Sara Clark:  

LIFE Since moving out of my folks' home in Anaheim at 18, I have lived in many CA locations, including Aptos, Corona del Mar, Fullerton, Newport Beach, Balboa Island, Old Town Orange (my favorite, so far), and now in San Clemente. I also lived for eight months in beautiful Portland, OR, but soon found I couldn't tolerate the gray skies, so back to CA I came. My love for CA began when I was just a kid living in the San Gabriel Valley (Sierra Madre, Monrovia). I remember a clear winter's morning after a heavy rain. The storm had washed away the then very heavy smog revealing a spectacular snow-covered mountain looming high above our neighborhood. It was breathtaking; I'll never forget it. Our family took many day trips to arboretums, museums, historic & wilderness sites, and camping trips to beaches, mountains, and desert. All added to my appreciation for our great state. After traveling through and living - including Japan (8 mo.) and Korea (1 mo.) - in many locations internationally, each experience not only increased my love for travel and cultural diversity, but also my appreciation for the beautiful place I've called home all these years. There's only one other place on earth that competes with California for my affections. In 1999 (and again in 2007), a visit to the Holy Land touched me deeply, especially knowing that we were walking where Jesus walked. I loved the sense of time that just hung in the air, a mixture of all that came before and is to come. I met such good people there - including Zeev, a friend to this day, and Arale, deeply missed now that he is gone. The landscape, weather, west coast seashore, and so many things felt like home. But it was the spiritual sense of "home" that really captured my heart. I loved "walking where Jesus walked." During the summer of 2000, eight friends and I visited Amsterdam, Paris, London, Edinburgh, and the surrounding countrysides. I really enjoyed the people, art, and architecture, and the amazing gardens (especially Claude Monet's Giverney, France, and Parade Gardens in Bath, England). Terry, who led our group, passed away not long after our return and I'm so happy to have spent that special time with him. In 2005, I completed a mission's trip to Swaziland, Africa, helping to plant immune-boosting vegetable gardens, and caring for a few of the thousands of orphans due to the worst per cap HIV/AIDS infection in the world (50%). Despite sad circumstances, my spirit connected with the Swazi's joy, and I pray for the daughter-of-my-heart, an amazing head-of-household girl (then 10 years old) named Pepelei (and her sister Elizabeth) every day. In 2007, on a second mission trip to the wonderful Dominican Rep., we helped Rozio y Vincente build their family a home. Despite the heat, humidity, and hard work, it was fantastico! Then, in 2011, a bunch of us from church brought the prefab sections of three loft houses down to Ensenada, Mexico, and put them together, painted, them and left housewarming care packages for three young, deserving families. I'm the proud aunt of 10 awesome nieces and nephews and six great-nieces/nephews (the closest I'll come to being a mom or grandma!). Those whose loss has most affected my heart are friend Peter (when we were 8 yrs. old), my wonderful dad (at age 55), my dear mom (at age 84), my former business partner Jim (at 43), my darling godson Shane (at 21, the son of classmate/dear friend Judi Conway-Barkman), and more recently, sweet friend Arale (at 59), plus my amazing cat Rosie (at 11) and my doggie-daughter Lily (at 18!). I also miss Grandma & Grandpa Capel, who lived full lives into their eighties. My only life regret is not finding a soul mate and having a family. However I do have the most lovely memories of a poet, a cowboy, a fireman, a musician, and a fisherman. Having someone to share life would be wonderful, though I have come to appreciate the freedom of singleness. As I travel life's uneven path, I find faith to be my most important asset, and friends, family, and fur-children to be my greatest blessings. SCHOOL In all of our lives there are times when we feel the most confident, expectant, and hopeful. The high school and college years were those for me. But, first came elementary school. Though I struggled a bit with my confidence back then, I also have some good memories from those important years, mostly because of exceptional teachers who took the time to connect. My favorites included Mrs. Benzango (3rd grade, Monroe Elem.), Mrs. Klevitz (4th grade, Walter Elem.), and Mr. West (6th grade, Walter Elem.). What all three teachers had in common was an ability to see children as individuals and to encourage each child's blossoming gifts, skills, and abilities. Jr. High was really hard for me. Despite being one of the youngest in my class, I was one of the tallest and very self-conscious about it. I spent lunchtimes alone most every day, and tried my best to keep smiling. It was quite healing when, years later, I attended a Loara High School reunion with dear friend Lee Wettengel, and during the evening many former Trident Jr. High classmates recognized me and shared happy memories of our times together. Though I had felt so self-conciously alone in Jr. High, I came to realize that there had actually been classmates who had thought of me as their friend. It gave me a completely new and more positive perspective on what I had experienced during those awkward years. It was high school where I came into my own. Once I arrived at Magnolia and became reacquainted with many of my Walter Elem. classmates (Gloria Armenta, Gloria Crosby, Sherrie Moffitt, Debbie Pai, Sue Simon, Sue Williams, etc.) and their new friends from Dale Jr. High, life got so much better. As others matured and grew taller, I felt better about myself and no longer like an outsider. The wonderful friends that I will always cherish from those memorable high school years are those listed above, plus Judi Conway, Sally McFadden, Kitty Thurman, Doris Lucas, Maureen O'Shea, Debbie Smeltzer, Clarinda Jones, Garry Lindquist, Rich Glaab, Mark Wexler, Howard Goldstein, John Maio, Ron Salazar, Charlie Richie, all the gals in G.A.A., Jerry Ryan and the other class officers with whom I served, and many more. Others from our class that I came to know better after high school were Barry Walden, John White, Ed Del Hoyo, Ken Murray, Lynda De Avila, Debbie Deline, Greg Reynolds, and those on the reunion committees. Though, sadly, I've lost contact with many of my dear friends from the school years, I still think of them often. I've enjoyed catching up with some at...Expand for more