"I was born in Lansing, Michigan in 1944. Soon after my birth I
lived in Williamston, Michigan and then moved onto my grandparents
farm in Union City, Michigan."I lived on the farm with my mom and
Grandparents until 1949. That is when my Babushka (my grandmother)
died and we prepared to move away from Michigan. I must say that
living on that little farm with them was the most magical time of
my life...and that my Babushka and other grandparents were some of
the most inspirational people in my life.
"My parents were divorced when I was 3, and both my father and
mother moved back into the homes of their parents. I spent the
school year with my mother, and the summers with my dad. In both
households I was the apple of my grandparents' eyes! I would say
that these relationships with my grandparents have most definitely
influenced my life and my work. You probably have noticed that in
almost every book that I write there is a very young person who is
interacting with an elderly person. Personally, I feel that this is
the most valuable experience of my life....having the wonder of
knowing both children and elderly people.
"The respect that I learned as a very young person certainly
carried over into my life in later years. I have always like
hearing stories from these folks. My genuine curiosity for the
wonder of living a very long life prepared me to accept the
declining years of my own parents.
"To get back to the farm in Union City...this place was so magical
to me that I have never forgotten it! This was the place where I
heard such wonderful stories told...this was the place that a real
meteor fell into our font yard...that very meteorite is now our
family headstone in the graveyard here in Union City.
"Did I tell you that I now live in Union City? This is after living
in Oakland, California for almost 37 years. But, you see, every
year I'd come back to Michigan to see my Dad and family.
"Anyway...
"In 1949 we left the farm to move, first to Coral Gables, Florida.
I lived there with my Mom and my brother, Richard, for almost 3
years. Then we moved to Oakland, California. I remained there for
most of my young life on into my adulthood. We lived on Ocean View
Drive in the Rockridge District. What I loved the most about this
neighborhood is that all of my neighbors came in as many colors,
ideas and religions as there are people on the planet. How lucky I
was to know so many people that were so different and yet so much
alike.
"It is on Ocean View that I met my best friend, Stewart Grinnell
Washington. We are best friends to this day! He has a younger
brother, Winston and three sisters; Jackie, Terry and Robin. When I
was a student in elementary school I wasn't a very good student. I
had a terrible time with reading and math. As a matter of fact, I
did not learn how to read until I was almost 14 years old. Can you
imagine what it was like to see all my friends do so well in school
and I wasn't! I thought I was dumb. I didn't like school because
there was this boy that always teased me and made me feel even
dumber. When I was fourteen, it was learned that I have a learning
disability. It is called dyslexia. I felt trapped in a body that
wouldn't do what everybody else could do. That was when one of my
hero's, my teacher, found what was wrong with me and got me the
help I needed to succeed in school. Of course, now that I am an
adult, I realize that being learning disabled does not mean DUMB AT
ALL! As a matter of fact, I have learned that being learning
disabled only means that I cannot learn the way most of you do. As
a matter of fact, most learning disabled children are actually
GENIUSES! Once I learned how to read and caught up with the rest of
my fellow students, I did very well.
"I went on to University, majored in Fine Art, then went on to do a
graduate degree and even ended up with a Ph.D. in Art History. For
a time I restored ancient pieces of art for museums. I eventually b
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