Current location: Metairie, Louisiana (a suburb of New Orleans, LA). I've been to many different places in the US and to Great Britain and Norway.
FAMILY:
My Mom (who will be 96 one month from today, May 5, 2008), my daughter (who just turned 45 and is handicapped) and my grandson (who just turned 17) all share our home.
My Mom is in great health and refuses to be "an old
lady", even though her hair is snow white and she
needs a walker to get around. I have no idea where my
former spouse is, and really don't care to know.
EDUCATION AND CAREER:
Attended Tulane University, the University of New
Orleans, and the University of Arizona, but never
managed to get around to getting a degree.
Worked as a legal secretary to pay for all those college courses, but for the past twenty years, I have been working in the computer field, and presently specialize in
analyzing small business, home based business,
and "telecommuter" needs, then recommending,
installing and repairing the systems I recommend. I
also instruct in basic and intermediate skills in many
computer programs.
Believe it or not, I even managed to get in twenty yeas in the U.S. Naval Reserve and retired in 1999 as a Chief Petty Officer.
COMMENTARY:
I was privileged to serve in both Desert Engagement and Desert Storm, and I'm really getting tired of people who are big on enjoying all the freedoms the US
has to offer, but who just can't see why our
government would ask for volunteers to put their lives
on the line to make certain those freedoms are there
every day for people they don't even know.
My big experience from the military is that no one wants to avoid war more than they do, because it's their
families who will make the biggest sacrifice; but when
the fight starts, they are the ones who stay in
through the finish, good or bad.
AVOCATIONS:
Crazy about golf, really talented with knitting and
crocheting and still love to read. From time to time,
I also sing with a small ladies' chorus.
STORIES:
I have been blessed with "good stories" throughout my
life. Sometimes even I don't believe them, because
they occurred when I never should have been in a
particular place, or when I was supposed to be
somewhere and didn't make it, how I came to give a
whole new meaning to the phrase "the late Pat Powers",
and even being mistaken for the Pat Powers who won a
Gold Medal in Men's Volleyball in the 1986 Olympics.
The great part for me has been the wonderful people I
have known, how they helped me get what I want and how
I have been able to turn around and help others get
what they want. I am one very happy camper.
Patsy also later wrote:
I found the web site almost by accident. I was watching a program on the History Channel about the Vietnam conflict and, for some inexplicable reason, it suddenly became important to me to know if any of our classmates had been lost in that insanity. The first person I could remember as "gung ho" military was Hartley Newkirk, and when I Googled his name, I learned he is probably practicing law and still in Tucson. Then I got brave and tried Neil Carmony, and found out how successful he has been as well. It was then that I saw the link to Catalina High School and clicked on. It's great to see how many have done so well.
I forgot to mention that I was very lucky to make it through Hurricane Katrina with very little difficulty. We evacuated on the Sunday before the storm hit and had to stay in Arkansas for almost three weeks before being allowed to come home. The house was safe and had no water damage -- we lost 6 shingles off of the roof, a large awning that wrapped around one side of the house and all of the trees that were blown over all fell away from the house.
The people across the street were not so lucky -- four large trees fell into the back of their homes and made them uninhabitable for almost four months. Just three blocks from us, people had anywhere from a half-inch to four feet of water inside their homes and it just sat there for weeks. growing mold and all manner of ugly things. Certain parts of the city were not damaged -- mostly those that were settled during the late 1700's and early 1800's. when it was obvious which areas were swamp and which were high ground (like the French Quarter). The big problem now is finding contractors to do the work. The State of Louisiana has 3500 licensed general contractors, 1100 licensed electricians and 900 licensed plumbers. There are over 200,000 homes and 5,000 apartment complexes that still have to be rebuilt, and it doesn't take a Barry McCoy to "do the math" in estimating how long it will take to bring the City back.
