Margie Mannion Pettersen:  

Hello fellow classmates, This year is 50 years since our high school graduation and I thought this would be a good time to reconnect with old friends that I may see at the upcoming reunion. I was quiet and shy in high school, so you may not remember having a conversation with me. I wish I knew back then what I know now about personal relationships and was a friendly to everyone I met. Today, I'm still still introverted in the sense that I am uncomfortable in large crowds and prefer quiet activities like reading and gardening. I retired 10 years ago and moved to Carolina Shores, NC, a small community right on the NC/SC border, about 30 min. drive from Myrtle Beach. Before that I was a library media specialist at East School in Torrington. It was a dream job, but I was laid off due to budget cuts. At first, I was devastated, but since then my husband (Karl Pettersen) and I have traveled quite a bit, something we wouldn't have been able to do if I had continued working. Moving to NC, meant I was starting all over and I resolved to be a better person and push myself to reach out to others in the community. Someone, told me, "no one will be knocking on your door, you need to go out and meet people. This was difficult at first, but I found the people here friendly and welcoming. With hopes of meeting others, I joined a lot of clubs and even started to learn to do a few new things, like golf and tennis. I learned how to play bridge, Mexican Train (dominoes), and Mah Jongg. Soon, I began feeling better about myself and connecting with my neighbors. It helped that I live in a development where...Expand for more