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what influenced you? made you what you are? something grabbed you at some point, what was it? what set you on your path? ..this is mine, i was 18. in fall river mass. i found the graves of the bordens...."lizzie borden took an axe, gave her mother 40 whacks....." lots of books, movies and plays resulting. i went nuts. went to the house, interviewed nursing home residents, read the transcript, went to the courthouse and historical society, i OBSESSED for 20 years! i still think of lizzie. and i know she did it. it made me lust after homicide.

Wow LC, research the facts about Lizzie and write her up as guilty as charged!

I choose my major field of study, History of Native Americans, because they have always fascinated me. And when I was 16, my first boyfriend was Iroquois-so subconsciously that probably had something to do with it. But history as a topic-I always loved it as a kid. I read all the histories and biographies of famous people even as a kid. It is always lots of fun.

If I look through my old papers LC, I will look for one interesting case study I wrote on from Santa Ana in 1898. It was a trial of a woman accussed of murdering her husband. I looked up all the primary sources on it, went to the old courthouse. It was a grand case. Her husband was a rat, he was hitting on every girl in town. The fathers in the town could hardly restrain themselves from mowing him down with their rifles. She finally had it with him, and bumped him off. When she went to trial, she was acquitted, received a standing ovation from the jury, and in the court records the judge's final comments were, "If it was possible, I would give you a medal for this good deed you have done our community."

i knew you'd understand.

I had a pretty “interesting” childhood, particularly in my high school years. We lived in a racially mixed town (Hispanic/Anglo) in Colorado and the relations between races were not good.

I made the mistake of not respecting the boundary that previous generations had put between us. I found myself building a relationship with a beautiful Hispanic girl. My attraction to her and her reciprocation wasn’t appreciated by the Hispanic males in the school and they set out to make me pay for my transgression.

I was jumped by three of them but managed to be the one who delivered the punishment. That made me someone who had to be beat in order that they regain their pride. I fought my way home from school many a night. I managed to keep from paying the price they intended for me to pay for a long time, even though I was often injured in the process. Finally a guy that had just been released from prison got the best of me. I thought I was going to die but I was hurt so badly I didn't care. That didn’t seem to be enough for them and I continued live life looking over my shoulder. There were many more altercations to follow. They were making me an increasingly more capable street fighter, with more and more confidence in my ability.

One evening I went to the movie with a friend. On the way out of the theater I saw a pack gathered around a classmate who was kind, gentle and very small, lacking any ability to defend himself physically. One of them was punching him. I couldn’t stand by and watch so I stepped in. The attention immediately turned from him to me and I was pretty badly beaten again.

When I look back on that night, I see it as a defining moment in my life. I didn’t realize it then but it was when realized the value and reward from service to others.

I went though the next ten or twelve years of my life not being able to deal with things intellectually or spiritually. I had learned to fight my way through everything and I had become skillful and frankly dangerous. By the grace of God I didn’t end up killing anyone and I never ended up in serious trouble with the law. Sadly, I had hurt some people along the way and even though they were willing participants I was wrong for being where I was, when I was and for availing myself to those situations.

Realizing that I had caused pain to other people and knowing that I could sense value and satisfaction with myself when I helped others, I gravitated toward public service.

Oddly enough, my difficulty with another race created such a huge issue in my life that when I dealt with it, the healing was fast and almost totally complete. I believe I have less of a problem with race than people who have never been through what I went through.

When I dedicated my life to the Lord and accepted His forgiveness for the way I had lived, the relief was so profound that it gave me a strong desire to help others experience the same thing.

As a result of all of that, I have spent my life almost exclusively in public service and I have also become an ordained minister. The two work hand in hand. A public servant ministers to the community in providing the services they need on a physical level and a minister provides what is needed on a spiritual level. What I learn doing one, strengthens my ability to do the other.

I have never thought this through or written it down before. I know myself better now. Thank you LC.

Wow Clint, that was so beautiful!! I can feel God's love just hearing your story. He has definately put you where you are as a witness to his powerful love!

My parents are the heroes in my life. I am definately where I am because of them. My father taught me all about unconditional love, an appreciation for nature and patience with people. I am an excellent mediator in the face of controversy and have settled many an argument amongst friends and have been called an "Anne Landers" (a popular newspaper column people write into for advice). My dad and his brother used to go deer hunting and sometimes my dad would take me along. Only problem, once my dad/my sisters/I got way out in the woods, we would wind up just animal watching and getting squirrels to come right up to us. Dad would always say, "Just tell uncle John we missed the deer!" Truth is he did't have the heart to kill. A sensitive man, he made a wonderful family doctor and taught his little girls some of the most important moral lessons in life. My mother taught me about wit, practicality and how to ALWAYS do the right thing in life. I am an honest, dependable person even when the going gets rough and I am treated badly by others, I hold my chin high and keep my words friendly without losing my composure. My mother is the smartest person I know....she will beat anyone at Trivial Pursuit. She would do anything for anybody and so would I. My parents made the wonderful mother and educator that I am today. They gave me the courage to earn a college degree and become a teacher and all the while raising me, never spoiled me or indulged me even though I lived a very comfortable life. We took many vacations and saw many things, but other than that, I worked for everything else. They never just bought me things because I wanted or begged for them. I lived in an affluent area... most kids at my high school had their brand new sports cars given to them. I did not have a car, and when i did finally get one, it was a beat up Ford Escort that broke down alot! Looking back, my parents were teaching me life skills and the value of the dollar. I appreciate everything they have ever done for me. They are still married and live just 10 min from me. My dad has just retired and they are enjoying their well deserved "golden years"!!

my mums my inspiration, my dad was an alcoholic criminal with a liking for mental cruelty. my mother had thought the love of a family would save him sadly it didn't. I grew up in a village with everyone knowing what my dad was. His whole family were deep into that life and my mother's had disowned her for marrying him. They all assumed that my sisters and I must therefore be scum waiting in the wings to inherit the family crime business and home was little respite with my father waiting to pick up where the playground bullies left off.

My mother was always soothing and always made me feel that I was seperate from what my father did that I bore no responsibilty for him and his life.

Eventually when I as about 11 myself and my sisters begged our mum to get rid of dad, it took a year for him to go he kept breaking into our home just to let us know he could and tried to kidnap my younger sister.

Those early years taught me the value of dignity and gave me an appreciation for how it felt to be written off by the rest of the world for circumstances beyond your control. I got married at 18 to a solider and we moved round the world for 3yrs. we wanted a family so he left the forces and settled up north. I worked in several jobs not really sure what I wanted to do for about 5 years struggling with the feeling that any minute my life would implode and I was doomed to be my fathers daughter that blood would out and I'd turn out to be just like him.

Then one day I just retrained and moved into services for adults with learning disabilities.

I fight for their right to be welcomed into the world and not isolated from it. I fight to blow away all the misconceptions about adults with LD and try to find new and creative ways to overcome their hurdles. As my very clever mother says, "there are only ever two problems, the ones you can do something about and the ones you have to grit your teeth through" My aim is to solve the solvable and to be at their side through the tooth gritters.

I want them to enjoy a life with and fresh challenges and a chance to live and die with dignity.