I have been Meme'ed by Eleanor Thorne.

Now, according to the RULES, I must divulge 5 things you don't know about me.  Since I am fairly new to Active

Rain, this shouldn't be too difficult.

No. 1  I grew up on a small farm just outside the village limits of a very small town, pop. 700, here in western

Michigan.  We had a Holstein cow which I learned to milk. We had in fits and phases, banty chickens, a sheep, a

 goat, calves to keep the cow fresh, and always dogs. I had  several horses but

one, Kayto, a gentle Morgan/Tennessee Walker, was the love of my youthful life. 

 I have cherished memories of riding her around the  countryside with my other

horsey pals. She was 17 hands high and I was a shrimp.  I had to put the saddle

 on my head, upside down,  and toss it up on her back to get her saddled.   I

have mucked out horse and cow  stalls and know the responsibility of owning

animals.

No. 2  Ironically, since my parents never let me drink "pop" or Kool-aid when I

was growing up (not when we had 4 gallons of milk a day to drink). I am now

allergic to milk and all milk products.  Not lactose intolerant,

ALLERGIC like 12 on a scale of 1-10.

ESOTERIC.                                                  

 No. 4  I am and have always been an obsessive reader. I usually have 3-4 books in process all over the house.

When our children were still home and I had very little time for myself,

I would  get up an hour earlier to read before  the daily whirlwind began.

 If you know me, getting up early is not on my Top 10 list.  I like to stay

up till 1 or 2 AM and sleep in until 8 or 9 AM.

No. 5   I have been a volunteer literacy tutor for the past 14 years. I have

tutored adult students that cannot read English.    My first student was a

young man with a  family and a janitorial job. He had graduated from high

school but could not read or write coherently above a first grade level.  We

worked together for 3 years. When we finished,  he was reading at a ninth grade level and was taking a boiler

test so he could get a better job as a janitor at a local school.   His dream come true. 

For the past years, I have been working with English as a Second

Language  students.  This is the most rewarding work I have ever

done.  People who are illiterate live in a very narrow, danger filled

world.  They cannot read maps, navigate street signs, fill out

application forms, read memos or notes from their boss.  They

 are particularly vunerable in a legal or medical situation.  Many

people are functionally illiterate in this country, for  myriad 

                                                               reasons. 

 If you have ever thought about being a literacy tutor, DO IT!  

                 You will affect lives in a profound way.

That's it!! Assignment completed. 

  If you like to skip to the end and not read the complete post,  here's the Cliff's Notes:

• I am a small town girl, can milk a cow, but can't drink cow's milk, can do a natal chart, can read a book, and can teach someone else to read a book.

 Now the three comedians people I choose to Meme:

Dave D. because I want to know a little bit more about what goes on behind the smiley face and he is funny!

Karen Webster because she is my friend, a terrific wit, and I want AR to get to know her.

Kathleen Elim because she has a warm, fun-loving personality and more people should be reading her. We miss

 you, Kathleen!

So, when you  finish your Meme post assignments, leave a comment on Lucky Lang's MeMe Tutorial Post with

the link and choose 3 people you would like to MEME.

photos courtesy of Flickr Photostream