Post date: Apr 12, 2017 12:09:40 AM
There are days when I still miss teaching and my very entertaining colleagues, but there are certainly compensations. I spend more time reading the newspaper than I ever have before, and, of course, there are books! I have also researched and written a book of my own about my English ancestors’ involvement in the slave trade and fur trade in early New England – a historical exposé of sorts. For about four years, this kept me busy in libraries and drew me to archives in Massachusetts, South Carolina and Barbados, digging for historical nuggets. We (my husband and I) are also drawn frequently to Seattle and Berkeley, California, where our two children live and study, as well as, occasionally, to places like Los Angeles, Louisiana, India and France. In addition, I have found a wealth of things to join – classes at Northwestern, poetry groups, writing groups, film groups, political groups. Speaking of groups, I have just ended a ten-year stint as editor of the union newsletter (NSTU, Local 1274) and am beginning one as the new treasurer of the NRTA. I am replacing Jerry Smith, so I have big shoes to fill! Thanks, Jerry, for having taken care of our finances so well for so many years.