist (drawing) and colorist
~occasionally a writer of articles for my friends entertainment publication
I have the ability to make even a dying person laugh. I'm just a funny person. No one can be around me or on the phone with me long without me making them laugh.
~I am a trusted friend, someone who provides a strong shoulder when needed.
~I am known to be psychic (but not on demand).
~I am a very happy retired person
But my favorite thing to be is mother (to my son), grandmother (to his 5) and bonus mother to my three honorary children. Also, countless numbers of my son's friends and talented constituents call me "Ma".
 
Another take on the "higher" education vs. self-taught learning thing by Virginia Woolf from her diaries, 8/16/1922, when giving an opinion on Ulysses by James Joyce:

"An illiterate, underbred book, it seems to me; the book of a self-taught working man, and we all know how distressing they are, how egotistic, insistent, raw, striking, and ultimately nauseating."

Sigh.
 
officerripley said:
Another take on the "higher" education vs. self-taught learning thing by Virginia Woolf from her diaries, 8/16/1922, when giving an opinion on Ulysses by James Joyce:

"An illiterate, underbred book, it seems to me; the book of a self-taught working man, and we all know how distressing they are, how egotistic, insistent, raw, striking, and ultimately nauseating."

Sigh.
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She was a product of her time, privileged, arrogant, and a true class whore. Joyce was a genius whose work has stood the test of time, far more universally accepted than her clever, but rather brittle writing. Frankly, I think she was likely jealous.
 
Who am I?

I wasted out a lot of money in the 70"s to find outo_O. Looking back I would have to call myself a Road Scholar. I went to and graduated from college but the open road is where I learned the most about living and life. Now I am an old man who seeks and enjoys solitude and peace of mind. I could not ask for much more.
 
My bio from my book page, Born in Mobile, Alabama. John served in the United States Marines 1965-1971 Served in Viet Nam 1967-1969. Taught Vietnam War History ,He worked for the U.S. Treasury, worked for the Air force for six months before Retiring in 1981. He devoted his time to helping other Veterans, Service Officer, Commander Chapter 32 Ga., worked with Senators Sam Nunn, Congressman Newt Gingrich, State Senator Nathan Dean and the President on Veterans Issues, Did a lot more things, but feel like I have not accompassed much for myself.
 
I have no clue, I just took life a day at a time and did the best I could. I must have done okay, I was married to the boy I loved until the day he died. I had a beautiful brilliant son. He went to college without student loans. My home is mortgage free. I have no car payment. I am not rich, I am not poor. I am retired in peace and without fear. I think I have done well. I will only die without one thing checked off. I have always wanted to learn ballroom dancing but my husband did not, could not dance. Now, I just dance around the house on my own but it does make me smile. What more can I ask for?
 


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