Yes, I'll never forget her, her name was Lois Raulerson. I grew up in the country, but the school was in a little town about 15 miles away. She lived in town. Later on when I was in Junior high, her husband had to go to a TB sanitarium in Orlando Florida and my sister that was 2 years older than I and I would ride with her some weekends so she wouldn't have to go alone. We had an aunt that worked at the sanitarium. Our aunt had never married. And I got into trouble once trying to tell someone about her. I said she was an Old Maid and tried to correct myself by saying she was just a maid and that still came out all wrong. We would stay with her in the dormitory and she would buy all kinds of candy and junk for us and take us to fancy restaurants. I'll never forget the Duck Inn. I remember we had fried shrimp and Strawberry Shortcake. It was delicious. My sister was Wanda, and I don't think mother ever saw Wizard of Oz as we had no television. I think it's coincedence that we were named for the witches in Oz. But all the way through school I was called Wanda because of my sister. Then after I was out of school and had various jobs, I was still called Wanda by a lot of people that didn't even know I had a sister called Wanda. And to this day I occasionally get called Wanda. Like I said we did not have televisions, telephones or indoor bathrooms. Never had any of these until after I got married. We used to go to town with our mother every Sat. and she would let us go to the movie theatre while she bought groceries. Sometimes we would get to go to the museum while she shopped. My first job was at Woolworths while in high school. I worked behind the counter where records and sewing notions were sold. And sometimes behind the candy counter. When I got into 7th grade we moved into a brand new high school. So a couple of years ago they had a 50 year reunion for all the grades that started school there that year. My Home Economics teacher was there and I was amazed how well she has aged. She still goes to the gym everyday there at the country club where she lives. Her name is Evalena Cates and I loved her. The summer between 11th and 12th grade my parents divorced. I used to dream that if my daddy remarried it would be to her. At the reunion I got to sit down and reminisce with her. She is as sharp as a tack!! Got a kick out of me telling her I used to dream of her as my step-mother. In Biology class my teacher was Mr. Jones. I really liked him and loved Biology. Used to play a game called Zoology, like Bingo. Had cards with definition of biological terms and he would call out the words. First one to get them all won. Of course if you didn't know the meaning of the words it was hard. I won everytime and never had to take any tests. I even liked disecting the bull frog even though I felt bad about killing the frog. And my English teacher was Mr. Emory and I really liked him and did very well in his class. Straight A's. Then there was Miss Robarts for history, American and World and I did well there. Don't even ask me about Math. Don't even remember the teachers names in math classes. It's a good thing I never had to take Algebra, Geometry or any foreign languages back then, I would have flunked out. I remember the Air Force coming out one time and testing us to see what our abilities were. They suggested that I was qualified to be an "Air Traffic Controller."LOL When I graduated I got my first real job at the University of Fla as a filing clerk in the On Campus Housing office. I stayed there a year, got married and then left there to go to work for the telpehone company as a long distance operator. Did that for about 13 years and then worked in the Switch and Data Administration office for another 9 years and left there to go to work with my husband. Been doing that ever since. Glenda

Hi Everyone, I'm here. We just had a lot of wind and rain from Faye. We are on high ground and had no problem with flooding. We do have lots of rivers surrounding us and they are still rising, but not flooding. We had a bad electrical storm last Fri night. With about 5 inches of rain and I'm not sure if it was actually from Gustav or not. Hanna doesn't seem to be a threat except to maybe the Carolinas. And I'm not sure what Ike might do. We never did lose power even though some of the county was out for awhile. Our son works for a utility company as a Mechanic Supervisor for the operation of the big bucket trucks. He worked almost around the clock for about 4 days and got pretty exhausted. He was up about 10 ft on the boom and when he went to step on the top of the ladder to come down, missed his step and almost fell. He was able to grab hold of something and only got some banged up ribs and shins. He blamed it on his new bifocals making him mis-judge his step. I think it was from fatigue mostly. But we are all doing fine and hubby and I are getting ready to get back to work after him having his knee replacement. So have been super busy. And the butterflies are still flitting around and I think there are more than ever and they are huge. Glenda

My name is Sally. I live in Lancaster County Pa and - no - I am not Amish. LOL I have 5 sisters and 29 nieces and nephews. I do not have any children, but love my 3 cats as if they were... I have lived in this area all my life and love it. I have been very fortunate in life to have a loving, stable family unit, with very little tragedy to speak of. I am divorced, but we remain very friendly... My SO is a Marine (not currently active) and very proud of it. ( a combat veteran is a whole different breed...) I work for a fantastic company and my job as a sales rep keeps me traveling quite a bit to the southeast US. I like it for the most part, but being alone so much can get old... My home is my cozy sanctuary to unwind. I love to tend to my herb garden and perennials. I bought my first sewing machine last fall, so I am enjoying learning how to use it. I love to tackle almost any project whether it's building a shed, making beef wellington or changing the oil in my truck. I probably own more tools than a lot of men I know... I am a redneck at heart, but clean up pretty good when I need to...

Looks like I'm late seeing and responding to this. But then, running late is a bad habit of mine. --------------------------------- I'm Carol (Caroline on my forums) and am currently living in North Dakota. I've thoroughly enjoyed the Kitchen Table and all the assorted forums since 1998/1999. In my real life I was a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Air Force. The years I spent in active duty were, and always will be, the best part of my life. I was a Public Affairs Specialist. I worked in Community Relations and Media Relations most of the time. Occassionaly I'd edit the base paper. I love travel and moving around. I've been fortunate to have lived in California, Delaware, Spain, England, Indiana, Texas, Colorado, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and now ND. I was born and raised in northern Arkansas. I graduated with a class of 17 in 1974. Before joining the Air Force I worked as a secretary for a couple of firms, a book keeper, and estate agent. While in California I worked for seven years in a 1,200-inmate jail faciltiy. Now that was a strange job! I worked a security job for a while here, but I've not worked in the past three years, except for helping put the house back together. No children. By choice. I could never "see" myself as a mom. I was single for most of my 20s and 30s. I didn't want to make the life-style changes a child would have needed. I married Wes when I was 36; he's a rabid hunter and fisherman and we enjoy our quiet life. My passions include gardening, birding in general and purple martins in particular, quilting, sewing, reading, beadwork...anything fussy and/or sparkly. I'm a total Anglophile and afternoon tea is a way-of-life for me. Anyone who knows me knows that Harry (love wrapped in a dog-suit) is my heart. He makes my days, keeps me happy, and adds joy to everything. And then, there's Sam (strangeness in a dog suit). He's a hoot, and for some bizarre reason he's decided I'm the "Best Human on Earth. Harry's my heart; Sam's my pancreas; (I have diabetes!) Sam is loved and well cared for, and spoiled and pampered. He's just so incredibly weird. See? I could never have children; I'm afraid I'd "play favorites." I just can't feel for Sam what I feel for Harry. It's not there. Hi! I'm Caroline, and I, too, am weird!