Doreen Burkey:  

I hope all of my old friends will remember me fondly. I always wanted to be a teacher for the deaf when I grew up. No one really knew that I had that dream. As it turned out, life stuff kept me from achieving that goal, anyway. I was pretty much a loner and only hung out with a few people. I got pregnant in my junior year and was married, became a mother and divorced all before graduation. Things were a whole lot worse with my parents once they figured out I was pregnant. We ended up running away to his family in Cantonment, FL - I didn't think I had any other choice. It was a very abusive relationship, the baby was born two weeks early and I left him when she was 6 days old. The wildest thing I ever did in school was skipping one day with some friends - one of them was so drunk and ended up puking all over McDonald's parking lot. I was so afraid my parents were going to find out that I don't think I ever skipped again. I moved back to Vermont (where we originally came from) in 1982, remarried, then moved back to Orange City and divorced in 1989. It was good to live away from home and on my own for those 7½ years. I did a lot of growing up and discovering who I was and what I wanted out of life. The two people from my past who I'd most like to see again is Regina (Falcon) McGhee and Nanette Purchase, because its been way too long since I've seen either of them or that we've spent any time together. They are my oldest and dearest friends. I think Regina and I clicked because both of our parents were very strict and it was fun to be friends with such a nice person. Nanette and I hit it off as well when we really got to know each other in church. My very first crush was with Scott Ours. I'm not sure where he is now. It was so long ago and we've lost contact. My first job was at Ciro's Pizza here in Orange City, where I got paid a tiny stipend to make pizza and subs. One of my old bosses Ciro Farrentino has since passed away - he was an awesome man. The weirdest job I ever had was as a telemarketer for the Rich Plan Food Company in Sanford. I never did handle rejection very well and...Expand for more