Sandra Alexander:  

Life Since graduating from Hughes I married and became the mother of two boys - Stephen and Richard. Richard was the first to relocate (by choice) to Florida and Stephen followed in 2002 (because of circumstances). I made the decision to relocate in 2003, hoping to enjoy a simpler life in a climate with more favorable winters. Stephen worked in Corporate Travel at American Express on the 94th floor of Tower #1 in the World Trade Center, but was [blessedly] on his way to a meeting in mid-town when the planes hit on September 11, 2001. He lost eleven co-workers in the attack, one of them a young woman who was also a neighbor of ours, and one, a young man who used to work in the Travel group at the company where I worked, who Stephen just happened to be sitting next to when I realized they were in the same office. After a brief stint in a satellite office in Penn Plaza, Stephen transferred to an AMEX office in Miami Lakes, FL. For more reasons than one, we will never forget. I was divorced when Richard was two years old, and never re-married. I lost my Mom in February, 1995, and my Dad in September, 2001, 3 days before his 93rd birthday. With my parents both gone, I decided to venture out into a new living experience in a more relaxed environment, that would bring me closer to my sons again. Apart from the fact that my earning capacity took a nosedive and my base expenses skyrocketed, there are entirely too many creepy crawlies, reptiles, and bugs in Florida for a northern city girl's comfort; the summers are brutally hot (the VIN tag on my dashboard has buckled and cracked from the heat), and hurricanes are something I now have to take seriously. The winter months are glorious and I have to admit there is something very inspiring about having a panoramic view of the most dramatic skies I've ever seen, anywhere, at any time. I don't know how much longer that will exist though, because everything is being built up in Miami. ...Expand for more