Jamie Ziegler:  

Last summer I had lunch with four classmate from GHS Class of 1972 in Peoria and volunteered to coordinate a 40th class reunion for our group of 722 people. Wow! It's keeping me busy so THAT'S what I've been up to lately! At the lunch were Martha Barstow, Laurie Evans Pearson, Sally Hull Glover and Nancy Tate. We had a nice visit and since then I've met with a scad of other classmates, both on line and in person to put together what hopes to be a really memorable weekend. We reserved July 6, 7 and 8th since that's when those gals wanted--and that's their birthday weekend. This past year I made a resolution to not be involved in any more projects which do not have a definite end and to ween myself out of those to which I was already committed. The reunion planning committee fits right into that personal goal. Until very recently I have been facilitating a group of families who have people with Alzheimer's Disease and facilitating a group for people who have had weight loss surgery. I have personal history with both of those. I've also been training the Alzheimer's Support Group leaders in 22 Illinois Counties as well as providing training and support for those who are employed by the local association itself. My volunteer work includes singing at the local nursing homes where I have songs from the 30's and 40's that we all enjoy. In the 40 years since high school I have re-established friendships with my sisters, Janet, Jennifer, and Julie and built a relationship with my significant other--Hester McCosh. This comes with having been, as they say, "a friend of Bill W." for some 30 years. For those who don't know that means I've been clean and sober for quite some time and it's a huge part of my life. I have one son, Drew, who draws. Actually he's an artist who specializes in puppets. He has made me proud as he has traveled with his work all over the world. He does a lot for the festival in N.O. that I can't spell and the Chicago and New Orleans communities. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago on a full scholarship and is going to be 33 in a couple of weeks. I went to college a lot and ended up with a wall full of degrees. licenses and certificates. I had a whole lot of jobs and my favorite was teaching at high school and community college level. I also travel and do seminars and workshops at conferences--most of them in the health care world. I've been the keynote speaker twice and told my story--ON THE OTHER SIDE which is about being a nursing home administrator one day and moving in as a resident the next. My biggest accomplishments are staying clean and sober and losing 280 pounds. Of course, I had to be a drunken fat fool in order to have those in my list so it's not that big of a deal in some ways. Walking and breathing and being able to make and keep friends is the big accomplishment for me. I'm sure I'll think of other things to note late. Right now I need to walk the dogs. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Jamie Below is the Story I posted on MY STORY on the GHS Class ...Expand for more