Up Close and Personal With GirlWithACamera

Here is a photo of me. Actually, here are THREE photos of me, as it's early in the year and I'm feeling flush with all those extras in my pocket! (Ignore me in December when I'm crying the blues because I've used all my extra photos up!) The first picture, above, is of me during the pandemic. Which is to say, this is me playing with my camera while waiting in the car as my husband goes to bring us back food. Two big macs and a small fry, please, eaten in the car, as so much has been in these past two years. I was raised eating in the car, so I'm ready for this; oh no, this stupid pandemic that's waxing on and on for years is not my first eating-in-the-car rodeo!

I was sorting through some things on this day when I came across a small bag of pictures that were my big sister Barb's. Several of the pictures were from my PSU college graduation in May of 1986, so I photographed some of those photos and I'm sharing them now. You have seen me with my parents before, oh yes. But would you take a look at us, way back in 1986? Let's start up the Way-Back Machine, shall we?

The one is a picture of me, with both of my parents, standing along East Park Avenue on graduation day. My dad is looking sort of cranky (he never was much for "town," I'm afraid). And my mom is sort of cutely peeking out at the photographer. In that photo, I'm holding my cap and gown in one hand, and my PSU University Scholars medal in the other. (Yes, thanks, PSU for the 4-year, full-tuition scholarship that set me on my way!)

The other photo is a picture of me with my mom. You can see that we are roughly the same height, about five feet two. One of the regrets of my life is that my mother never had a chance to get a college education. I was one of the valedictorians for my graduating class, and I had two other sisters (Barb and Pat) who were also valedictorians, but the truth of it is that my mother was - and is - smarter than all the rest of us put together! She skipped a grade in high school and graduated early. I remember when I earned my PSU degree that it was for me, but it was also sort of in her honor, too; because she could have, you know, if she hadn't had all six of us kids to raise. My lifetime of dedicated service to providing a quality, accessible PSU education to underserved populations that include rural women can be laid at my mother's feet.

Now let me tell you a story that might make you laugh. I lived in the dorms (Runkle) at North Halls for three years. My final year of college, August 1985 to May 1986, I rented a room in a little square white house with black shutters at 227 East Park Avenue, right across from North Halls, and worked at "Independent Learning," which was located in nearby Mitchell Building (the Business Building at the corner of Shortlidge and East Park Ave. eventually replaced it). That house is a hop and a skip and a jump from where the Arboretum is now, but back then it was just cow pastures. My first PSU roommate, from NYC, stared in horrified fascination out the window at those cows.

The house at 227 E Park was run by a little old lady named Mrs. Kennedy, who had a beauty shop downtown across from the State College post office. Mrs. Kennedy had just TWO rules for her girls. Number 1, no booze. And number 2, no men overnight. Well, there were 5 of us girls living there, one to a room, and I was aware that ALL rules were broken, by one girl or another. And rumor had it that Mrs. Kennedy routinely had to ask one of the girls' boyfriends to move his car in the morning so she could get her car out to go to work. (You know, telling this story makes me giggle. I am starting to envision Mrs. Kennedy as Miss Mona, from Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, laying down "Miss Mona's No-No Rules.")

When I graduated, I went home for a little bit - "Boy do I have a lemon for you, Doll Baby," my dad said, on our way home, just before he sold me my 1974 blue Torino for $500 - and then I came back and continued working at Independent Learning. Over the years, I was a work/study student, a wage/payroll employee, an assistant designer, a designer, an assistant director, and a manager of access. My personal philosophy was to make myself so useful - doing ANYthing they asked - that they would never get rid of me! Though at the time, as I was graduating, I didn't feel like I had it all figured out, there was all kinds of opportunity out there, just waiting for me. I was one of the fortunate ones, and I am so grateful.

So that is the story for this day, just three pictures of who I am and who I have been. I hope you enjoyed this little trip through the Way-Back Machine! It's my custom to include a soundtrack song with each posting. Since my two extra photos are from May of 1986, my song is from an album I was listening to ALL THE TIME then. Here is Lilydale, by the 10,000 Maniacs, from the album I was obsessed with back then and played ALL the time on my Walkman, The Wishing Chair.