Carolyn Stokes:  

Life I enjoyed high school and was a good student. I especially enjoyed being in the Concert Orechestra and playing for our various plays, graduations, jamborees and grooving to the Motown sound. I attended a college in Chicago and married one of our classmates who'd gone to serve in Vietnam. When he came back state side, we relocated to Ft. Ord in CA. Several years later, we parted and he went back to Chicago. He married a nice lady named Ann. We remain good friends. I stayed on the West Coast. While in CA, I got experience in working for advertising agencies, took Strasberg Method acting, and singing. I got some film roles and performed in theater. My cousin was a jazz musician and performed with Ramsey Lewis. I would see him when he would play at the jzz festivals. Later, I went to college, in Santa Cruz, and was interested in Psychology, Education and Sociology. I wanted to help people. When we relocated to WA I graduated from a collge focusing on holistic health. My husband and children reside in Hawaii. Two of the children are in college. One in CA and the other here in HI. The youngest is still in high school. She's on the track team, in the chorus, appeared in several school drama productions and sang with a rock band. She wants to be an actress. My husband is from Chicago and works for an engineering firm. We are both ministers in our church. I am also a real estate agent. My volunteer work is at community television and produce specials on interesting women. I'm also a USCG Auxiliarist. This Veteran's Day, I co-piloted a 47 ft. cruiser around Coconut Island and the shoreline of the Kaneohe Marine Corp Base in Kaneohe Bay to salute the vets. We got to visit relatives in Chicago last May. We had a great time laughing, singing, swapping stories and just being together. I would like to reconnect with old friends and make new ones. If you come to Oahu, we'll celebrate with a backyard luau. I have spare sarongs and Michael is great with his special dishes. Let's have fun together! School I had initially gone to a private school with a smaller student population, where everyone knew everyone else. Going to Marshall, I was overwhelmed with the number of students, (over 5,000) and how immense the school seemed at that time. Yet, we had only 4 minutes between classes to scurry from two huge buildings that had 4 floors each, and the dungeon. Hardly, any time at all to get to know people. It was the Era of the "Gosters" and the "Ivy Leaguer's." I observed people to get to know them. I was a good listener. I hung out with the upper classmen. My class didn't really know me because I was placed in upper classes because of my G.P.A. I didn't really blossom until I was a junior and got more involved in people, rather than being a spectator. My brother was a member of the M Club and track team. When we were younger, he and I used to run together through the neighborhood. He wasn't faster than me, but John was a long distance runner and able to pace himself. At that time, I thought if a boy could out run me, then we had something in common to talk about and he was worth my time. I seldom lost a race. John would pay me money not to speak to him in the lunchroom, where he resided with his exclusinve M Club. Back around the neighborhood his friends would call me "Little Stokes," which I resented because I was no longer a tomboy, but a high schooler. I was fascinated with ...Expand for more