Deenso's photostream  

I was born and raised in McKeesport, PA, a small steeltown in the Pittsburgh area. Went to prep school near Philadelphia for a few years and moved to NYC with my family after I graduated h.s. in 1965. With one semester of college under my belt, I became a part-time hippy and a college drop-out, but you didn't need a degree to become a typist in those days. So I attended secretarial school and got a job as a statistical typist.

One day early in November 1966, a man walked through my office door and straight into my heart. Despite the fact that I know people simply don't believe in that sort of thing, Jimmy and I fell in love - truly and deeply - the moment our eyes met. I was 19 and he was 20. We got married 5 years later. Our next anniversary, in May, will be our 38th. We have no kids, but tons of generations of nephews, nieces.

I continued working as a typist, moving from company to company, and moving up a little, too. One thing led to another and I spent 30 years working as executive assistant to one advertising executive after another. Loved some of them, had little respect for a great number of them, and actively hated the one who ultimately had me fired, after 18 years in the same firm. But instant karma's a bitch: he got fired - and escorted out the door with two hours' notice - about 3 months later.

A couple of weeks later, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins follicular lymphoma and spent the next six months in chemo. Lost my hair, lost 40 pounds(!), and got better. It's now two years later and I've got one more "booster" series to go, next month, but I'm in remission and hope to stay that way! My hair has grown back - with curls! - and, unfortunately, I've gained back every pound and then some. Oh, yeah - I suppose I should have mentioned that my hobby is cooking. And I'm good at it. Have taken several courses at the French Culinary Institute and my husband says that the two best things I learned there, after 170 hours, are 1) how to roast a chicken and 2) how to do great things with eggs. I suppose that's an accomplishment of sorts...!

25 years ago, I'd say, we bought an A-frame house in the Poconos and we have lots of family get-togethers there. More recently, 4 years ago, we bought a house in a new development in Phoenix with an eye toward eventual retirement. Hmmmmph. With the way things are going these days,that could be years away. If ever.

I'm new to photography - turned onto it by my sister, Susan NYC. I had taken photos before, of course, but now I find myself looking around me much more carefully, and seeing photographs everywhere. My little digital camera (Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W80) is in my purse all the time now, as well as a fully-charged extra battery.

I'm back at work now - as a receptionist in a huge ad agency in mid-town Manhattan - and I love it. Lots of people to meet and greet, little bits of business to handle, and 8 hours a day in front of a computer. The best part is that I get an hour and a half for lunch, which means time to wander with my camera. I hope to learn more about what this little baby can do and make something beautiful with it.

Aside from NYC, where I live, my favorite places in the world are Paris and the Kona coast on the Big Island of Hawaii.