Who Is The Sidewalk Philosopher

I call myself the Sidewalk Philosopher because my articles are based on my life, my opinions, and the way I view the world around me.

"The world is a looking-glass and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Frown at it, and it in turn, will look sourly upon you. Laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly, kind companion." William Thackeray

These are the written meanderings of my pen, a glimpse into the inner being behind the face, through the eyes, which watch the world around me.

In November of 1950, I was born in Anderson, South Carolina. At the age of three, we moved to Pendleton, a small town just a few miles away but still in the same county. Pendleton is a wonderful place to grow up where the entire town looks out for and loves their children. I finished High School with my Kindergarten classmates and, at 64 years old, my childhood friends are still my friends.

After graduation, I attended Forrest Business College majoring in IBM Automation and Accounting. I made excellent grades and soon landed a job at Clemson University, just a few miles away.

In 1971, I left my little town and flew to Athens, Greece, where I was married to a man stationed there with the USAF. We lived in Glyfada for two years and then were transferred to Grand Forks, North Dakota, for another two years. Our last duty station was Shaw AFB, in Sumter, South Carolina, where our daughter was born, in 1977.

After the birth of my first child, I discovered writing. Why I had never done so before is a mystery, even to me.

We returned to Anderson, South Carolina, in 1978 and in 1980, we had our second child, a son. After sixteen years of marriage, we divorced.

In 1988, I married my best friend, having known him for seventeen years. He, too, was in the USAF. Therefore, my children and I moved to Florida to be with him and his two children. Together, we have raised both my husband’s son and daughter and my son and daughter…one federal officer, a stay at home Mom, an Elementary school teacher, and our youngest son, who works for AT&T. In 1996, I adopted my step daughter. We have been blessed with five grandsons, two granddaughters and two granddogs.

After contacting the Children’s Home Society in 1999, we became foster parents with the state of Florida for the next six years. We adopted one of our teenage foster daughters in 2001, whom we had known since the age of eleven. She is now twenty-seven years old. I have spent more time in a courtroom than I care to think about, fighting for the rights of the children in our care.

However, in 2005, I turned in my license. Our special needs daughter needed my full attention and our older daughter needed a sitter for her infant daughter five days a week while she was teaching.

My husband, Bill, is a retired USAF Air Traffic Controller, contracted out of Patrick AFB, Florida, with Computer Sciences Raytheon, as a Chief Controller. This enables him to continue to do the job he loves and aid the military.

Since my retirement as an Accountant/Credit manager, I am now able to enjoy my writing, singing, piano, sewing and friends. I have had numerous poems and short stories published and have sung in churches and for church organizations for years. There have been many weddings along the way for which I have sung, as well as my own daughter’s and son’s weddings, two of the hardest things I have EVER done.

We are members of Riverside Baptist Church.

I have enjoyed singing with the Palm Bay Senior Center chorus. The chorus does two fund raising shows a year as well as traveling to churches, retirement/nursing homes, etc. to entertain whenever possible. I love watching the residents light up at the sound of the music they have loved their entire lives. They smile, sing along, and pat their feet to the beat and the memories.

Bill and I have a eight year old, German Shepherd, Joey, who loves to sing along with me in his smooth Baritone and, at 85 pounds, considers himself a lapdog.

My life has evolved through many changes that I would never have dreamed of and has placed in my path challenges that I never thought I was equal to. However, I have found that God has a plan and, by following His lead, you can withstand anything he sets before you. You must first learn to listen to Him because, no matter what we want from life, it must come in His time.

Our foster children have taught me to look forward to the future and the next challenge with enthusiasm and excitement. If they can maintain their footing through all that the world has thrown at them, we can surely tackle all that lies ahead.

My life has been a series of learning experiences which I continue to find both a challenge and a joy, growing with each passing year. Each day teaches me something new about myself.

Related Article:

He Is On The Bench http://www.squidoo.com/on-the-bench

As we share our thoughts with one another, I look forward to getting to know each of you in turn.

Eugenia