Margie Brown:
CLASS OF 1972
Victor Valley High SchoolClass of 1972
Victorville, CA
Hook Jr. High SchoolClass of 1968
Victorville, CA
Margie's Story
I lived on George AFB on Montana, I think, had 3 siblings dated Steve Vargas for awhile, then Eddie Zamudio. I was on the High Desert Lassies for a while, I can't remember how long, so was my sister, Vickie, who was 2 years ahead of me. Most dramatic thing to happen to me in HS was my Dad had a massive heart attack the year before graduation, but lived 19 more years. I hung around with Char Hudson, William C. Calhoun, Gene McWhorter and so on and on. Moved to SC in 1973, my parents had retired here and my Dad continued to have bad heart problems and I went back & forth so much it was just easier to move. Loved the senior lawn! Had long Blonde hair, blue eyes, wore glasses when I wanted to see, this was before the soft lens contacts, I couldn't wear the hard lens. Never have heard from anyone since I moved, my fault, just didn't keep up. Was on a bunch of student government things and yearbook, editor our Junior year. Took only one class my senior year, could have graduated earlier, but wanted to stay with my class. Went to Cosmetology school after my one class senior year and by the time I graduated, I was a hairdresser. Went to college while doing hair to support myself, then when I married and had my only child, Blythe at 27, I quit and became an accountant. Divorced in 1985 when Blythe was 4 and raised her by myself and now have a wonderful, I mean really, son in law and the two cutest and best grandchildren in the world. Who would have thought I'd like to be called Mimi! This year my daughter and her husband fostered a brother and sister, 13 year old boy and 9 year old girl and they decided to adopt them. It will be final in October 2012. They have big hearts. So now it's Mimi to Chase 13, Brieanna 9, Emily 8 and Luke 4. Anyone who remembers me or any of my friends names, feel free to post it so I can see it. Thanks for listening and hope your all well, happy and doing what you want. I thought by now I could slow down some, but the hits just keep on coming. Now that I have been in touch with you all, I really miss you, which is funny after 40 years.
I always wanted to be a lawyer when I grew up. My family and friends thought that was a horrible idea. As it turns out, they were wrong.
Sit down and read and ignore the world around me, sometimes in the tub with a glass of wine. That has to be a really slow day.
My Dad, my Son In Law, My Daughter (have to put him first sometimes)Teachers, Writers, Soldiers, especially these young ones we send like we did in Vietnam, All those that give more than they take and 1st Jesus.
The one person from my past who I'd most like to see again is Bill Brown, because he was my Dad and died too young..
Reading is my #2 because I relax. My grandchildren #1 because they are my heart and then I can go do #2 Reading, to relax. It's like a zoo, seriously. Anything to do with children. Some TV, Teaparties with the kids, Kickball, or whatever ball with the grands, Blowing Bubbles and catching them, of course not Chase. he is too "old". I am currently making my grand daughters and great nieces tea party sets, which include glove clips, finger bowls, table butlers hats and fake fur and shawls and drapes, gloves and glove boxes, handkerchiefs and handkerchief boxes and on and on it goes. I only have to make 9! Sewing some and cross stitching. If I ever had a slow day or nothing to do as I hear other people complain about, I probably would find lots of things I would love to do. I guess I have to say carpooling as it takes up a great deal of my time, but I always have a book for delays! Hearing from people I love and people who love me. Just life, it is short.
If I could improve my home, I'd remodel nothing and add on a nothing. My dream home would be very small, easy to clean..
What haven't I learned. I now know why my Mom was crazy. I do understand her better since I became a Mom and it smoothed over her waining years. I think I have patience, but being a parent was a test, although she was a super good kid and she has grow up to be a better person than me, so I am content
If I won $100 million, I'd give 60% of it to my daughter and son in law, then spend the rest on my two nieces , their children and Charlie and Jackie Brown.
Never stayed on campus and was too busy with working and stuff to have a real campus experience. My daughter had one and oh boy. I would have tore it up. I knew nothing back then, really nothing. Might be why the oppurtunity did not present itself.
My current age is 58. When I was 12, I thought that people my age now would be dead. I was so completely dense.
No, I am retired, which makes up for all of the years of working two jobs and tending to house and yard and parents and whatever, now I can relax a little and just enjoy the people I love. I always thought I would be a great attorney. Other disagree, should not have listened, as usual. I did like what I did over the years and am shocked that I am happy not working, I never thought it would happen, I could not imagine just "sitting around". Ha
My best friend would tell you I'm a whirling dervish, but people who don't know me very well would probably describe me as quiet and shy.
No, I wore suits and high heels and hair done and make up. Hardly ever wear any of them now and it is just such a relief. So much time to do all that everyday that I wasted. I should have done a 2 minute make up, brushed my hair and gone out the door. If I could have those hours back. Such a drag.
I share my home with anyone, they just can't live here, which I find a blessing.
Living, breathing, walking and being able to watch my gands grow up. If you knew the history you would understand the answer, but it's just be grateful every day when you wake up, look around and see how many people are so much worse off than you and then get working on making it better for those you can.
The only ones that matter, good Christian, best Mom, best Daughter, best Sister, best Mother in law, best friend. The little gold and silver things have fallen by the wayside because they never mattered to me, I am not what I won, I am what I do.
In 10 years, I hope to be alive, what else. I'm going to get there by trying to stay healthy and love life.
It was in SC before we ever moved to California, in 3rd grade, we just clicked, I don't know how else to say it. Something would happen or someone would say something and even at the beginning, we just looked at each other and knew we were thinking the same thing. It wasn't that we liked all the same things, it was that we were willing to do stuff each other liked, we could read each others minds, we knew how to comfort each other and "make things better". We believed the same things, even at an early age, we were the same in our core and the thing I loved the most, we did not care what other people thought about us or said about us, we knew our own minds and stuck to it, no matter the pressure and we were better and stronger for our friendship. I am not saying we did not have to mind our parents, I am talking more about peers. I am trying to stress that today to the kids who I am around. You live your life, you do what you think is right and what you believe and you will be a good person and people will respect you for holding your ground and sticking to your morals, no matter the pressure. She recently died and it has left me with the joy of knowing I had her for so long, even though we did not see each other and could not call each other when I went to California, we just picked right up where we left off and you would never have know I had been away for so long. Lord, bless us with friends like her. Please.
My first job was at a salon, where I got paid right well to do hair face nails . What I remember most about it is I could be myself, work at a comfortable pace and be happy at the end of the day, that people looked better and I had done something worthwhile and made a difference by listening. You would be surprised how many people tell their hairdresser everything and u can listen and just make the Oh's or My or whatever and they left with a load off, just being able to tell someone. Hairdressers and Bartenders, the best listeners in the world..
Oh, I think this might be good to skip one for me, I try to remember the good, the people I had as friends and loved and the independence of growing up and out of your childhood "place". Some of you will remember some of the go...Expand for more
od times, so I will leave it there. I don't want to tell stories that include other people, they may not want it told.
Oh, I don't think anyone would be surprised by me at the 40th class reunion. I am older and turning gray and fatter from the steriods and food, I am pretty much the same person, I think. Maybe there would be a few off in the corner talking about how awfully I had aged and that would be OK. There would be some saying she is nothing like she was. That's OK. We all see ourself differently than others see us, especially after 40 years. You have not seen me over time to get used to the aging and stuff, some of y'all have been able to do that. One of my best days recently was when I found Charleen on, I can't remember if it was Facebook or Classmates, I was tickled pink. I guess I had never thought about it at all, but with all this new technology, it is so easy to stay in touch if you want. SO, I feel the same inside, except smarter and more experienced, I try to not look in the mirror anymore, so I can kid myself I still look the same, but I don't except in my mind.
I think it I would have done in my personal life to have tried harder when I was younger, to not allow people to make me feel less, and to have been more careful of others feelings. As they say, with age brings wisdom. I still chew on my foot sometimes, but nothing like I did when I was young. If I hurt your feelings now, it is truly an accident, I don't feel angry or mean or like I'm the only person in the world, which I do think when I graduated, I really went on a romp with.
Weirdest job was when I moved back to SC in 1973, I could not work as a hairdresser until I took their state board exam and it took awhile to get an appointment, so I worked at Belk's gift wrapping over the Christmas Holiday and then they hired me full time, so I just stayed there until I took my Boards and got my License. Most boring job I personally have worked at. I guess I have been lucky in my jobs. I have never had to waitress, or work in the sewer or fight in a war or any of the horrible things people sometimes have to do to just get by. Again, reference, every day you will find someone worse off than you if you open your eyes.
My first "real" boyfriend got married a few years after high school and has been happily married for 35 + years, told you I did not know anything back then.
To be truly happy, I could be anywhere, doing pretty much anything and I could do it with anyone or be just fine on my own. I think when I learned to like myself, warts and all, I learned to be by myself and be content, can be around people, or not, I am comfortable with myself. That is a blessing we need to pass down to the kids today, save them a lot of anguish and pain. I love to travel, so maybe I could just globe trot with some organization that needs people to help out and move around as I feel the need. Wouldn't that be awesome?
I don't know why, but as soon as this question popped up, I immediately thought of Ms Guzman, she was a coach at Hook and was great at letting me do my thing, if I was good at something in PE, which was very little, she would pull me out and let me go, but the things I was embarrisingly bad at, she would just let me hover at the edge and not embaress myself. The next thought I had was Mr Miller, I hope I got the name right, he was my first English teacher in high school. I had never been in trouble at school and had never had a parent teacher conference, but he called both my parents down there and he called me on the whole of my schooling and brought to my parents attention, that somehow, I had skated through school so far, but I really did not understand English and he wanted to make them aware and he wanted them to buy a book and make me work out of it in addition to my homework. He was my favorite teacher for having the guts to call me on something that I had gotten by with from 1st grade on. I could skate through most subjects. I could have skated through his class to, but he took the time to look at me and see that and I am so grateful, because then I quit skating through school and actually learned my subjects. Good A student before and good A student after, only after I really learned what I should after. I also loved our principal, he was such a nice, calm and caring man. Now, I might have seen him that way because I never got in trouble, but I wish we had a lot of his type around today. I also have a Spanish class story that Ernie can tell you all about if you see or talk to him. He tells it best.
My biggest surprise in life has truly been that my daughter grew up to be a person who took on two children and loved them from day one. I could never have done it, matter of fact, I only wanted one child, because I was one of four and I think we would all agree our house was rarely a happy one. She and Jon are both already worn out, but the adoption is not till October. They are lucky, I hope, in that they have a Mom who can take to school and pick up and run to cheer, football, dance, hip hop, gymnastics, games and whatever is going on. I love to be able to help, but some days I am ready to turn them back over to their parents. Sit in my quiet house and read a book. I probably never told this to anyone there, but my Dad always said that when he retired, he was going to buy a really big piece of land and he was going to build his house right in the middle, then he was going to put a fence around it. He then would give us each the balance of the land divided evenly, of course, for us to build our homes on. When his grandchildren wanted to come over, he would lift them over the fence and let them run around and play or whatever until they started acting up, then he would set them back over the fence and tell them to go on home to your Mama. That could have been a wonderful thing, or hell, depending on how things went with the "relatives" not the kids. That idea never entered my head when Blythe moved out or got married or pregnant. He would have loved that. My daughter would have loved it, she loved that man, it was like he was her Dad, but not of course. So, I guess my biggest surprise has really been that I have reached age 58, which is a miracle in itself, that I have a lovely family who all seem to love me. That I have been blessed to be able to get through the cancers and walk after breaking my back. I am a walking miracle, not one that a lot of people would want, but I am happy with my lot, I am happy with me and I hope God is too. That I could be this age, not working, and still be happy and content with whatever is my lot in life. To have lived thru a rough early life and managed to come out in the end a person I would like to know and be friends with. My life has been a tale of God's love and caring and him showing me that you can get through ANYTHING. I would not have given myself to 18 when I was living in California, I just did not think I would get beyond that. Great thing is as I age, I am forgetting a lot of stuff, so I hope it will be all the bad and I will keep those good memories, some of which I shared with you, until the great judgement in the sky takes place and I will be new again. No pain, no sorrow, no hurt, no troubles. How else can we get through life?
I have lived in Virginia (born), North Carolnia, South Carolina, Texas and California. The reason I have always moved until the last was because of my Dad, he was in the Air Force and we went where he went except Vietnam. I am sure a lot of you have the same reason for moving.
I don't have a clue as to how my "Young" friends remember me. We are not old. I know we do not see ourselves as others do. I can't imagine what they do remember about me. I have had one person tell me a story about me when we were in high school and it was so funny, I had forgotten until it was told. I try to laugh a lot, as I think it helps your healing, I received a good dose that day, and we were not talking it was emailed to me, and it still made me fall out. I don't think I have thanked that person, but I do here. It was funny, it brought me a great belly laugh and I appreciate the words. So thank you, thank you all who have brought laughter into my life. It would be a joy to hear stories of what I was like or things I did. Fortunately, the story told was not showing me in a bad light, I probably would not have a ton of those, but neverless, just to look back and remember.
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