The Faces of Country Sunshine

I was named after the daughter of one of my dad’s Marine Corps friends.  Her name was Lynne, as is mine.  My dad always says “For it to be a girl’s name, Lynne has to have an “e” on the end.”  I’ve met a lot of other girls with the same first name, but seldom do they include the “e”.

As children, we were allowed to get dirty, throw rocks, and eat candy.  We played football in the street, built forts with discarded Christmas trees, walked to school, and rode our bicycles throughout the neighborhood.  We didn’t watch much television, as we much preferred to spend our time outdoors.

Growing up, we always had pets of some sort.  Our first dog was named Frisky, and our cat was Midnight.  We also kept crawdads, turtles, lizards and horned toads that we found in the empty fields in the neighborhood.   My mother drew the line at raccoons and tarantulas, as she wanted neither to escape inside our house!  This early exposure to pets of all kinds is the basis of my love for animals now. 

I am currently reading books by John Grisham and James Huston, and a couple of WWII non-fictions.  I always keep a book beside by chair and my bed, so I can read whenever I have a spare moment.

Our family vacations consisted of visiting relatives over the summer.  We’d load up in the car and head out for two months.   New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada and California were some of the states we visited along the way.   We visited national parks, art galleries and museums.  We hiked up mountains, and skied down the slopes.   We explored every city we visited, learning the culture and making memories that lasted a lifetime.  

Travel has been a part of my life ever since.  I was an exchange student in Germany, and owned a travel agency for 19 years.  In addition to the United States, I’ve traveled to Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, Iceland and Europe. I’ve even cruised the Pacific Ocean and Mississippi River.  I’ve been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans several times, attended Fantasy Fest in Key West, and gone to festivals all across the U.S.A.  I guess you‘d say I have travel in my blood!  

In 2012, I was invited to participate in a ceremony, called "In Memory Day" at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.  Held in view of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall, this ceremony is held each Flag Day in honor those veterans who died as a result of their service in the Vietnam War.

I have since learned to live with grief.  I do not know if I’ll ever get over his loss, but I have learned to live with it and move on.

The majority of my life, I have been a writer.  Poetry, short stories, and thoughts in general have all been jotted down.  I have notebooks and boxes full of stories and scribbles, hiding beneath my bed and in the back of the closets.  

I took a hiatus from writing for several years, and it wasn’t until after my husband passed away that I found a need for it again.  I am a different writer than the one I was in the past.  Perhaps because I now wear a different face?   My perspective on life, love and death has changed, and I believe it is for the better.  

I write articles for a variety of sites, including Wizzley, Hubpages, Zujava, Writedge, and DailyTwoCents.  The topics are varied, and include the following:

I don’t always wear the most fashionable clothing.  I believe in purchasing durable, classic clothing instead of the latest fad.   These are my recommendations.

I am proud to be a citizen of the United States of America.   I am a patriotic American, a proud Texan, and I support our military and veterans.  

I have always enjoyed cooking, and fixed many of the family meals when I was a teen.  Many of my recipes are the ones my Mother created, while others are concoctions I've come up with on my own. 

There is an art to giving gifts.  If you know the person well enough, you'll be able to select the perfect present.  Here are some suggestions: