Diane Regis:  

Born on Fountain & Vermont near the Greek Theater: Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital. It was the nearest Hosp. my mother or my Great Aunt Isabel knew about, I guess. I lived in Yermo where my Dad had landed a shipping & receiving clerk job at the Marine base out there. Lived there then until I was about 4, then moved back to Silverlake area so my older sis could go to H.S. in LosAngeles. Only a one-room school in Yermo then. All kinds of stuff happened growing up in Silverlake, strategically located between Echo Park and Hollywood. There was always something interesting to do besides just stay home. This the 'out the window' method was deployed by me in order to hang out of an evening. This did not go over well with my parents, and the had me locked up in Juvie when I was 15; they felt this was their only recourse. Now that I am older, I see it was. They never had any trouble with my bros.; but then, my bros. could not get pregnant. They were always terrified I would get raped, knocked up, or worse. Juvie wasn't so bad, except for the food and ugly clothing. We were all arrayed in potato sack style frocks, and sometimes had to wash & iron them in the laundry. I got lucky though; when the librarian found out I had a pretty great vocabulary, had taken Latin in Catholic school already, and could carry on an intelligent conversation, I was "in like Flynn," working in the Juvie Library. I felt I was on vacation from my parents, and really appreciated the attention and intellectual respect from this nice teacher. We had a rather 'mutual admiration society' going on there, and I had respite from any threat from the other inmates. One of them, who might have had a hardon for me, was pretty surprised when I spoke Espanol to her, when she had thought I couldn't understand what she had been saying. I couldn't understand it all, but she didn't know that. Of course, I only have Textbook Spanish, and can't understand all the slang of Mexican Span., and the way they run their words together is sometimes unintelligible to me. But I digress. After high school, I began attending L.A. City College, and it only took me another 40 years to graduate with an A.S. degree out of L.A. Harbor College in 6/ '06. I kept quitting to take paying jobs, but never got a great one due to not having a degree. Now that I have the degree (in Med. Office Admin.), I am giving care 24/7 to my disabled husband who became ill in his 90th year, and almost died before the docs finally did the correct tests to determine his allergy to Gluten. All the while I was trying to fatten him up with P.B.&J sandwiches, pizza, all the things that were (unbeknownst to us) actually making him sick! Great docs, eh? Since staying on the Gluten-free diet for the last 1.5 year, he is finally gaining weight and thriving; a great victory for us both as I wait on him hand & foot, but not always with a smile, as I sometimes resent being ordered around like the hired help; only mine is an unpaid position. I signed on for it when I said, '" do...In SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH..." When I uttered those words, I was only thinking about the fun times we were going to have in Europe and other travels. He was the one who wanted to go, go, go, but I said we had to be married first. This was the only time I held out for marriage in my entire life, after string of live-in relationships, abusive or otherwise unfulfilling. My husband Glen had treated me as Pure Gold, and I have all the respect for him. I argued about the age difference, but it took a back seat when he pointed out I would be put on his HEALTH INSURANCE, and inherit his amount of Soc. Sec. when he passes. Guys suddenly get much better looking, and one can forgive many faults when Health Isurance becomes part of the deal. It is even more important than Real Estate these days, and we get along pretty famously...Expand for more