My life so far

What am I doing here? How many times I have asked myself that question during my life? And the answer is, whatever I am feeling at the moment.

Like the time a Chinese news reporter in Bejing suddenly pushed a microphone in my face and harshly asked, “Why you here?” At first, I was startled at the variation of the very same question I had asked myself so many times. But I quickly recovered and said, “I am here to visit your culture and to understand that our true desires are basically the same.” She liked that answer. I made the nightly news!

Born in Brooklyn, New York, the first child of a young couple who rejoiced at my birth in the late 1930s. They were trying to start a family for over two years. They finally decided to take a weekend in Lake George, New York and it was there that I was conceived.

I wonder why they didn’t call me Georgiana or Georgia. Instead, they named me Virginia. I guess they got their geography mixed up.

I often look at my feet and think of all the places they have been. If I knew what was in store for them, I would have taken much better care of them. Each crease depicts yet another journey they have carried me on.

I married a handsome fellow who got a job with the airlines and it was cheaper to travel than stay home. And, boy oh boy, travel we did. We went first class on the airline and stayed in Motel Six when Motel Six really meant $6.00 a day.

My children love to travel as well in their careers and countries. My first child, my son Richard, is a Financial Advisor. This is really his sixth career. I also have three daughters. Christine is a Psychologist – Educational Assessment. She started as a teacher and now is in business for herself. Kathy is a Chief Nursing Officer who she started as a nurse in the emergency room when she was 18. My daughter Kim hosts a national radio show about living into today’s digital life.

Kim's the one that got me into this blog-thing. I guess I am the one that got her into computers. She started in computers by going to work with me when she was sick.

I went to work at Bell Laboratories in 1975 and they had no sick time. They let me bring Kim in when she was not able to go to school. I would give her some medicine, she would put her head on the desk and go to sleep. And when she woke up, she would play with Unix on the Bell Labs' computers. The rest is history, as they say.

I have traveled to many places in the United States, including Hawaii and Alaska. I also love to venture all over the globe.

My passports have stamps from Russia, China, India, Greece, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Germany, France, England, New Zealand, and Australia. Then there are the visits to Canada, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Wales, Africa, Egypt, Turkey, Mexico, and Singapore. I've also traveled extensively throughout Thailand, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Tibet, Ireland, Scotland, Tahiti, the Caribbean Islands, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, a Cruise through the Panama Canal, and more.

Soon, I'll be spending time in Brazil and then onto Antartica. And this is why my family calls me, "Waldo." They often wonder where in the world I am or will be heading to next.

People ask me why I travel so much. The truth is that I am not searching for anything. I just enjoy experiencing what different people do with what they are born into.

Who could imagine a kid from Brooklyn would have a life like mine? Only God.