Northport Memories: Petticoats and Poodle Skirts

In Gratitude to the Northport Old School

Life has had its share of ups and downs, most recently in the 2006 double-whammy when we lost our business in the economy crash and I became disabled with stroke. Life changed for us in a way I can't describe and during those dark days, uncertainty and despair became a way of life.

I was attended to by, not my doctors, but by my generous friends, many of whom go all the way back to junior high school and beyond who nurtured me and made me responsible for my own survival. After allowing a brief stop at the pity party, they required me to hobble my way to better health. I was literally told to “use it or loose it” and as painful as that was, I took the message seriously and began my long road to recovery. I know I will never enjoy a “full recovery” but I now have a full life, knowing I am wrapped in the arms of those who love me.

As part of my “red-neck rehab” , I sat for hours with my guitar trying to get my fingers to work, playing and squawking at my computer monitor and finally getting some coordination. In the next five years, I became part of the Antique Roadshow Band, recorded in a professional music studio, recorded my own music and wrote and recorded “The Wreck of the Gwendoline Steers” with Steve Knox who is the son of Robert Knox, one of the victims who was killed in that December 30, 1962 tragedy.

In the meantime, I developed another “after stroke” endeavor, writing a blog for the online newspaper “The Northport Patch”. With much encouragement from my “the old school” readers, I assembled a small e-book of vignettes entitled “Petticoats and Poodle Skirts” which chronicles some thoughts of growing up in Northport. Celebrating my first publication, I give thanks to all my friends who supported me and gave me my life back.

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=petticoats+and+poodle+skirts&rh=n%3A133140011%2Ck%3Apetticoats+and+poodle+skirts&ajr=0