Tammy Hecht:  

UPDATE 3/09: I used to post a long story of my life and how I lost my beloved husband to medical malfeasance (heart disease) on Halloween 2002. I removed the long story because it was just too depressing for anyone to want to read so let's just say that I am a widow with three amazing kids. The last one was born 3 months posthumously. They are 21, 15 & 6. All great in school, dedicated, loving, outgoing, etc...I could fill the pages of a book discussing their attributes and achievements. I work at a Starbucks near my home in Simi Valley bringing in a little extra money. The benefits are amazing. Where I used to spend $1000 a month on health insurance, I now get it for very little each month by working only part time. I do miss having a career but I don't miss the daily 3 hour round trip commute to Santa Monica. In my spare time when I'm not running the girls around everywhere I like to bake, craft, crochet and sing. I do have a very nice singing voice ((which I inherited from my biological mother - she was a singer and Doris Day's late husband (Martin Melcher) was her manager))...so I sing a lot and feel that music just plain and simple makes me happy. I have been blessed to be a part of several extended families. Even though I grew up dancing, my girls and I are (on rare occasion) car dancers...lol and what I mean by that is that occasionally (for fun) when we are sitting at a red light we might dance in our seats to the music. We sometimes get stares and laughs and claps but it makes us happy and it's fun. My middle daughter is an accomplished dancer (having danced for 13 years and she's only 15) and attends a magnet HS that specializes in the arts and an academic education and she is aiming for a full ride to college (hopefully.) I have done some side contract work with embroidery and other crafty things, cakes, etc. My cookies can rival Mrs. Fields and my cakes are off the hook. I love photography and years ago (in the pre-digital era) have won awards for some of my photos. I played hockey for 5 years which I suppose came easy to me since I grew up playing golf with my parents. My biological grandfather was drafted by Jack Adams to play for the Detroit Red Wings so I suppose you can say that hockey is in my blood. LOL...so much for all the figure skating lessons I took when I was a kid, huh? They should have given me a stick instead. TOEPICKKKKKK. There is a certain euphoric feeling about watching the sun set on the ocean and so a few times a year I like to eat a nice meal doing so (usually at Dukes in Malibu.) Kauai would be nice (I really love looking out over Bali Hai Point with a nice warm tropical breeze blowing,) but mostly I enjoy spending a nice evening at home cooking a nice meal, watching a movie, eating my delectable tiramisu (which my family and friends crave), having a nice glass of wine (my favorite is Gryphon Pinot Noir) or one of my signature Grey Goose or Ketel One martinis on occasion and laughing at least a dozen times a day. To me that is the secret of living a long life. Well, good people, laughter ... and love. Me? I'm doing well. I have great friends who I love and cherish a lot. They are all amazed at the strength of surviving losing my husband at a young age. It hasn't been easy although I suppose a great part of it is how you look at the world and how life takes turns and throws you a curve ball to see if you duck or attempt to catch it. I suppose that it is something I was born with...I've always been a glass half full gal and also because I watched my father die when I was five. My mom remarried within a year after my father's death and I was very accepting of my first step-father. He was a father to me as is my current step-father. I have always believed that you can never have too many friends or too much family. Our hearts have enough love for everyone. Life is short. Every day is the time to live it. Let's just say this...I wake up and smile every day and am rarely in a bad mood. No matter what has been thrown at me in life, I am a survivor and happy to be here with the amazing people I have in my life. I only need one more thing to complete it again. I used to have a great career and used to work in both construction and entertainment. My last "career" based job was working for a Veterinary practice management company. For now I appreciate the fact that I can work part time so my girls can keep their after school activities. I will probably return to having a career in a year when my youngest is in school longer during the day...and hopefully without having to commute far. My son is planning on transferring to a 4 year college back east and when he does I won't have his help with the girls so I am hoping to find a great job close to home that will pay me well just in case I need to run home quickly. ...but realistically in Simi Valley, that's not likely to happen. I suppose I will have to commute back to the cit...Expand for more