Bands

Yes, leaving Carbondale for “Life in the Fast Lane” of Los Angeles was quite an eye opener. Scott and I packed up our things in a truck and away we went to the wonderful sunny land of California. I was “top of the heap” in Carbondale with Uncle Jon’s Band and I was ready! Scott as my manager, we were going to make a big splash in Hollywood! Little did I know that “splash” was going to be in the form of a rain puddle. Here I was.. Big Fish in Carbondale.. however, I came to realize that I may have been a big fish in the little pond called Carbondale, but LA…. I was an amoeba in the ocean… WOW, the talent was amazing, and I found out I wasn’t up to that level…YET.

I Guess I Need A Vocal Trainer…

So I’d done several auditions at this point, or should I say “Cattle Calls” since there are HERDS of people at each audition. Something close to 400-500 people trying out. It blew my mind, but I kept trying. After several unsuccessful auditions, I decided it was time to find a vocal coach. Now, I had never “trained” so this in itself was an adventure. I decided to work with “Anderson Vocal Productions” Mr. Ron Anderson and started my journey. I recall my first lesson when he told me to breathe. So I did and he looked at me shook his head and told me to lay down on the floor and I’m thinking “What???”.

It turns out when I took a breath, I would raise my shoulders, which tightened everything up. What this taught me was how to use my diaphragm properly to breathe since you can’t raise your shoulders when you’re laying down. We worked and worked and I got better and better… “technically”. I did land a couple gigs singing in the ensemble. One for “My Fair Lady” which was fabulous with the costumes and big hats! The other was in “Flower Drum Song”. I sang Memories from the musical Cats for my audition piece and the director chose me since it was his favorite song!

Now I’m Ready!

I’m ready for my big break! Training my voice with my coach Ron, I’ve gotten 2 gigs singing in musical theater, so it’s time to make a splash! So I did audition after audition and nothing. I even auditioned for Kid Creole, but they needed more of a dancer, which although I could move, I didn’t have the “dance” moves (remember my accident?). Getting more and more disheartened, I kept auditioning, did a few talent shows, sang at a country bar. Then I landed a gig with a band doing a showcase. It gave my soul the lift it needed. There were 3 of us singing backup, I had never done anything like this before. It was fun I’ll have to admit. Big hair, stage smoke and tambourines but it was only a 1 time gig.

One TV talent show I managed to get on (probably via Scott) was “You Can Be A Star”. It was filmed in TN and I had to fly out there. Mom met me and we had a blast. The day of the filming came and I was all decked out for my country TV debut! Big hair, gauzy purple off the shoulder outfit with slouch boots. Stylin! The host called me over and I remember him putting his arm around me on my bare shoulder.. yikes, kinda threw me off my game at the time…Then when they found out where I was living “North Hollywood”  guest judge Nipsy Russel said” North Hollywood, well you’re already a star!” I figured I was doomed. Yep, you guessed it, I wasn’t the “winner” between the 3 contestants.

So, back home I went and continued to audition. One audition I did was for a cruise line. Out of over 400 singers I was in the final 26 for 2 spots. I felt good about getting that far, but didn’t make the final cut.  I finally came to the realization my big break wasn’t coming YET and needed to make some money so I started working for Scotts uncle copying medical files for lawsuits etc. It wasn’t my dream job, but Uncle Nick was pretty cool.

Tail Between My Legs…

I continued to audition as time allotted, but I wasn’t getting jobs. I look back and realize that although I was now technically very good, I had lost my “feel” and wasn’t able to connect with my audience. Scott was selling cars at a car dealership and working for his Uncle Nick the PI. He was GREAT at meeting people. He had what you call the “Gift of Gab” and we met some very interesting folks over the 4 years we lived in North Hollywood.

Makeup artists, actors, directors and musicians. We were going to a Halloween party one time and a make up artist friend (Nikki?) did my hair/makeup as a lion. Looking back, some of the people we met just starting out are pretty famous now. Friends we met had a band “Night Warrior”. Not a big name band, but we got to know them well. Ray, Kitty, Mark and Peapod and through them and their rehearsal studio,  we met the guys from Black Sabbath.

Fun story. They were in town rehearsing over Thanksgiving and had no where to go for the holiday so we invited them over for Thanksgiving dinner. Tony Iommi, Dave “the Beast” Spitz and Eric Singer.

Of COURSE I was making a turkey and all the fixings and as we’re talking, laughing I went to open up the oven door to baste the bird, the over door fell off!. I don’t recall how we got around it, but I THINK I remember it turned out good! Ray and Laura owned the rehearsal studio and we’d all go down to the Rainbow in Hollywood. There were always plenty of Rockers there…the likes of Jimmy Page of Led Zepplin and several other “rock stars”. Laura was a good friend of Lita Ford so that was pretty exciting to meet her!

I did find a favorite jazz club in Studio City “The Baked Potato” which is still there today that we’d go to often. It was a pretty harried lifestyle back in the early 80’s and it took it’s toll on us. Like I said, it was “Life in the Fast Lane” for certain. I wasn’t singing, we were partying pretty heavily and we got caught up in all the insanity. One day I decided enough was enough I needed to get back some normalcy and Scott and I split up.

Out of the crazy and into the calm..

I was at a point I needed to get away from the craziness of the rock n roll world and take care of myself. The “life in the fast lane” of Los Angeles was getting to me. Funny as this sounds, I took up golf. They had these great par 3, 9 hole courses out in “The Valley” which were perfect. I took a few lessons and started to enjoy the relaxation of it all.

When I broke up with Scott, I stopped working for his Uncle Nick. I had to find a job and ended up working nights at a Radar assembly plant in the QC department. During the day I would bartend. Talk about no life and being calm…

Travel to the Orient..NOT

So I was working at the radar plant, bartending and still doing some auditions. I met a guy at one audition and struck up a conversation on how hard it was getting gigs etc. He said he was there looking for talent for his band. He needed a singer and thought I was fantastic! Ok, now I’m all rev’ed up again. I can be a front singer in a band again! I missed singing with Uncle Jon’s Band so this was thrilling.

We met a few times to talk about the band. He had tours all set up overseas in Japan. We’d start there and work our way back to the states. I was pretty excited about all this. I was going to let my boss Richard know I was going to quit my night job and going on tour! When I talked to him about this, he was worried, but I blew it off. This was exciting to me, I was going to finally make it!

I’m not ready for romance..

So we met for dinner a few times (band leader whose name I cannot recall) and he said he was falling for me and wanted a relationship. I was NOT ready for that and my radar went up. Yep, you know what happened. He said I could only go if I was “with” him so I backed out and never saw him again. Looking back at that now and think… trafficking.. I think I dodged a bullet there.

I had kept in touch with Kitty and we’d go out to the clubs when I could. Kitty had a brother that lived in Delaware and played in a band. He wanted her to come back from LA and sing in his band. She had no intention of going back, but told him she knew someone that might. It was at that moment my life was about to change… yet again…

 

Next up… “ON THE ROAD AGAIN”

So I left off with my time at Southern Illinois University in 1981 and joining a “Dead Head” band called Uncle Jon’s Band. For those of you who follow The Grateful Dead or “The Dead” you understand the name of the band. I was asked, Are you a Dead Head and can you do the dance of the dying Wildebeest. I was like….?? Those who aren’t avid followers, click on the link above and you’ll find all you EVER wanted to know (or not!) about The Grateful Dead, I tell you it’s almost cult like!

You’re a Dead what?

The diehard followers of ‘The Dead” are an interesting bunch. Our band had a fantastic group of fans who were a very laid back, easy going group of folks that love to dance, drink and relax by.. uh er um well, let’s just say it was a bit illegal back in the day and let our imagination run! Now, here I am, the “elder” of the group with NO IDEA what a dead head is, why they are called that and never followed “The Dead”. Well, I was about to get my education. I don’t recall how I got an audition with the band, but they hired me on as their lead/backup singer. Here it is, my FIRST TRUE band where I was singing lead/backup in front of people!

Awesome mix of music…

We did play alot of “Dead” but we had an eclectic mix of music from the Dead, The Allman Brothers and I sang tunes from the likes of Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Rait, and others. We even wrote a few of our own. Jon G and I penned a tune “Missing you Long Distance” WHICH I might add is listed in the Library of Congress. La De Da!!

We had 5 total in the band; Jonathan our Drummer and one of the founders, Jon who played Guitar and was the lead singer, Pete who played bass and Eugene who played guitar. Jon and I sang the majority of the songs, but the others also sang and we had a well rounded group. Oh, and let me say… I was an AWESOME tambourine, cowbell and other percussive instruments player! Ha, I used to hit the tambourine on my leg and end up with bruises….probably why my leg is purple in that spot all these years later. Amazing what we do in our youth that comes back to haunt us! Here are a few pictures  of the band which I found undeveloped in my camera about 20 years later.

 

 

 

 

 

What a year…

I mentioned that I initially had to take a few remedial courses to get back into the swing of things and did I ever. My first semester got me mostly A’s! It was exciting to me, a new chapter! Studying music, enjoying college life AND singing in a band that actually performed out at clubs and in front of people! I didn’t live on campus in the dorms, but had rented a single family house to live in with my dog Reba.

At some point, my younger brother Mark lived with me, but it didn’t last too long. He ended up getting his own place since we kept butting heads. Funny… today we’re very close and I’m so thankful for that! Both my brothers were there and were EMT’s while going to school. Mark also did a little “bouncing” at the bars and Kurt was married, going to medical school and raising my first niece Lisa with his wife Barb.

One of my classes was a basic music class and the professor stated if we did a presentation of an instrument, we’d get extra credit. Well, I’m a vocalist, that’s an instrument, so yup, I planned my demonstration. I was able to recruit Eugene from the band to play guitar for me and I demonstrated alright. I sang Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide”. One of my all time fav’s that Stevie Nicks sang. I wasn’t too nervous since I had Eugene up there, plus I was getting the hang of playing out in front of a drunken crowd of college students. You could hear a pin drop though so it was a little nerve wracking, but it went GREAT..(at least that’s how I remember it…)

Traveling show…

So as the band kept playing out, I was getting stronger and more confident. We started growing into a top band in the tristate area. We traveled all around the area, in different clubs, different states and became very close. When we started “touring” (HA!) I bought a old blue van for us to travel in. You remember the type…no side windows, sliding door. Nothing fancy by any means, but at least we could all travel together with our equipment. We had a sound man Joe C that would take the sound equipment for us. I remember one trip up to Pekin IL for a wedding for a couple of dead heads. THAT was a fun gig. I don’t recall what gig we were heading to or when it happened, but on one of our travels, the sliding door decided not to work/close. We actually had to rig it up by taping duct tape on the inside of the sliding door and wrapped the other end around the back of the drivers seat. What a riot THAT was. One of the many fond memories I have of that band.

One gig we played, I can’t recall where exactly, but a small little place with questionable electric. I may not have mentioned, but I do have a good set of pipes and can really belt it out. I recall singing one of my FAV’s to perform “White Rabbit” by Jefferson Airplane and on the last line “Feed Your Head”, while belting out the ending, I blew a fuse. Perfect ending to the song. Again, MY recollection…

Mom came for a visit…

We played many a gig and as a college rock band, you can imagine we were pretty loud. I had a gauzy white dress for this gig and needed a necklace, so my cousin helped me “make” one with feathers. You may not know it, but back in the 80’s, gauze, feathers were quite the thing. We got ribbon, feathers, glued them all together and I wore that for the gig. It turned out really cool! Feathers around my neck and also on my hair comb.

So Mom and my cousin are in the front row surrounded by students dancing and carrying on. The stage lights being pretty hot and it got pretty toasty up on stage. When the night ended, I went to find out how they liked the show, but they couldn’t hear me talking. Turned out they had stuffed their ears with Kleenex…maybe a BIT loud for Mom! After they cleared their ears out, they said they had enjoyed the show and particularly the students dancing around.

 

 

There is this “dance” they use to do, we (or me?) called it the Dying Wildebeest dance. They would put their fingers up like horns ,then dance around in a circle and then just drop like they died. It was hysterical to watch from stage. First time I saw that I’m like.. “What the Hell are they doing???”. Anyway, I’m hot, sweating and go to change my clothes back stage. As I go to remove the beautiful necklace we fashioned I found I couldn’t. Between the hot lights, sweating, the glue softened up and ended up stuck to my neck! Lesson learned!

College romance…

Going to school, doing gigs downtown Carbondale there were plenty of places to hang out when not learning or working. Pizza places, sandwich shops and one that had fantastic meatball sandwiches that I would visit. Well, it turned out a friend from high school was the owner! We reconnected and ended up dating. Next to my own homemade meatballs, Scott’s were the best. He ran a great little restaurant and we had fun together. We became an item and at some point Scott moved in with me. I remember Reba would growl at him when he got to close to me. It made me laugh how protective she was.

So Scott had an uncle out in Los Angeles who was a Private Investigator and after a year or so we talked about moving, Scott working for his uncle and me singing. As I mentioned, I was in the TOP BAND in the area.  Remember, I’m “instant gratification” girl, doing well in the band, thinking I was the best singer in the land, so I agreed to move and we packed up for LA. Off to my next adventure!  I’m gonna hit it big in LA and can hardly wait!

Now Scott could sell a pink flamingo to an Eskimo with the great gift of gab he has, so we’re talking about how he’ll represent me and I’m already picturing Stardom, Limos’ and making my mark in California.  Well, I may have been a BIG FISH in the little pond called Carbondale but then I got to LA…

Next up.. My life and times in LA!

 

 

Like many people, events over the years make us take several twists and turns. I have found that bands I’ve been in over the years have shaped me into the talent I am today. It’s been a journey over a few decades, but I really don’t think I’d change a thing. I’m a believer that we all have a path to walk through life. Regardless of the side trails we take along the way, we ultimately end up where we’re meant to be.  This is what makes life exciting, interesting, hard, painful but overall wonderful.

Thanks but no thanks…

As I left off in the last installment, I had taken a few vocal lessons at the local park district in Waukegan and the part time teacher stated I should “Join a band” and get some experience. I’m not sure how I met this group or even what the band name was. We practiced mostly as a “garage band” that had a couple gigs. I do know that I still have the old set lists and music book we did. I’d go over to the one couples home after dinner and we’d practice. One night they invited me FOR dinner. Now, not sure I’ve mentioned, but I’m not a foodie…actually, the furthest thing FROM a foodie.. picky on taste, texture challenged and oh boy, if it doesn’t look good or sound good, nope. Thanks but NO thanks!

My friends were your typical struggling musicians. I knew they didn’t have a lot and was grateful for the invite!  Well, guess what was on the menu?  BEEF TONGUE.

Oh no.. I couldn’t even fathom trying that! What was served was  all I could see was and stammered that I forgot about dinner before practice and had already eaten… whew…

The start of my gypsy tendencies…

I don’t remember how long I was with this band, but I had fun and I THINK this is when I decided to move to Dallas area with a friend of mine. Her brother and sis-in-law lived down there and she wanted to move. I thought about it and said “Hey, I’m up for something new”, so I quit the job I had in computer operations and decided to move with her down to Garland Texas. No job, didn’t know anyone but my friend but, yep, there I go. This must have been the beginning of my “gypsy” tendencies. My Mom & Dad gave us a going away party in their new house in Gurnee and I remember Dad telling me that Mom was going to miss me, and that she was upset because we’d grown very close over the past 2 years. Looking back, I really think it was him that was upset..

My next stop…

Well,  it’s 1980 and we found a GREAT house to rent in Garland, TX. $600 per month, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, fireplace and a fenced in yard. It was a good location and we enjoyed it. One issue I had moving down there was that I had no room to bring all my plants with me, so a coworker from Arlington Heights and his girlfriend said they would bring them down one weekend. I thought “Hmmmm, 16 hours, kinda far for a weekend, but hey, if they’re up for it the more the merrier!”

Surprise…

I was missing my back home friends and was so happy to see them! I tried to usher them in, but they INSISTED we get the plants. So I’m like. “Well, ok, let’s get ‘er done so we can relax”. We walk out and as I’m reaching into the back of their Bronco, I feel something behind me. I turn around and there is a car with 2 more of my friends! Walking over to the car window to say hi, I looked down the street and guess what?  Yep, 2 more friends are walking down the sidewalk! What a CRAZY weekend we had. Lot’s of laughing, singing, drinking and eating. I was sad to see them leave, but that weekend will forever be etched in my memory banks.

Country music at it’s finest…

I didn’t do much singing down in the Dallas/Garland area, but wow… the music was great and I found a new appreciation for country music! On our days off we’d go  to the “wet” area of Dallas (Texas Blue Laws in 1980’s y’all, you had to belong to a club) and back then they had big spreads or feasts for happy hours. We’d eat, drink for VERY cheap (food was free which was good cause we didn’t have much money) and dance the night away. I learned the “cotton-eyed Joe” and several other “country” dances. Good times. I did have someone I worked with that played guitar and my roommate was also a musician, so we did a little singing and playing, but mostly just work and big buffets!

Gone to the dogs…

My roommate had a beautiful collie, Amber. I missed having my own dog so I got my first German Shepherd. Reba was her name. She was an AKC registered GSD, but I wasn’t going to breed her so she got spayed. What a beauty she turned out to be, a great dog and SMART! We’d walk around the neighborhood off leash when I’d get home at midnight. She always had her guard up and kept me safe. Her and Amber would run around the house chasing each other, playing tug of war with old socks. It was hysterical to watch. Once I was laying on the couch holding a tug toy and she literally pulled me off the couch. 80 lbs of dog…whew…she was strong!

Off again…

After about a year, my roommate got homesick and we decided to move back to Illinois. We packed up everything said goodbye to the friends we had made and headed home. This time I moved back in with my folks to their home in Gurnee. They had moved there right before I  moved to Texas. Nice little rancher with an acre. Actually that’s where I live today. Funny how things work out. Reba and my mom’s dog didn’t hit it off too well initially, she actually bit my moms little Heidi through the nose, so I had to take Reba to intense training. After that experience, I’ll never leave a dog for training again until I’ve thoroughly vetted their training methods, but Reba never went after Heidi again. ….anyway I digress…

Now what…

I got a job bartending that summer and started wondering what was next. So what did I do? I decided to get a little college under my belt.

Both my brothers were down at Southern Illinois University (SIU), so I applied in 1981 and was accepted. Reba and I packed up and headed down to SIU Carbondale. I took up music classes and was doing very well.

I was an “older” Freshman, so most of my friends were younger. Somehow I started taking on the role of “Mom”. Now, I wasn’t THAT much older, just 22, but I guess at 18 that can be a lifetime? We’d go downtown to the local pubs and restaurants and listen to music. I’m not quite sure how I got an audition with Uncle Jon’s Band, but that was a life changer for me.

Next up… Uncle Jon’s Band…

Yes, we were a “dead head” band!

 

So I’ve taken you through my accident…Lot’s ‘o fun… but in hindsight, it may have been the best thing that happened to me!  I’ll try to explain…After the accident, 2 years on crutches and canes and what I discovered was…

Finally out of the hospital…

I left off when I finally got to go home after 3 weeks in the hospital in a full leg cast. As I mentioned in my last post, Mom had moved me home from my apartment and set me  up in my brothers old room next to her and dad’s room. We lived in a beautiful old home on a cobblestone street in Waukegan. It’s been paved over now, but the street was actually featured in Time Magazine in 1972 due to the majestic American Elms that lined the street before Dutch Elm disease wiped them all out.

it was a huge home. 5 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a double staircase, a 3rd floor with what could have been 3 additional bedrooms if we had ever finished them and in the basement, from the 1950’s bomb scares, one of the prior owners had installed a bomb shelter! The door was 18″ thick concrete, had 6 fold down cots and an exit that came out under the back stairs. That was very cool to us when we were younger and exploring! Of course Mom was scared to death that we’d catch our small little hands in the door as it was on a concave swivel. She partially blocked it with the dryer so we couldn’t get in there!

What a way to celebrate….

I couldn’t do much but lay around and Mom really was a Godsend to me in all she did. I was getting pretty good on the crutches, but would go up and down the stairs on my butt. Just before my 21st birthday I got my cast off and just about passed out when I did at the doctors office. Guess the swelling and all the trauma being held securely all that time and finally “freed” was a bit overwhelming to my system cause I got very lightheaded and almost went down. But sure felt good to get that off my leg!

So now my 21st birthday comes around. I didn’t know it but my folks got together with my friends and threw me a surprise birthday party! Shocked is an understatement and of course, all I could do was sit in a lounge chair, but it was so much fun and so good to see them all! Just about everyone that came up to me had a drink for me in their hands. One friend got a bit wobbly and I was worried he was going to fall over in my lap. Now my father being the comedian he was (NOT!) had actually kept my cast and it was on full display in the rock garden outside.. YIKES! Embarrassment overload, but I had a great time and it was just the pickup I needed. It truly lifted my spirits. What a GREAT birthday!

Get thee back to work!

I finally returned to work and by this time, the company “NIFS” had relocated to Arlington Heights in the basement of a bank. I was still on crutches and driving in from my folks house in Waukegan. That winter, probably ’78-79 where we had so much snow, I remember driving down Lake Cook Road which was four lanes and all of a sudden there was nothing but snow in front of me. They decided to stop plowing all four lanes and it dropped down to two lanes. When I finally got there the parking lot at the bank hadn’t been plowed and I had to park next door at The White Hen convenience store. Well, being on crutches, I couldn’t get anywhere, so I called my boss and he actually carried me into work!

All was going well.. I’m back to work now about 1 year and healing nicely and then another trauma. I think I mentioned that I had 19 wood screws holding 3 plates in my thigh. About 1 year after they put them in they said they had to come out to get the bone strong again. So, surgery #3. Everything went well and once I was healed again, back to work I went. The Doctor told me to make SURE I sit all the way back to my knee in the chair then prop my leg up to keep the swelling down.

Again??????

Well, I was very careful until one day, I guess I didn’t sit all the way back and the pressure mid thigh along with trying to lift my leg up onto another chair was too much. SNAP…. yep, you got it.. My femur snapped in one of the holes from a removed screw. I was in my office, alone and started to go into shock. I remember calling my boss on the phone to come help me. By now, my body is shaking and I remember having to pull the upper and lower part of my leg apart to keep the break from hitting when I shook. Shock set in, but amazingly I kept my cool. Finally, in what seemed like forever, my boss came running in, and had already called the paramedics.

Sure glad I kept my cool…

The building we were in was sorta on a hill. The front of the building, the main entrance, had 3 flights of stairs to walk down to get to the basement where we were. The back of the building was much easier with only a half a flight of stairs if I remember correctly. So, here come the paramedics. Great bunch, but when they started taking me out the front, I said, “Don’t you think it would be easier if we went out the back of the building?” I was scared they would drop me! Then in the ambulance we go, head first, and all I could see was my foot getting slammed by the doors, so I suggested they put me in feet first, so they did. Can you say “Keystone Cops”? Anyway, Surgery #4.

Out with the old and in with the new…

The Doctor placed a “Kuntscher Nail” in my femur which I had for many years. I remember my Dad when I first had the accident so upset since he tried to keep me scar free…even had my small pox vaccine on my hip so no scar would show. Well now I had at least 5 BUT all on one leg!

Ok, back to work AGAIN. I was not heavy to start with but now I was 5’7″ and about 110 lbs. My clothes were falling off me. I was falling into depression, feeling sorry for myself. I was a “jock” and couldn’t play on the sports teams that were a big part of my life at the time. Softball, Volleyball. That along with not being able to go out with my friends like I did before, having to ensure I had a “safe” space to sit due to my injured leg. Of course, I couldn’t expect visitors everyday as time went on and I started receding into myself. Again, my Mom came through. She came to me one day and pushed me to take a voice class at the local park district. She told me that I had always enjoyed singing when I was younger. Of course I didn’t remember that, but I looked back at items my folks had kept in our “21” box which included old report cards. Each one had positive notes by the singing section of the report cards. “beautiful voice, enjoys singing..”. So I did.

And it begins….

Waukegan has a great park district with a lot of programs for kids and adults. That’s one thing I’ll always be grateful for growing up in this area. I signed up with a teacher who was a piano player by trade. Not a true “vocal coach” but I suppose doing what he could to earn a living. So I have my first lesson and I enjoyed it. We went over the basics, breathing etc. and by my third class he said he couldn’t help me. I thought to myself, “am I that bad?”. He explained that he was not a trained vocal coach and that I should join a band to get experience. Who knew I had a natural talent.

Maybe if my folks hadn’t been poor farm/service folks, they would have pushed me towards singing. Like a lot of the “stage” mom’s/dad’s today. Or helicopter parents. Oh well, what did we know about this kind of thing. So, being ready for a new phase…..I went and joined a local Southern Rock Band…

Next Up…

Next up will be some of my bands over the years.. what a transformation. See ya next time!

No bones about it…I’ve come to think of myself as a decent person, and a “semi” educated person in the realm of medicine. Not that I’m schooled in medicine by any means, but my family has a history of either working in, having medical issues or in my case, landing in the orthopedics world. This may be a longer than expected story, but, it’ll become clear as we go along. We’ll probably go down a few rabbit holes along the way, but I’ve been diverted like many others along my journey.

Mom was a nurses aide, and Dad was a medic in the military back in the day. My older brother IS a trained professional General Practitioner in a little rural town in WI. Both of my brothers were paramedics back in college, so I guess I’ve learned via osmosis and personal experience.

My story is one of pain and revelation, of realizing an unknown dream AND it all started with a trip on the back of a motorcycle…..

I was tainted by association..

So as with many teenagers in the ’70s…the days of “Sex, Drugs & Rock ‘n Roll” I was unsure of what I was going to do with my life. I have always been an “instant gratification” kinda gal which did/did not always serve me well, but that’s a story for another day! I quit high school when I was a Junior because I was truly bored, and then decided to go back my Senior year to get my diploma which ended up a disaster. They actually asked me to leave. Unfortunately, due to association, they accused me of dealing drugs on school grounds which I NEVER did. I may have taken them back then, but never ever dealt to others. So, with that, my highschool days were over. I will say Waukegan High School was not known for it’s education system. I believe (I could be wrong) that they had one of the higher drop out rates back then, but again, that’s my memory.

NOW what…

After fumbling around for a bit, I decided to join the Air Force. I had my test taken, they had determined that my inner mechanical ability(yes, I took Auto Mechanics when I was going to school!) would align me as an airplane mechanic and all I had to do was sign the papers.  Well, at that time, a good friend of mine that I played on the same softball team for the park district with let me know the bank she worked at was looking for help and did I want to apply. I thought about it and said yes, I really didn’t want to leave my friends, the softball team I was on, so no Air Force, no airplane mechanic and off to work as a proof operator in a Lake Forest Bank and Trust. Turned out I needed a High School diploma to get this job, so I went and got my G.E.D. diploma. I didn’t study for it, had been out of school for 2 years, but scored very high and passed. Guess I learned something in school!

I’m a banker?? Uh, maybe not….

This began my banking operations career. Chris and I became roommates and I worked at the bank for a time (I truly can’t remember how long!) and then decided I should go to community college and learn about computer operations. So off to study about computers and I’ll tell you one of the courses was about coding.. That did NOT click with me.. the whole idea of flow charts and how to tell a computer how to behave was not in my wheelhouse. I struggled with that aspect of it (although it makes sense now!) and one day someone came into class stating a place he worked at was looking for a computer operator to work nights.

Now, remember, I always stated I was an instant gratification kinda gal, so I thought to myself that since I’m going to school for operations, what better opportunity than to get a job doing what I’m going to school for! How great would that be! Yep, you guessed it, I got the job and left school. I worked 3rd shift and truly enjoyed it. I learned a lot. We were bought out by an Arlington Heights outfit and all operations moved. It was exciting, I was moving up and would be working days!

Ok, is there a connection here?

I know by now you are wondering what this all has to do with bones, motorcycles and voice over work….Ok, let’s start a connection. Back in the 70s again, I loved motorcycles and dated guys who had great bikes and chopped Harley Davidsons. I absolutely LOVED riding. I never rode myself, but loved the feel of the wind in my hair and the openness of riding. The weekend our company was moving, I went on a 1st date with “Michael” and we went riding out in the country all day. He didn’t have a Harley, but we had fun anyway ;). We were on our way back to his house (maybe 1 minute away) where I had left my car so I could head home. It was probably around11PM that Saturday, July 15 1978. Leisurely riding along westbound Sunset Ave around a curve, enjoying myself just looking out to the right when BOOM.

Ok, what the hell just happened?

Next thing I know, I’m sitting in the middle of the road, unsure of what happened. My head cleared and I looked at my situation. I looked down at my leg and let out a blood curdling scream. I couldn’t see from my knee down and thought I had lost my leg. So I regrouped and felt my leg realizing it WAS attached. It got broken so badly it was twisted back behind me which is why I couldn’t see it initially. Michael in the meantime had tried to stand up but realized he couldn’t stand. He shuffled over to me and tried to drag me out of the street. I yelled at him not to move me cause I knew there was a major problem. I looked around to realize there was no one around and it was probably close to midnight.

Karen…pull yourself together..

The car that hit us left the scene…we were alone. Suddenly there were car lights and I start waving my arms so they would see us in the road. The car stops and soon after the ambulance followed. The guy that hit us had been drinking with his girlfriend was following in her car when he missed the curve, hit us broadside and took off. Thank God she made him come back to the scene. He actually held me till the ambulance got there. Then they whisked me off to Victory Hospital which turned out to be the longest 1st date ever….

Next installment will go into that date. Stay tuned and thanks for reading!