Joann Johnson:
CLASS OF 1980
West Mecklenburg High SchoolClass of 1980
Charlotte, NC
Central Piedmont Community CollegeClass of 2006
Charlotte, NC
Le Sueur High SchoolClass of 1993
Le sueur, MN
Advanced Career TrainingClass of 1993
Atlanta, GA
Central Piedmont Community CollegeClass of 1982
Charlotte, NC
Joann's Story
I am rambling on and on. But this is how I see things. Forgive me if you feel different. I am very different than I was in H/S. I grew up and realized there was much more in life than I had found here. I moved around the U.S. with my husband at the time. He was the superintendent of Texas Stone and Marble and was working at C.M.C. in Charlotte. I went to visit my son in the hospital. I was having a time with the balloon's that I was taking him ( his favorite item as a child )it was windy and they were getting away from me and he helped me and I saw him for two weeks while I visited my son and he made a point to see me. We married later after getting to know each other. I had two children he had 3 we had two 6 months different in-age and two 9 months different in age, and one, that was one year older than them. Yea 5 it was an experience but I love them still to this day. Even though our marriage ended all the children are in your heart forever. His job carried him all over the U.S. so we moved around with him. Until I had to stop moving it was killing me and April had really settled in Grapevine TX she had many friends and her band and choir involvement meant the world to her or was it me? Maybe she was my excuse not to move around anymore. I saw a different world that is far beyond what I had seen. I grew as many would living outside of this environment and I loved it. It changed my thoughts on life, people and cultures. I welcomed the change. I learned people in Minnesota would like to know why you are there ? and loved to listen to me talk. Maybe it was my terrible vocabulary or my southern draw. I enjoyed the time I was there. After they get to know you they are friendly. The education for your children was exceeding expectations of an parent and the teachers, staff was the same they treated you with a warm welcome if you could make a friend it was with the them. The children started band in the 4Th and 5Th grade there are many activities for young children there. My daughter loved it. The City had a Family Recreation Center with a swimming pool with like the YWCA but better...... And a family could afford a year round pass. To cold but lovely. I moved during the horrible historical flood. Georgia is warming, and a big party. I had to move from there because it can consume one. Wonderful people.........
Texas I would say most Texans are lovely people, and wealth did not mean the most expensive items or they look down upon a divorced working mother. It was amazing. The smaller towns people wave to you, and not knowing you. You would not know the people that were the kindest down to earth people had millions and you would never know it be the way they dressed or the vehicles ( they would drive large expensive pickup trucks )but nothing would direct one into knowing it was a warm welcome that use to be in Charlotte years ago. Barbecue's thrown, nice old time things still take place there. When you go down the road in the smaller towns they have a full pull over/off lanes and people would pull over and let you pass them. It was not a mad rat race. I loved it and did not want to come back to Charlotte after having the nice comfort of being friends with true to the heart nice welcoming people. I had only myself and one child there at one time and the people I worked with and knew through them. They just made me feel like apart of their families and when I could not come to N.C. for the holidays they would have us at their homes for the holidays. Down to earth people, loving, caring people. One of my friends was a Doctor and you would have never known it unless he started talking in his medical terminology that would loose me until he taught me some of it and then out of interest I studied! Health Care was the best. The education system was wonderful for your children and in the smaller towns from Grapevine, Colleyville, to Boyd TX. The education system was excellent and not crazy with violence. It was a real shock for my daughter to move back here and finish school. It was a nightmare really that she was thrown around from West Mecklenburg to West Charlotte ( these 2 schools are not what a education should be for any one's child ) and the Band instruc...Expand for more
tor at West Charlotte treated her terrible I had to go to the School board on him twice, the guy ended up in jail for many things involving students to selling the band equipment that our tax dollars had bought or rented for this underprivileged school that has really excellent students in need. I thank God my daughter had her own instrument and was able to get out of there to only land in our school. I just wanted her to finish and go to college.
Back to TX I loved to travel seeing History all over Austin, New Braunfels, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, ........... was wonderful. The income with no state taxes, no problems raising my children alone. The roads are much nicer than NC larger and well maintained. I miss Texas and the people but not the heat of the summers. I have been back this February 10 years and I still have my true to heart friends in TX and miss them but I have responsibilities here. So for now I'm stuck until I win the Lottery and brain wash my father and mother, my two Children...... into moving back to TX. I like the small towns we did not have any of this ignorant crime rate increases. Our town we lived in never had a murder when we lived there. But was notorious for a murderer living there before I moved into that town that was caught and was put to death. My friends thought I was wild, at one time maybe, not now. I grew up after children and responsibility and divorce and the reality that I had to make it on my own and I could. I'm still truthful. Maybe a little more out spoken. I wanted to be a teacher and then my experience with the School system in NC no way. I started college to be a therapist of sorts. But money, my illness from a botched surgery and government stopped that. I still have my dreams and I plan on going back if I win the lottery. It will be the only way I can with out all the red tape. But I am trying to figure out a way to get in without a issue from the government. Yes, I'm still rebellious! Now it against our Government and the way they operate our Country. They steal from the middle class, poor and the rich. They use our money unnecessary and we are not to question it! It is time we all start investigating all of the taxing, spending............ Report it and question it make it world wide news and make sure our Country is not run by thieves living on others income. Make sure they are working for their money. This has to stop is has been going on to long and is not getting any better. Why do we not have money to fix our roads? Why do we not have money to keep the youth programs going? I had to work to pay for my children's extra activities in School but some parents are not as lucky as I was and our children need to be occupied by other than loneliness that leads them to gangs..............
N.C. education system is going down hill more than ever. WE have some teachers and, counselors that care and some are not interested in the best for the children, the whole system as I saw it, and it does not look out after the child. When I just got out of ICU and found my child TX credits did not meet the expectations of the NC credits and she was not going to graduate from School even though I sent in the proper paper work and asked for the night school for her the counselor did not do her job. I had to get well ( 3 months ) and drive to a school across town in a bad area and beg for my child to have a opportunity to graduate and tell them what had taken place. I will fight for what is right in speaking to the person or persons about their behavior and complain to the highest office. But this time it was to beg for her to have what she deserved and had worked hard for, and she graduated with 36 credits ( she corrected my error) 3 in foreign languages,it was more credits than she was suppose to have. This was an injustice and I want change in the government that include in our schools. Because US as a Nation deserve it. Our children deserve it. Their children deserve it..........
Do we just keep sitting around and allowing this to happen? It is easy to do so. But I do not like easy, I like truth, honesty what a the U.S.A. stands for. Greed is every where and it is easy to get one.........and then all of us have to pay for it.
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