Well, I am not sure about how this goes. So here goes.

I originally hail from New York, NY. In the office, I am known as the last of the '42'rs. Our office had 13 people born in 1942 working in the same office.  Scary, huh? My late grandfather, Doctor Henry M. Kalvin delivered me which is real scary as most doctors do not operate on their own families. I can remember when I was only about 3 years old, I was visiting my grandparents in NY when as usual, I did something I was not suppose to do. My grandmother came out and was going to give me a licking, however, my Grandfather was raising Irish Wolf Hounds. Even tho, Grandmother & Grandfather feed the dogs, they turned on them. Grandfather was over 6 ft tall and had also showed the Brooklyn, NY police how to lariat cows that got away from the slaughterhouse. Don't ask me how he learned that but rumor has it he, also, used the lariat to catch big cats - lions, etc. out in New Mexico before it became a state in the US. He also was one of the first white men to go down the Amazon River. Well, enough of my Grandfather. I lived in NY for only 3 months as it was WWII and my father was in the ARMY at that time. We moved around the world and the US for the rest of my 17 plus years.

We were in the Philippines in 1950-51 where I attended the University of Philippines Day School - Santo Hose Abad School where my brother and I were only 2 of 5 Americans at that school. I can remember us going to Bagio where Clark AFB was located in a caravan of military jeeps and each driver had a sidearm. The week before we left Manila to go there, the HUKS (Communist Filipinos) had ambushed the caravan and USAF lost quite a few good men. By that time, Dad had switched over to the USARMY-AIR CORP in 1946. And in 1947, the US AIR FORCE WAS MADE BY THE CONGRESS IN THE UNITED STATE. GO FLY BOY, GO FLY BOY. We had take a 31 day trip by the US ALTMAN - NAVY SHIP to the Philippines via HAWAII, GUAM and MIDWAY. I crossed the Equator not once but twice. The first time, it was on the NAVY SHIP and they have the big thing that they do for people who have never crossed the EQUATOR. THEY ROLL OUT THE BIGGEST, UGLIEST SAILOR THAT THEY CAN and wrap him in the sheet with the oil etc. YOU HAVE TO KISS HIM. Can you imagine doing that and you're 10 years old. YUCK.  

I have lived or been thru most of the United States.  I have not been in Washington State, OREGON, ALASKA, IDAHO but that's for when I retire when I do retire.  

I graduated from high school in Mobile, AL with our senior class being one of the largest - 1000 seniors and 850 of them actually graduated. That next year, the Mobile Education Dept started another high school for the city. I went off to Univ. of Alabama for 2-3 years with a major in Criminology, Sociology and Psychology and a minor in Library Science. Can you imagine me as a librarian? That would definitely be a hoot! I had actually attended 4 different high schools in Cincinnati, OH; Wilmington, ILL; Joliet, ILL and of course, Mobile, AL. I did some modeling in Mobile but you wouldn't believe that now to look at me. Oh well, I guess that's why I have never gone back for my high school reunions.  

I have one son whom I love dearly and is helping to type this thing because even though I type for a living, I'm not good at typing on the computer. Geek, I'm not. I just got in trouble with my kid, whose helping me do this because I did not put my husband in but you know I cannot forget him because without him, I would not have my kid. Jay works as a customer service rep for a hotel. Gets discount but I don't like the hotel chain he works for.

I love to sew and make all my own clothes and that's why you always see me with something different on at our Red Hat meetings. I just love to find some new RED HAT material that I haven't seen before and figure out a new way to make up. Oh yes, I cannot forget to do my RED HATS that I am just having a ball making.  

I have, also, been a semi-professional clown along with my son. Our names were Miss Spotty and A. Painter. I would do the balloon animals and he did the face painting for me. I probably would still be doing it, if my hands would have let me and that in our JOEYS, someone almost got sued due to a child putting the balloon in her mouth. The balloon had actually been handed to the parent but that's another story. My clown name came from the fact that at one time, I raised Dalmatians - one in a one bedroom apartment and that's doing some. I'll never forget one day when I came home from work and my nice new couch had a hole in it and the pillows were shredded. So that's when I decided the couch needed a make over into a Vinyl couch. I put balloons on it and it works, it kept the dogs off of it and no more shredding of pillows.

My RED HAT NAME comes from the fact that I am and got hooked on the HOSTAS. Do you know that there is over 4,000 registered varieties listed and more every day? Near Mansfield, where we will be going for September, there is a place called VAN WADE & GATTON Gardens located in Belleville, OH. Not only does he have HOSTAS - some not only as big as your fingernail, but also some that puts out leaves that measure over 18-24 inches long. I have that one in my yard, NOT GOING TO SHARE, Sorry about that. I love to do perennials but HOSTAS are my bag.   

Oh yes, I work for the federal government but cannot tell you what I do. Will celebrate 40 years of service JUN 06. COME HELP ME CELEBRATE RETIRING.  Well, that's enough rambling. AND I LOVE TO EAT DESSERTS FIRST but then I LOVE TO EAT.   

See you in September.