I sprouted from the prairies of Kansas and got transplanted to Virginia where my husband worked for NASA, we raised two sons, and I worked as a high school English teacher and department chair. We both moved on from those jobs, my husband starting companies in the aeronautics field, and I supporting those companies in the areas of writing, oral communications, and bookkeeping. Yes, an English teacher doing QuickBooks. That’s scarier than a Gothic novel. Luckily, I spend more time with A,B,Cs than 1,2,3s.

I am also fortunate because our jobs wing us away across the ocean.Sometimes, we rent planes on our travels, in the States and abroad, and my husband is the pilot. No matter whether we fly commercially or privately, I am in the passenger’s seat. That’s not a bad place to be. Without being at the controls, I can give my full attention, both literally and figuratively, to the panorama of life that spreads before me.

When possible, I like to hang out with literary types, living or dead, like Kafka in Prague. I live life with one ear tuned to the conversation buzzing around me and the other ear tuned in to the constant internal monologue in my head. Kafka invaded my silent musings and challenged me to comment about my travels with an occasional “detour” to other topics. Really, Kafka? So here I am.