Brenda Lewis:  

I'm a California credentialed K-12 teacher, and mom to two incredible sons. My life has been spent with them at the very center, and my efforts have been richly rewarded. My younger son earned his MBA at age 22, and then went on to become a commercial pilot by age 24. My older son earned his bachelor's degree at Princeton University, his master's degree at Stanford University, and made history as the first African-American student body president at the University of Southern California School of Law. He now lives in Los Angeles, and is an attorney at a very prestigeous law firm that specializes in education issues. I live on the beautiful Monterey Bay, just south of San Francisco, and spend my days enjoying California's gorgeous central coast. I'm an avid motorcyclist, alternating between riding my Honda Magna 750 V4 sport cruiser and my inline-4 1000cc Yamaha FZ1 sport bike. I enjoy my career as an educational technology coordinator, and I volunteer as an adult literacy tutor. I also mentor local youth and help them into college. I hold a local political office, having been twice elected to the board of directors of the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District, where we manage, protect, and augment our community's water supply. Life didn't turn out exactly as I pictured it, but it's pretty good. The one person from my past that I'd like to see again is Nathan (Butch) Sheridan. He was honest, gentle, and kind - the most generous person I've ever known. He helped me through one of the toughest times in my life. Butch taught me how to like myself, and I'll be forever grateful that he did. I'd want to tell him what a positive impact he made on my life. There isn't much that I miss about Chester or the old days. For me, most of it was pretty damned horrific. I do, though, spend many days longing for a cheese steak from Mom's, or a hoagie from Furillo's, or a bushel of blue crabs on a summer afternoon. I've traveled all over the world, and developed a discerning pallet for many different kinds of foods. But I've never found hoagies or cheese steaks that match the ones made in Chester, or hard-shelled crabs that rival the ones on the east coast. My hero is my dad. Although he departed this plane of existence over 35 years ago, he continues to have the greatest influence on my life. He treated me with kindness, love, and respect, and always had a smile and a kind word for everyone. He was raised in a time and place where black people were not allowed to be well educated, but that never prevented him from doing anything he wanted to do. He raised me to thirst for the knowledge and education he was denied, but he never saw me achieve the educational goals he wanted for me and my children. All my decisions are based on what ...Expand for more