Hi,
I am not simply a lurker. I assume you want to know who is here... who is interested besides the obvious member. I am also a retired grandma living in a 70 year old rock cottage at the edge of the woods in the Ozark Mountain foothills. Missouri, USA. Can't see my nearest neighbors. Love it that way. Middle of Missouri, middle of the US. No ocean shore. (Well, I miss the ocean... Atlantic of my youth, Pacific of my young adulthood.)
In the 1950's my California high school Biology teacher, Mr. James Robinson, took us on a field trip to Laguna Beach, CA. When we came home with a small octopus, which did not live long, my desk was seated right next to the tank ... Mr. Robinson asked about my college plans and suggested Scripps College. Right then, I was sure I wanted to be a Marine Biologist from Scripps College. Truly not that one incident. Mr. Robertson made every aspect of Biology exciting... but the ocean was his pet project. And he praised me!
Well, that didn't happen. I was a secretary, then a mother of five children - successful people with advance degrees, now in/and approaching their 40's (I'm proud). I was a trainer and writer of training manuals for Girl Scout adults, an active volunteer and advocate of children with learning disabilities... twenty five years sped by.
I am now confined to my wheelchair, live alone, (where I have always wanted to retire) watch the deer, turkey, all the wild life on my property, and I spend an exorbitant, but delightful amount of time on the computer. The contrast of using my computer, against feeding my wood stove, simply delights me!
My favorite site is one of writers and poets where I'm proud to be a moderator.
TONMO is my second favorite site. I try to read every single word posted here. I am fascinated and envious. If I ever win a lottery (but I never buy a ticket) I would immediately start getting a 50 gallon tank ready for a Bimac!
I love reading here. I love hearing your experiences with your short lived pets. I love that you have experts like Dr. SOS and others. I love to hear your newbies start out as every newbie before them. I love your tolerance because they might be future biologists or conservationests. I love my time spent at this delightful site which is so well maintained and easy to roam.
On my Internet... TONMO is my second best favorite. Not a small thing from a layperson.
So, if you see my name signed in, and you wonder why you don't hear from me - it's because I have nothing to contribute, but I am completely captivated. Lurker doesn't seem like a label I want to wear.
But, appreciative lurker I am.
P.S. To educators - (Thanks, Jim Robertson, I never got to Scripps. Still, thanks. When the nation's focus was on space and Spudnik, you were in your classroom, instilling the wonders of the unexplored oceans and the future to be found there. I hope some of your students did advance. Meanwhile, I was and still am, left with a care for this vast resource. It interests and stimulates me in my old age. What a pleasure on the computer, instead of boredom, and I hope I've passed on some of your thoughts while raising my children and influencing Girl Scouts.
So there.
Did you ask Newbies to introduce themselves? Sorry I've never learned to be brief. Either silent, or verbose.
Back to reading this terrific site! Thank you.
Barbara
I am not simply a lurker. I assume you want to know who is here... who is interested besides the obvious member. I am also a retired grandma living in a 70 year old rock cottage at the edge of the woods in the Ozark Mountain foothills. Missouri, USA. Can't see my nearest neighbors. Love it that way. Middle of Missouri, middle of the US. No ocean shore. (Well, I miss the ocean... Atlantic of my youth, Pacific of my young adulthood.)
In the 1950's my California high school Biology teacher, Mr. James Robinson, took us on a field trip to Laguna Beach, CA. When we came home with a small octopus, which did not live long, my desk was seated right next to the tank ... Mr. Robinson asked about my college plans and suggested Scripps College. Right then, I was sure I wanted to be a Marine Biologist from Scripps College. Truly not that one incident. Mr. Robertson made every aspect of Biology exciting... but the ocean was his pet project. And he praised me!
Well, that didn't happen. I was a secretary, then a mother of five children - successful people with advance degrees, now in/and approaching their 40's (I'm proud). I was a trainer and writer of training manuals for Girl Scout adults, an active volunteer and advocate of children with learning disabilities... twenty five years sped by.
I am now confined to my wheelchair, live alone, (where I have always wanted to retire) watch the deer, turkey, all the wild life on my property, and I spend an exorbitant, but delightful amount of time on the computer. The contrast of using my computer, against feeding my wood stove, simply delights me!
My favorite site is one of writers and poets where I'm proud to be a moderator.
TONMO is my second favorite site. I try to read every single word posted here. I am fascinated and envious. If I ever win a lottery (but I never buy a ticket) I would immediately start getting a 50 gallon tank ready for a Bimac!
I love reading here. I love hearing your experiences with your short lived pets. I love that you have experts like Dr. SOS and others. I love to hear your newbies start out as every newbie before them. I love your tolerance because they might be future biologists or conservationests. I love my time spent at this delightful site which is so well maintained and easy to roam.
On my Internet... TONMO is my second best favorite. Not a small thing from a layperson.
So, if you see my name signed in, and you wonder why you don't hear from me - it's because I have nothing to contribute, but I am completely captivated. Lurker doesn't seem like a label I want to wear.
But, appreciative lurker I am.
P.S. To educators - (Thanks, Jim Robertson, I never got to Scripps. Still, thanks. When the nation's focus was on space and Spudnik, you were in your classroom, instilling the wonders of the unexplored oceans and the future to be found there. I hope some of your students did advance. Meanwhile, I was and still am, left with a care for this vast resource. It interests and stimulates me in my old age. What a pleasure on the computer, instead of boredom, and I hope I've passed on some of your thoughts while raising my children and influencing Girl Scouts.
So there.
Did you ask Newbies to introduce themselves? Sorry I've never learned to be brief. Either silent, or verbose.
Back to reading this terrific site! Thank you.
Barbara
Barbara!
are you SURE????
