Dear Karen,
     I was thrilled to recieve your e-mails through Marlene Pratto of the League of Women Voters in Greesnboro.
     My teaching days at Winter Park High School were thr highlights of a 35 year career. The students were eager, smart, and charming. And I could not wait to get to work in the morning.
     You probably did not realize what influences Rip Wilson, the laid-back amused principal, had on the atmosphere of the school. He gave every teacher the freedom to be herself. I ventured to teach "All the King's Men" one year. The novel takes a thorough look at the Huey Long era in Louisiana and uses some "bad" language. I discovered years later that Rip Wilson defended me at the schoolboard meeting where parents had objected to the book.
     As for my life, we moved to Daytona Beach, where my husband continued in the defense business with General Electric. I taught at Mainland High School and the Daytona Beach Community College. After my retirement, we moved to Winston-Salem to be with my daughter, Eva, whose husband is a heart surgeon at the Wake Forest University Medical Center. We are blessed with two delightful grand-children here, Jason, 14, and Laura, 17. My son Daniel is a lawyer and lives in Scarsdale, NY. And he has two lively little ones, Nelson, aged 6, and Jackie, 7. In addition, he has a beautiful wife who is the ideal of a wife, mother, and daughter-in-law.
     If all of this sounds like a fairy tale, you know well that life is not without shadows. My husband of 54 years is now terminally ill, not with cancer but with a nerve condition. He is now at a Hospice Center where he is being cared for with extraordinary skill. My only solace is that he is not in pain. He is not conscious. The waiting period is very difficult. And I am grateful for the support of my family and friends.
     I would like so much to talk to you and I thank you for thinking of me. Please pass my e-mail as well as my address and phone number.

1258 Twin Oak Dr.
Winston - Salem, NC, 27105
336-767-8220

Sincerly,
Miriam Blickman