Denise Clemons:  

7-2-2015 - Still married to Joe (and loving it). Still doing Turtle Patrol with Coastal Wildlife Club (.org), and loving it (most days). Not volunteering with Charlotte Players any longer. I haven't performed in a few years, though I enjoy watching my friends perform. That is not to say that I don't still love to sing... I am just too old to be told what to sing and how to sing it. Our "baby girl", Karin, got married in Feb of 2014, to a wonderful, intelligent, kind, handsome man; we love him AND his family! She is working at L3 where she does technical writing (L3 makes black boxes for airplanes). I believe she hopes to be "with child" within the year! (yeah!) Our son is living nearby after several years of living in Mexico and California. We missed him and enjoy seeing him more often. He is funny and smart and talented; he always has been. Life here is very good in our semi-kinda-sorta retired state. We are living simply and are enjoying every day. It is a challenge and a pleasure to reuse/renew/recycle and to care for the earth in every way we are able. 9-28-2011 - It has been quite a while since I came to Classmate. I am on Facebook every single day. I go through withdrawls if I can't sign in, so check me there if you want to contact me! I walk the beaches of Manasota Key every morning on Sea Turtle Patrol. Season will soon end so I will be able to sleep in... past 6:30AM, lol!! It is a great activity and I do love to put my volunteer effort in that direction; but, I have been walking every day since April 1 and I am tired.... Speaking of volunteer hours, I volunteer at The Charlotte Players in Port Charlotte, Florida, working in the costume department. :-) Another enjoyable pursuit. I never did get my Real Estate license... I decided that I really didn't like real estate. I knew that I couldn't try to push properties that I wasn't crazy about and in this area of Florida I was quite sure that these would be the properties that I would be selling. Plus, after a whole S#!tload of years in service jobs, I am just tired, tired TIRED of being the smiling face of any organization. I am tired of being nice to people who don't deserve it. I will find a way to make $$$ from home... eventually. My daughter has graduated school (New College of Florida and USF {GO BULLS!}) and is working as a grant writer for a large non-profit in Sarasota (JFCS). My son is out trying to find himself... let's leave that go, for now. My husband is still a darling and way too good a man for me. <3 <3 <3 Take care, my friends. And, seriously! Facebook!! Denise Clemons... Denise 4-26-2009 - Okay!! So, the only REAL change since last posting is that I have decided to get my real estate sales associate license. SO! When you all decide to move to Sunny FLorida to retire... the quiet, beautiful part, not the CRAZY, noisy, flashy part, give me a ring. After I get my license and find a broker to work for, anyway, which should be within the next month or so, I hope. My new profile pic was taken on 4-18-2009 by our daughter Debbie Beck (who is pregnant with her second child at 37). She was visiting our house and I decided I needed a fresh pic of my sweetie and myself sooooooo, there you have it! I don't color my hair so you can now see the gray coming in. I have earned those grays and I think that they sparkle nicely in the light!! One more thing... I am spending WAY too much time playing Farmtown on Facebook! LOL!! Thanks for visiting me! I hope that all is well with you! 3-11-09 - Same story, Facebook is much more immediate and I spend more time there. Many of my classmates are there too, which is sweet!! Joe is better, though he could be GREAT if he was doing his therapy. He has put the sheds together and is in the process of moving the stuff from the "eye-sore sheds" to the new sheds. Well... after he does a little work on the seawall, before higher, summer tides makes that work impossible. I am working on a table for our deck-dock made from and old formerly-rusted-now-repainted plant stand and old deck boards from our old dock. It is coming out really well... I will post pics when I am done. I did perform in SEASONS OF LOVE and it was a run away hit!! The theatre wants another cabaret style show in the same time slot next year. Melissa (the fabu director and my lovely friend) is still considering the idea. This year would be hard to best... PRESSURE!! I have been doing publicity for the theatre and have been having some pretty good success (they had little or no publicity beyond the local newspapers before). I have been asked to do it next year... I don't know; I don't think so. I have had too much experience working with SUPER EGOS and I find it tedious and boring... too much work. It has come to the point in my life where I need to nurture my own ego. Keep the faith! Remember; life is not about finding yourself but about INVENTING YOURSELF! 1-31-09 - It has been a while since I logged on to Classmates!! I have been spending more time on Facebook because my daughter and grand daughter have accounts there and I can communicate with them and... okay... I love their GAMES! LOL! Anyway, Joe is doing much better. Actually, today he is out "bulding" some Rubbermaid sheds we got from Lowes... we are tearing down some old eye-sore sheds that have been on the beautiful, water side of the house since the 1980's and replacing them with 2 sheds on the other side of the house. We live next to a very lovely, agreeable lady who did not mind us putting them up within a couple of feet of the property line. They are really pretty nice looking, anyway. SO, Joe is working on them. He built a fantastic platform for each with scrap boards we had around (Reduce, reuse, recycle!!). I just love the look of those platforms; I will post some pics when I have a chance. I am in the cast of a Royal Palm Players Valentines weekend musical production called SEASONS OF LOVE. I am THRILLED to be a part of this ensemble; it is a musical show directed by musical people, the quality of the work is far and above anything I have been involved with for years!! Of the 13 cast members,I am in the most numbers (7) including a duet, a trio and a solo. I am singing lead on our performance of "The Rose", which happens to be Joe's and my wedding song!! It is hard not to cry during that one! We are also performing songes from La Cage aux Folles and Rent and several old standards. My solo is "Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love)". Ha!! I am on the way to becoming a Diva!! I have been really busy doing publicity for this show... I am voluteering my time doing a job I used to get paid for!! But, we really want to fill every seat and the people currently doing publicity for the org. are doing a spotty job, at best... I'm really good at it! It is nice to have the time to do this, though I really would love a little part-time job. I would LOVE to work from home, but a part-time job close to home would be good, too. I have been semi-retired since April of 2007; first my Dad up in VA got sick, then passed; then Joe needed surgery and needed some care during recovery. With 10.2% unemployment here in Charlotte County, I may not find the job of my dreams for a while. But, I have hope!! We are out from under those awful 8 years under "W" and the puppetmaster, Cheney, and now we at LEAST have change... and I feel, for the better. EVERYONE should put aside their prejudice and biggotry (you KNOW who you ARE) and hope for the best. I hope you ALL are safe and well and are staying warm. And, your loved ones, also... and happy, too, I hope! Keep the faith! 11-2-08 - Joe is doing so much better. He had his staples out and his inscision looks so much better. He and I walk a dog or 2 for a short distance each day. He is trying to cut way down on pain pills and muscle relaxants and is trying to only use Aleve once or twice a day. He is doing physical therapy each day... and I don't even have to t...Expand for more