My Personal Information

I was born in 1951 in Saginaw, Michigan. My parents were Lorraine and William West. My father worked at the U.S. Graphite Company upon his leave from the Navy.

We lived in town until around 1955 when we moved to the country. There we lived in a two-bedroom house and my brother and I had to walk 2 1/2 mile to school. And believe me, the winters were a challenge. Sometimes we would cut through the woods, but to a 5 year old, that was a scary adventure. Especially when your brother would tell you scary stories all the way home.

I graduated in 1969 from Chesaning Union High. Went to my Senior Prom with a friend's older brother, who lived behind us on the next mile over.

CALIFORNIA

California is only one of the many states that I have lived in since moving out on my own after graduation. I have actually driven cross-country about three times and enjoy the different scenery that each state provides on a long drive.

My first time in California was when I flew to LAX in Los Angeles in 1984. I spent one week in San Francisco visiting a long-time friend, then flew to Los Angeles for the second week. Little did I know that I would eventually get a job and live here for a couple years. (Do not pay much attention to the photo, short hair and a perm do NOT go together.)

After about a year in LA, I moved south to Lake Elsinore with my then husband. One thing that I did fall in love with was Deep Sea fishing. Never been on the ocean before and the largest thing I ever caught was a 1-pound trout back in Michigan. So my husband decided to take me ocean fishing for my birthday.....This wasn't going to be just a 4-hour daily fishing trip, nope, not by a long shot. He decided to take me for an all day shark fishing trip. Mind you, at this time in my life, the only sharks I have ever seen were on TV.

There were 12 men and I was one of two women on the boat. Most everyone was catching Blue sharks (not good eating) and a few Makos (very good eating). I was more fascinated watching the other sharks being boarded that I did not realize that my line was going off the reel. I ended up being taken around the 65' fishing boat a couple times, weaving over and under the other fishing poles and men. Finally, after an hour and a half, my shark was brought on board. It turned out to be a male Mako, six-feet long and 160 pounds. The shark steaks that he supplied lasted a good year in the freezer, not to mention the steaks that I gave away to those on the boat who did not catch anything.

The detailed account of the trip will make a good short story, if I ever get it finished...*S*

Oddities of Mother Nature

When I was living in Arizona, my mother, who lived in Tennessee at the time, sent me a photo that she had taken. At first, I could not see why she would even think about sending me a photo of them burning an old brush pile, but you really needed to know my mother.. *S*

If you look real close you can actually see, what looks like, an image in the smoke. Now, I am not saying that it is actually a demon or not. I can think logically on this and take into consideration the wind, the sunlight shining through the trees, the smoke shifting with the breeze, etc.. There are tons of legends in every state that get passed down through the ages, and I guess, from listening to my mother, that there was a legend on the Burns Hollar Devil. And I guess she actually thought she had captured a part of the Legend...lol,