Eleta Rene' Taylor:
CLASS OF 1977
Harry Ells High SchoolClass of 1977
Richmond, CA
Eleta Rene''s Story
Wow... where does one begin to describe the last 30+ years?? (laughing) Hmmm... Well, after graduation, I went on to further my education at San Jose State University. In 1977, I met my husand and we married in 1978. In 1979, we moved to Tehran, Iran. When we moved, we had no idea that the country was in total turmoil due to the revolution (the Shah's regime being over-thrown) and trying to "organize" a new governmental regime. My husband had just been there 6 months earlier, and at the time, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
In September, 1979, our son was born. Exactly 2 months later, the American Embassy was seized. A month later, "our" oldest son (his son from a previous marriage) came to live with us on his 8th birthday. Life was very "busy" for us and with the American Hostage Crisis staring at me and literally visible from my livingroom window... you can imagine what I got to personally witness on a daily basis. We lived right across the street from the Embassy and could see into the courtyard.
With the country's growing unrest, my husband sent us "home" but he stayed behind to close up our house and to find a replacement for his position at the bank. He finally made it home 8 months later. Due to not having an Embassy, our oldest son had to remain behind until I could petition for him to enter the United States. After a 4 year battle with Immigration, I picked him up in Paris, France in 1984, and brought him "home". In the meantime, our little princess was born in March of 1982.
I began a part-time career in the legal field when my daughter started pre-school. I worked as a paralegal for a civil law firm in San Francisco (at least until the earthquake hit the San Francisco/Bay Area on October 17, 1989). Two months later, I went to work for the Public Defender's Office, a little over a mile away from home. Even with going from part-time to full-time, it was well worth the peace of mind I gained being so close to the children and home.
In the early 90s, I returned to one of my greatest passions... music. I began singing with a small group where we eventually began performing locally. I continued with the group until 2005.
While still working in the legal field, I fell into the "restaurant" business in 2001. As chief cook and bottl...Expand for more
e washer, and with the assistance of 11 staff members, we took a little "mom and pop" type cafe and turned it into a thriving and soaring business... serving 300-400 people daily.
When the last of my "litter" moved out onto her own, I left law and the restaurant business and decided to do a little traveling and visiting family... something I had not been able to do in several years being a single parent busy raising a family, keeping up with fighting for justice in the legal world and running a business.
While visiting my parents in Nevada, another "music" opportunity fell into my lap. I became part of a wonderful gospel band. We performed for a year at the Brewery Art Center in Carson City. It was truly a phenomenal experience. This experience also opened the door for yet another passion... creative writing. I relocated to upstate New York where I began writing short stories while still continuing with music. I thought to myself, "Why not?".
My children were all grown up and didn't need "Momma" as much anymore. My oldest son was married, making me a "Nonna" for the second time in January, 2007, the other son made me a very proud "Nonna" of a baby boy in October, 2001 and my daughter was working for the same company for 5 years (by this time) and making a wonderful life for herself. My younger son decided he wanted to pursue a different path of his life's journey. He enrolled in the Culinary Arts Institute of San Francisco.
While still a student in the summer of 2007, he submitted an entry to a national food distribution company competition. His entry was one of seven chosen to compete in the final competition, which was to be held at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park (near Pookeepsie), New York. Not only was he the youngest chef, but he was also the only student chef to have his entry chosen. He was competing with chefs with experience ranging from 7 to 50 years. He took 4th in the nation... even beating out chefs with 20+ years of experience under their belts. It was a tremendous honor that I was also invited to witness. Another great honor, I might add, as the competitions were always closed to the public. He graduated in 2007.
I am still in New York however, I will be returning home (to California) in the spring... for good.
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