Picaresque: Annie and Andre -my next mentors

About Me

Location: Arapahoe, Wyoming, United States

(Note: Blogs read from bottom to top; scroll down for beginnings, scroll up for most current.) After 30 years in public administration and four degrees, as well as numerous workshops with luminaries in Education and Public Policy, life in a slower lane became a goal. Most recently I have done policy writing and consulting for the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone Tribes. Mostly, I am just coasting slowly and gently downhill these days-seeking joy where I can find it before the glorious ride ends.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

Annie and Andre -my next mentors

Annie is 78, Andre' is 77. They are my new neighbors. They got moved off "lakefront property" among the big rigs because they "didn't fit." Truth to be told, they could buy and sell three quarters of the residents here. Their "camper" is a 1989 Ford van that Andre has ingeniously fixed to meet their needs. He sleeps in the tent and Annie has a "couch" in the van. They are smart, vital, and with it. They ride their bikes to the Lantana library- 14 miles, to check out books and check The Wall Street Journal and get and send email to and from their five kids. Andre is reading "Uncle Tom's Cabin" but they have both read widely, travelled widely (they just got off a cruise ship), bicycled widely-one trip across the whole state of Iowa. They biked 500 miles in Ireland where Annie's family came from. She grew up very poor and Andre says she does not see any reason to change her ways. Simple is best. She taught school overseas and in Michigan and he was with Ford Motor company for 39 years. He ended up in charge of the modeling for the new cars. Great stories: Andre was one of fourteen kids and grew up in Quebec. Now you have met them too and you will hear more about them. I am learning so much.