A little bit about me…I was born and spent most of my childhood near Augsburg, Germany. A "military brat," I was exposed to a variety of diverse people and cultures. I was taught not to be prejudice and to tolerate people – whatever age, affiliation, race, creed, sex, orientation, etc. Growing up military allowed me to gain a multitude of different perspectives and viewpoints. I try not to use the word "stereotype" in my vocabulary. When my dad retired from the US Army in 1983, we settled down in a little town called Sumter, SC. What a culture shock that was! I was first enrolled in the local middle school at the age of 12 and learned that Southerners weren't too familiar with "foreigners." I remember one occasion, when a little girl walked up to me asking, "Do Ya'll all look like thaaat in Germany?" LOL… I remember giggling to myself because I wasn't accustomed to the Southern dialect, and I recall responding with a wise-ass comment, "Yeah and they all have little antennae that stick out of their heads, too." My first "real" job was working under the supervision of my dad at a local sportswear distributing plant called Niki-Lu Industries. My job title was that of a "picker-packer." Everyday during the summer I'd rise at 4:30AM to be at work at 5AM and would work throughout the day until 5pm picking and packing sports clothing to be shipped to a plethora of discount outlets and clothing retailers. I was just 13 but knew the meaning of hard work.When I was 15, my parents were going to enroll me in a private school due to the poor educational system. At the time, they weren't in any good financial shape to do that so I opted out and went back to the local, public high school. I had lots of fun in High School and met and managed to keep quite a few life-long friends.Over the years, I'd always written poetry and other little literary bites and found passion in my work. But money was always on the high list of priorities, so it would have to wait. When the millennium change came about, I was propelled into a world of chaos I had never known.First, I'd been injured on the job and learned that I suffered from Transverse Myelitis (aka. TM). For all of you that don't know what that is, it's similar to MS (Multiple Sclerosis). I have a lesion on the C1-2 and a herniated disc at the C3-4 on my spinal column. Suffering from a dislocated shoulder, I had to endure countless invasive procedures, surgery and physical therapy to get me back to somewhat normal. For a time, I was reduced to a wheelchair. Yes, I was unable to walk and could barely use my arms and hands. I felt like a failure and at one point, just wanted to die. I was taking RXs to spark my nerves, RXs to control muscle spasms, RXs to prevent seizures, RXs for inflammation, RXs to help with the pain, RXs to counter-affect the side effects of one pill with the other, and anti-depressants to keep me sane. By the time all was said and done, I nearly died in an emergency room because I had a reaction to one of the anti-inflammatory RXs (a super steroid). For the first time in my life, despite my negative feelings and resentment of being in a wheelchair, I prayed that God would save my life. He did more than that, a matter of fact, I found a kind gentleman who worked with the International Disability Coalition who put me on track to helping to heal myself. I first stopped ALL meds without the approval of neuros and other docs. (DO NOT ATTEMPT this yourself, as it could lead to VERY ADVERSE and LETHAL effects.) What I did was extremely dangerous, but for me, it was the right thing to do at the time. In addition to getting off of all the prescription drugs, I also began using band exercises to fix the muscle atrophy and to ultimately regain my ability to walk. It was a lesson that I will not soon forget. In the course of my illness, I met a lot of kind and beautiful people who helped see me through my tragedy; and for that, I am grateful. I still encounter days where I can't walk, I go numb from the waste down or I have haphazard muscle spasms throughout my body; but for the most part, I can live with the "sometime" days as opposed to not having any ability at all. I am, for this reason alone, a walking testament that miracles DO exist.Since that time, I've worked in management, writing and in public relations. One of my greatest achievements in life was participating with my sister and the American Red Cross in creating the 12'x6' condolence card that was sent to the victims of 911 in NYC and in PA from the state of South Carolina. My poem, "One Nation for All," was scrolled across the oversized sympathy card. It was a bittersweet moment, as I, like so many others mourned for the loss of thousands of innocent victims; but felt proud to be an American for taking part in something so compelling.Another great moment was when my poem, "Tears of Liberty" was inducted into the Ellis Island Library. Again, I felt like my contribution meant something; and it did. I've since published a book of poetry and am going to attempt to finish my sci-fi book someday.My passions in life, besides writing are my family, my adopted rescue dogs, art and politics. I believe in liberty and pursuit of freedom and happiness. I believe that animals should be treated with humane compassion and love. I believe that artists of all kinds help to shape our vision and future of humankind. I believe that even when the bottom drops out, there is always hope. And I believe that one should not have regrets in life.Without going into an even longer life story -- You see, I've lost some of the greatest people I've known – my dad and my grandma. I also lost some of the most beautiful and loyal companions: a few of my dogs in my life; and more recently, Zeus – my shepherd mix that lost his battle with lymphoma. Despite all my loss and trials, I have learned to be resilient. I have learned that everything is as it should be. And I've learned that life, no matter what it throws at you, can always be victorious if we only believe in ourselves. The negative aspects are just hiccups. Namaste