Joan Ganey:  

Hmmm..I was in a life-story writing class a couple of years ago, and discovered that I really didn't WANT to write my life story; most of the other, very nice people in the class had wonderful life stories; they has terrific marriages, rewarding children, and never set fire to the Thanksgiving turkey (which I did, in 1967; unfortunately, I was on the phone with my landlord when the turkey fat exploded in the oven; I made the mistake of telling him I had to hang uo because the kitchen was on fire; he called the fire department; this dude with a hatchet strode in and ripped open the oven door so hard that I could never close it all the way again). Hopefully, you all see my point. My life story is not in the cards; instead, let me apologize to any of you whom I may have irritated or unwittingly made fun of in high school (well, it's not REALLY my fault that some people had haircuts that were really not that flattering, but I'm sure you have corrected that sort of thing over the years). I am so excited about this event next year; many of my friends (yes, I do have friends; not everyone has thrown up his or her hands and said "That's enough! I'm outa here!")have asked me why I am going to all this time and effort for a one-weekend event. I just reply, "You had to have grown up there to understand". We all shaped each others' lives (you boys who threw snowballs at me in the 4th grade KNOW WHO YOU ARE); the great teachers, the cherry cokes, the falling leaves, the VERY cool convertibles, standing on the stage at graduation (sweating under those gowns), not realizing that some of us would never see each other again. But hopefully now we can. Come on, people; flying from LA (no non-stops; what's with that?),is exhausting, and I can hardly wait to do it! You can do this! I always wanted to be a writer when I grew up. My family and friends thought that was a dumb idea. As it turns out, they were right. I threw a whole stack of ugly plates against the garage wall once. That was very relaxing. White wine works, too. Katharine Hepburn. I always wanted to be just like her. Baseball. I could watch baseball all day. I have a tricked-out Dodgers child's pedal car in my living room. They all turned out to be WAY smarter than I was.(I'm talking about my children). If I won $100 million, I'd give most of it to random strangers, then spend the rest on Dodger tickets, Starbucks coffee and a ticket to see Neil Diamond. My current age is 69. When I was 12, I thought that people my age now...Expand for more