Gloria Gonzalez:  

Life has been quite a journey so far. Born in Chile, I was brought kicking and screaming, (cause I was leaving my grandparents and loads of cousins,) to a godforsaken but lovely place called Lake Hopatcong New Jersey! To call it remote is an understatement. This was in the late 1950's...When I tell my kids we walked miles in the snow to get to school, I am not joking! Fortunately, I met new cousins, Felix, and Rose Ramirez, who were born here, and grew up with assorted cousins whose names might sound familiar: Hec and Annie Avilez, Gabe Mendez...Most of them were born in Chile too. Life was hard as the child of immigrants. We had to quickly learn the language--(trust me immersion works better than bilingual ed.) It is uncomfortable not knowing what people around you are talking about so you learn quickly! My aunt Micaela was in Real Estate, so she arranged for us to rent (with option to buy ,) a dilapidated two- story house that my father single handily flipped, from Mr. and Mrs. Briggs. Ellen T. Briggs was the first "celebrity" I ever knew. She was not only our landlady who used to come pick up the rent money every month , but I'm sure you will rememb...Expand for more