Be Open (More About Me story, the Tenacious Kid)Part of Dora’s Travesty of Justice Series
Birth
I was born in 1949 in Newport News, Virginia, and moved to Long Island, New York. My parents adored me partially because my mother had a difficult pregnancy and was thankful for me. My parents were thrilled that I was healthy, but at the age of three, I became extremely ill after receiving Penicillin for an illness. I almost died so it took me years to improve my strength making my parents, mostly my mother dramatically focused on my health. My mother was physically unable to have children again so the tenacious kid was it.
Career
When I was four years old, I made a career choice to become a nurse. I made an abrupt career change to become an educator because the sight of blood made me feel dizzy and nauseous.
Writer
I wrote my first book at eight years old, “Little Miss Susie” which was about my imaginary friend. At twelve years old, my parents carted me off to California where they thought I would do better. I was healthier, but unhappy because my best friend (since I was four years old), Bernie, moved to Brooklyn after I moved to California. It was better financially for my father so the move was worth it. He no longer needed three jobs. We now moved up to the lower middle class.
California
California was not for me. I missed New York as well as missing Bernie. We stayed because my health challenges became more manageable, and I started to make friends. Then, I met Glinda (Episode 2 of Dora’s Travesty of Justice, Glinda the Good Witch (this used to be on Dora’s Medium page, written by me with the pen name of Dora Miller). By high school, Glinda and I became best friends, fifty-plus years later, Glinda is still my best friend so California did have some redeeming features. I went to junior high school and high school in Santa Monica, California. After I arrived in California, my parents started to flip houses. “We were certainly not the Rockefeller’s as my father would say”. We would now achieve comfort, in the lower middle class. Best of all, my parents’ love was there for me.
Retarded and Lazy
Since I was misdiagnosed by a teacher early in my childhood as retarded because I was lazy, I promised myself that Ι would always search for answers as a teacher for my affected students. I was later tested as gifted (college level when I turned 13 years old as my parents’ search to prove that I was gifted ended). My mother years later let that teacher know that she was wrong. Therefore, I knew that my career needed to be dedicated to the throw away kid-the one who was dismissed by the education staff.
University
It was time for me to begin my life, after going to college locally, I prepared to complete my education at a four-year teachers’ college. Even though the government’s income guidelines placed my parents at slightly above the poverty line, I didn’t receive a “work-study” grant for college tuition which would pay for most of the college as we were still barely in the middle class. Since the “work-study” grant did not happen, my father and mother scrimped and saved for me to go to college. I promised my father that I would begin my career in elementary school. I have always taught at-risk students by choice.
Teacher and My King of Con
I finished my teaching credential in 1973 and was hired for my first teaching assignment six months later. I married in 1975, six months after I first taught. I truly loved my King of Con, but my marriage was one of smoke and mirrors as well as violence as seen in Episode 3-Dora Marries the Violent Devil.
Language Development Specialist
I chose not to go on with teaching elementary school, I followed my sixth graders to junior high school.I needed to help them to do something with their lives and not to be the throw-away students as I was. I never regretted my move. It was a dream come true. I became an ESL Specialist Classroom teacher as well as a chorus and general music teacher.
Michael Jackson
Twenty years into my career, my chorus performed with a Michael Jackson band member. I also taught General Music and Chorus because I had the certification as well as liking this position. I wrote poetry during my early teaching career which has stretched almost four decades. I always have enjoyed writing, it is a family trait. My father was a writer and artist, and my cousin, Jane writes children’s books. So, I was awarded a computer lab and a state-of-the-art printer as a middle school teacher. We published “The Bulldog Magazine” and the “The Bulldog Magazine for Second Language Learners”. I also was a Lead Trainer for WRITE, and my students published along the way in the “Santa Clarita Magazine” and in the Bulldog Magazines. I left the Music department so I could teach writing to ESL students.
Retirement
I retired from my three-decade-plus classroom teaching career in 2005. I also retired from being a Labor Leader and Legal Counsel for my Teachers. I was on to my new adventure with my ex-husband who promised much more travel and excitement. He did not promise the end to the smoke and mirrors as well as the STD. Instead, I received aggravation, intrigue, and violence. I learned how much lack of happiness I could endure, but I continued to write. I became hooked on “Lifetime” in 1995 when the network wrote scripts for true stories and compared my life with the characters. After one of the acts of violence in my life occurred, I hoped that I could write better than the newer fictional stories on Lifetime. I am also and Editor and Curator with “Be Open”.
Divorce
In 2012, I stopped writing for a couple of years, dealing with the pain of my divorce. I began to think of a series that became a twinkle in my eye. I left my King of Con as he forced me to give up my teaching pension while Donald absconded with millions of my money. My ex-husband even told me that I was a hideous writer. I showed him. I published a magazine, had a twenty-year writing career aside from teaching writing.
Dora’s Travesty of Justice
In 2014, I began writing once again with a series still a twinkle in my eye. This series was the part of my life that has been a fascinating and a difficult journey. In 2017, “Dora’s Travesty of Justice” was then created by my muse and now A Shayens honored me and gave the Dora series a home, Be Open Challenges you to create Be Open.
Truth, Justice, Murder and Mayhem
My hobby is viewing anything relating to truth and justice. I also love movies about murder and mayhem. “Lifetime” has a constant stream of movies that I can watch while I differentiate them from real life and compare them to my previous life. Since I am writing a related series, I am still interested in my true crimes.
Takeaway
My father told me never to forget World War II as well as who I am. He guided me to make my mark. So with the clothes on my back, I left my King of Con to unknown adventures. “I am rich in love” as my father, Jack used to say.
Be Open Says;
Writers! Let’s be open!
Writers should take this!