Amy Boyd:
CLASS OF 1970
Southampton High SchoolClass of 1970
Southampton, NY
Amy's Story
As I have recently been reminded, it's been over 40 years since I graduated from high school and began my life away from Southampton. There's been a lot of water under the bridge since then ....
Went to college in Buffalo; had debated pursuing a career in art but chose Secondary Education, Biology instead. Oddly enough I never taught in a formal setting, but did teach students in some informal settings.
Stayed in Buffalo after graduating college for another 6 years. Ended up working at Roswell Park Memorial (Cancer) Institute, first in hematology then as a Nuclear Medicine Technologist. I truly enjoyed my work, although it was heart-wrenching at times getting to know patients very well then losing them. Had one very short marriage while I lived in Buffalo that was annulled.
Finally left Buffalo in 1981 - couldn't stand the cold anymore - and moved to Arlington Virginia to take a position as Assistant Chief in the Nuclear Medicine department of a private hospital.
Married my second husband in 1982 and moved to Southern California, just north of San Diego, when his employer offered him a better position there. Did not return to Nuclear Medicine (which I regret) when my husband decided to start a business of his own - a print shop and an entertainment business - shortly after moving there.
The entertainment business was an interesting job for quite a while. My husband was an semi-professional magician when we met and I became his assistant. We also made magic equipment for several years and took our wares to magic conventions around the county and met several famous magicians, including David Copperfield!
My husband and I performed together at private functions and birthday parties for many years until I decided to study clowning. I was "Jeepers the Clown" for 15 years and performed at children's parties and other events all over Southern California; painted a lot of faces, performed magic, played games and twisted a MILLION balloon animals.
During that same period I had an animal program - "Feathers, Scales 'n Tails." We had a number of exotic birds - several types of parrots, macaws, cockatoos, a hornbill, a talking mynah, and a lilac-breasted roller. The "scales" were a wide variety of reptiles. The snakes included a 9" sand boa, corn snake, ball python, red-tailed boa and a 9' burmese python. My lizards ranged from an 8" leopard geckos, 14" bearded dragon, 4' iguana that walked on a leash, and a 4' savannah monitor. I had turtles and tortoises - the biggest was a 25 pound leopard tortoise. The "tails" were the amphibians - frogs, toads, and my favorite, the t...Expand for more
iger salamanders. My zoo also included creepy-crawlies: a millipede, hissing cockroaches, stick insects and a very sweet tarantula.
I had barnyard animals as well - a donkey, a pygmy goat, a pot-bellied pig, rabbits, ducks, chickens, turkeys and even a leash-trained pheasant. Then there were the rats and mice that I bred to feed the snakes, and the crickets and mealworms for the small lizards and amphibians.
We also had 2 small rides - a six-horse trailer-mounted carousel and a little "fire engine." The most exciting gig we ever had was taking our carousel to Whoopie Goldberg's Malibu house for her birthday and her granddaughter's 1st birthday. This was when she was on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and we got to meet Brent Spiner (very stand-offish) and Patrick Stewart (VERY personable, but terrified of our cockatoo). I also spoke to John Voight for quite a while as he rode the carousel with the children ... such a gentleman!
For several years I bred birds - Amazon parrots, small Australian parakeets, budgies, diamond doves, a wide variety of beautiful finches, but my favorites were the Speckled Mousebirds. We were very active in one of the local exotic bird clubs and even built a trailer to evacuate birds and other small animals during wild fires ... and there were a lot in that area!
Unfortunately, my marriage wasn't going very well after many years of problems. We agreed to divorce after 27 years of marriage, had to find homes for all the animals except the parrots that he kept, went back to my maiden name, and moved to Sarasota Florida.
I love Sarasota and the job I found just a month after moving here. I worked at the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall as assistant to the Director of Education and Community Outreach. Our department brings in educational theatrical performances for school age children, so I work closely with the teachers in Sarasota and surrounding counties. I manage all the reservations for our Schooltime Performances, keep the department "books", create our department's webpages and other advertising materials, and promote our performances at community events. It's always something new and exciting!
In 2013 I left Van Wezel and started a new position with the City of Sarasota as a Records Information Specialist. I recently advanced to Records Information Specialist II, accompanied by a nice raise.
In 2018 I retired from the City of Sarasota. Spending my time growing Orchids and African Violets, playing with my 2 dogs and 1 cat, involved with a local Exotic Bird Club for a couple of years, now I'm Membership Director of the local Orchid Society,
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Reunions
Photos
Register for Free to view all photos!