Jan Ledlow:  

Life I left Alabama about 10 years ago to 'see the world' and lived in Tennessee and Texas before finally settling in Louisville, Kentucky. Alabama is still home in my heart, although when I return to the Shoals, I am reminided of the reasons that I thought it was important to leave. The bulk of my family is in Alabama and I continue to feel torn sometimes because I wish that I could spend more time with them. My parents are now my best friends. I am very happily married and have a beautiful 18 year old stepdaughter who is a joy to me. We have a large animal family - two dogs and three cats - anyone need a cat??? - and do some volunteer work with an animal rescue group here. My husband is a gem. I met him right after I came to Louisville and knew right away that he was the one that I was meant to find for so many years. He is patient and kind and loving.......and I'm sure that I am a challenge at times ;) He and his daughter are why I settled here. Louisville is a nice place to live, although the downside to living somewhere this large is that nothing is easy to get to and I find myself missing the small town 'feel'. It is still strange to go places and not see anyone that I know or went to school with! (It is also strange to visit the Shoals again and here people yell at me across the store ;) ) I still love the old folks and work as the administrator of an assisted living facility in Southern Indiana. I love my work, perhaps too much. I sing and dance there every single day. How lucky to make a living doing what I love! In my spare time, I like to do artsy/craftsy things, the most recent being taking stained glass classes. I plan to learn how to throw pottery next. I can actually sew well too, so my time with Anna Smith in home ec was not wasted! I would love to be able to retire and do nothing but play all day, with perhaps a parttime job at Hobby Lobby, but i'm not sure that the income would sustain my habit! School The best memories of school for me are times with my friends in the band. We would have followed Charles Stratford off of a bridge happily! I remember after games, marching back up to the bandroom and all around the courtyard, with the drums beating in the darkness while we spun around corners. You'd have had to have been there to appreciate it, but if you were there, you understand perfectly. Some of those times were magical. Aside from band, I look back and think that Bonnie Wise was probably the kindest person that I ever met, although at the time, I probably didn't recognize it. She was also the first social worker that I ever met, and if I didn't then, I now understand her heart and many of the things that she tried to tell us and teach us. What a dear and caring lady. Interestingly, I have had the opportunity to care for one of our high school teachers in the nursing home. I think that our teachers cared and put way more thought into our educations than we gave them credit for at the time. It was wonderful to get to know one of them as a person and to recognize that. It was also an insightful time for me and helped me become much more cognizant of the feelings and intentions of others, and to temper my responses accordingly. (That's a nice way of telling you that I saw what a jerk I was and vowed to work on it!) I think that my all time favorite teacher was Margaret Tomaszewski. My gracious, ...Expand for more