Sonia Marsh's Blog, page 37

My “Castaway Island” interview

I just landed in Paris yesterday and have been interviewed by Felicity Lennie.

http://youtu.be/dFCNXbfwAcI

http://bookislandcastaway.blogspot.co...

“My Gutsy Story” Tracy Leigh Ball

Trip to Nowhere: An Unforgettable Journey

            As I look back throughout those memories of Nashville, the hard lessons I have learned then and along the way have made me truly thankful for each and every step that I have had to take to make me who I am today. Nashville did not change me but the events surrounding my life at that time, did. However, this does not excuse any parent from the idea that it is alright to send their child out into the world alone without supervision, to live out a dream, whether it be their dream or the child’s dream; and not expect there to be consequences to follow. Do not be naive to the idea that nothing will happen to your child because things do happen and if you think closing your mind to such thoughts will make you feel better, guess again!

I saw horrible things at age sixteen that no child should have to ever witness, I saw kids my own age walking the streets with guitars hanging off their backs, begging for food, waiting for the chance to be heard, to be discovered, only to be ignored, walked over, passed by, and I often wonder how many of those innocent souls made it out alive.

One afternoon, a man came into town claiming to be a talent scout out of Nashville, Tennessee. His name was J.T. Willy. My parents talked it over with me and asked if I wanted to audition for this man and that they would be willing to allow me to do so. My heart was pumping because this was a chance of a lifetime for me. I wanted to go to Nashville and I felt I was ready, so my dad made the phone call and this gentleman and his wife showed up at our doorstep. He was a big man, not much to speak of. He was a smooth talker and his wife was mousy and did not say too much. He made himself comfortable in my parents’ living room, while I sang my heart out for him. J.T was also a singer and he sounded just like Johnny Cash, and after I was finished, he complimented me and told my parents “I can make this young lady a star.” He then invited us to a place in Madison, Wisconsin where he was performing with some friends and wanted to see how I would do with a live audience and my parents agreed. When we arrived, there was another man present, his name was Casey. After being introduced, I was then thrown up on stage with the band and again, I sang my heart out without fear, capturing my audience without incidence.

Here is where the problems began; my parents were told they had to pay $250.00 upfront in order to confirm my position within the company. We then signed a contract without any lawyer present, which is an absolute no-no. My parents believed that what they were doing for me was a good thing and had no idea the contract was bogus and just for show.

My first road trip was to Bismarck, North Dakota with J.T and his wife. My Second trip, J.T. decided to send me out with Casey to Redwood, Minnesota to perform for a week with a band and I ended up coming home three days after because Casey tried to take advantage of me in a hotel room and when I denied his advances, he dumped me with the band and left. The band put me on a bus and sent me home. You can imagine how horrifying it would be for a sixteen- year-old to have to encounter this type of situation and be far from home.

Nashville bound! A dream of a lifetime, or so I thought. Once I arrived, my nightmare began. One lie after another and the so called company was office space they rented on Music Row above another Record company. They had a cot set up in a spare office for me to sleep in. Months had gone by and nothing, I went into the recording studio and recorded Hey Big Man, and Baby With You…but later found out that all I did was record my voice over someone else’s. When I started demanding answers, and wanting to do more, they became frustrated with me, in return they sent me on a bogus trip to Florida, informing me that this was a hotel circuit job. I had no idea it was a one way ticket to nowhere.

I arrived back in Nashville to a locked building with an eviction notice. I was ditched. I decided I had to fight back and survive and I did just that. I hid my luggage, walked the streets, worked in a soup kitchen, and survived. There is more to this story but the main point is never sending your child away with someone you barely know.

Make sure you do your homework first before you dive into something that you think looks really good. What happened to me has happened to many others and I am sure my story sounds cliché. I am leaving so much out and what this did to me years ago. The self esteem issues I dealt with, feeling like a failure and loosing the one dream I lived for the most. I had to walk away from singing forever. I buried these memories for many years because it hurt too much! Nashville is the place to go to showcase your talents, but in the heart of it all, the darker side is rarely seen unless you actually have lived it. Trust me it is not as glorious as it seems!

I am sharing my story today so that I can help prevent others from doing the same thing my parents did. I am over the blame game as it should be now. But I was only sixteen! What did I know?

 

Tracy Leigh Ball Bio:

Tracy Leigh Ball was born and raised in the beautiful state of Wisconsin and still reside there today.  Currently a full time student earning her BA in English at Ashford University, Tracy plans to become a Teacher of Creative Writing. Tracy is a published author of 4 books; three poetry: Expressions of Life,

Silent Whispers: Poetry from the Soul, and Dancing with Words, and her first Fiction/Mainstream novel:

The Disappearance of Vera Dressler.

Tracy hopes to one day run and maintain her own magazine strictly for writers of all genres and she hopes to teach all ages about writing, and inspire everyone to believe in their dream of becoming published authors. Everyone has a story to tell, it is how you present that story that will forever form the relationship between you and the reader. Tracy believes that anyone can tap into their creative side if they just believe!

You can connect with Tracy on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and finally the

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Sonia Marsh Says:

I can only imagine the emotions you must have gone through, from the moment T.J. complimented you and told your parents “I can make this young lady a star,” to the incident with Casey trying to take advantage of you in a hotel room. As you say, “I am sharing my story today so that I can help prevent others from doing the same thing my parents did.”

Thank you for making parents aware of what happens when you send your child away to become a “star” without taking the necessary legal steps and more.

Please leave your comments for Tracy below, and she will be over to answer them.

Don’t forget to vote for your favorite August, “My Gutsy Story.” You have until September 12th to vote and the winner will be announced on September 13th. Please go to the sidebar to VOTE and click on your favorite story of the month. Thanks, and please share with your favorite social media buttons below.
***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

An honest quick “chat” with Sonia

 

Sonia Marsh having fun at her book launch

An “old” blogger friend wrote to me the other day and said something that made me think:

“I would very much like to hear more from YOU. Yes, you’ve shared bits about the book launch, but what is happening to Sonia? What is Sonia thinking and feeling? “

So in honor of  Rob-bear, I am going to answer his questions:

I am living on an adrenaline rush these days.
I love what I’m doing but it’s exhausting.
Cookie, my rat terrier isn’t getting as many walks as she used to.
Unfortunately I don’t have as much time to respond to my friends’ e-mails as I used to.
Like many of my writer friends, I’m online as soon as I wake up.
I would like to set up an office in my son’s bedroom now that he’s left home. I think a splash of yellow paint on the walls, colorful drapes and flowers on my desk, would make my office a relaxing space for me.
This evening I have an event in Dana Point at 5 pm  with Tom Blake.
Saturday at Peet’s Coffee with some nice raffle prizes.
I have a book signing event at Laguna Playhouse next week, which I’m looking forward to, thanks to Michelle Bendetti for setting up.
I’m on a virtual blog tour with some wonderful people who are hosting me. I know they are patiently waiting for me to answer their questions.

I’ve done two so far:

Sonia’s 1st interview with author Susan Pohlman on Expat Chat 8-31-12

Sonia’s 2nd interview with Shirley Showalter on 100 memoirs 9-3-12

I shall be on FrenchYummyMummy.com with Muriel Demarcus, a French expat in London, tomorrow. Come watch our Hangout video.

Thank you Rob-bear for letting me share what’s going on in my life. It’s all good.

I have included some of my local events, and hope to meet you in person at one of them.

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Don’t forget to vote for your favorite August, “My Gutsy Story.” You have until September 12th to vote and the winner will be announced on September 13th. Please go to the sidebar to VOTE and click on your favorite story of the month. Thanks, and please share with your favorite social media buttons below.
***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

“My Gutsy Story” by Tom Cirignano

I started my virtual blog tour on August 31st. I shall be interviewed by bloggers around the world during September and October. I hope you visit these creative bloggers as many are authors and experts in their fields.
Please hop over to:

Sonia’s 1st interview with author Susan Pohlman on Expat Chat 8-31-12

Sonia’s 2nd Interview with Shirley Showalter on 100 memoirs 9-3-12

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A Boston TV show, “New England Magazine,” featured a story about an ultralight aircraft that was easy to fly, and no pilot’s license was needed to fly it. Instantly, I knew I had to have one.

With instruction, I learned to fly the twin-engine, single-seat aircraft at the field where I purchased it.

The flight manual specified a minimum runway length of three hundred “unobstructed” feet; in other words, a football field. But, I was determined to find a way to fly it from somewhere close to home, where I wouldn’t have to dismantle and transport it.

Tom Cirignano with his ultralight

A Little League baseball diamond that was a few hundred feet from our home was nowhere near three hundred feet long in itself, but it bordered the waterfront where there was a drop-off to the ocean. I figured, “If I get the wheels off the ground before I reach the seawall, I will be just fine heading out over the open water.”

Coming in for a landing on that small field would be tricky, but I decided to worry about that later. I always felt that if I overanalyzed everything I wanted to do, I would eventually talk myself out of taking any chances in life. Besides, I was confident that I could pull this off.

That morning, my young bride slept in, deciding she wouldn’t watch what she considered an ill-advised take-off attempt. She actually used stronger words than that when I told her what I was planning to do. But nonetheless, she raised her head off the pillow and whispered, “Have a good flight.”

Quite a group of friends and neighbors gathered at the field to watch me launch the plane and render moral support. I started the two engines and strapped myself in with the seatbelt, shoulder harness, and put on my helmet. It was time to go for it. I gave both engines full throttle. My friends guided the wing until I got moving.

It was as if everything happened in slow motion. The engines roared loudly, and I was going faster and faster. The end of the field, and the ocean, were approaching, but I still was not in the air. But, I was mentally committed. I knew I could make it!

My friends were all yelling, “Shut it down! Shut it down!” They thought I wasn’t going to make it off the ground. I had dreamt about trying this for way too long. I wasn’t about to shut anything down.

Just feet from the edge of the seawall, the front wheel lifted off! I was airborne, and smiling! Gaining altitude, I glanced below me at the jagged rocks passing harmlessly under my butt. I felt I had safely achieved my goal as I reached twenty and then thirty feet of altitude.

Suddenly, a sick feeling set in. You know—the feeling that takes over your gut the moment you realize things are about to go downhill fast. As I got out over the cold seawater, I felt a sinking sensation, in more ways than one. I failed to consider a basic fundamental of flight. Air over warm fields rises, but air over cold ocean water falls, causing down-drafts.

Losing altitude, my heart sank with disappointment. There was nothing I could do. I realized it was hopeless. I was going to crash.

If I hit the water with those propellers spinning at thousands of RPM’s, they would shatter into pieces, possibly hurting or killing me. I shut down both engines just prior to hitting the water and took a really deep breath.

Because the heavy engines were mounted up high, behind my head, the aircraft instantly flipped upside down and sank like a rock to the bottom, coming to rest on the ocean floor. Hanging upside down, I was strapped into my shoulder harness and seatbelt, wearing my helmet. Under ten to twelve feet of ice cold water, I knew if I panicked while fumbling to undo all the clasps of my safety gear, I was a goner. Still holding my breath, I thought to myself, “Everything better go smoothly.”

While underwater and restrained, time stood still. I experienced an eerie feeling of total aloneness, much different from the euphoric, all alone feeling I had expected to enjoy while flying. In the darkness, I blindly searched for the release clasps and easily found them. It was something I had practiced, just in case the need ever arose. I undid my shoulder restraints first and then my seatbelt. All buckles and straps released without a problem and I swam away from my seat.

Attempting to surface, I found myself trapped under the fabric wing, so I dove back down and swam to the side until I could safely surface. That was a move I remembered from reading a section in my flight manual, titled, “In the event of a water landing.”

My friends began clapping when my helmet popped through the surface of the water. I was surprised to see everyone nice and dry on shore, just watching. Nobody was rushing to assist me.

Wearing a long face, I walked home by myself to get rope. At the house, I checked on my wife.  She raised her head off her pillow, saw me soaked from head to toe, and smiled. She simple stated, “How was your flight?” It was her way of saying, “I told you that was a stupid idea,” I returned her smile, saying, “I’ll fill you in after I get the plane out of the ocean.”

Feeling quite downhearted back at the field, I dove in and tied the rope to the plane. My friends dragged it out of the bay. Once home, I flushed and washed everything out with fresh water. Then, just to be safe, I decided to ship both engines back to the factory and have them rebuilt with the “high performance upgrade” that I originally opted not to pay for. Those few extra horsepower would have kept me in the air.

***

Tom Cirignano Bio:
Thomas M. Cirignano was born in Dorchester, Ma., in 1952. As a young man, he moved to South Boston to take over the family’s auto repair business. While living and working in Southie, Tom experienced, first-hand, the unbridled crime and violence related to Mobster Whitey Bulger’s reign of terror. During the years of “Forced Busing,” Tom lived directly across the street from South Boston High School and saw the resulting violence unfold right on his doorstep. He survived the stress and violence related to running a filling station in the heart of Southie during the oil embargo and gas shortages of the 1970s.
Thomas Cirignano studied journalism. He has been a contributing writer and served as an advisory member on the New Bedford Standard-Times Editorial Board. He is a certified scuba diver, ultralight aircraft pilot, has owned several motorcycles, and loves boating. 

Tom is the author of two books.

The Constant Outsider: Memoirs of a South Boston Mechanic , and

       67 Cents: Creation of a Killer.    Both titles are available in print, and on Amazon Kindle.

You can find his books on his website. Please join his Facebook page

Sonia Marsh Says: Tom, this truly shows the “Gutsy” side of a young man who just goes for it. Thankfully your mishap ended well, and your new bride had you back home, although it sounds like you tried again with more powerful engines.

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Don’t forget to vote for your favorite August, “My Gutsy Story.” You have until September 12th to vote and the winner will be announced on September 13th. Please go to the sidebar to VOTE and click on your favorite story of the month. Thanks, and please share with your favorite social media buttons below.
***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

Vote for your favorite August “My Gutsy Story”

 

This month we have 4 wonderful stories to vote for.

Apologies for being one day late this month, but I had my book launch yesterday and you can view all photos here.

Heidi Morell: is a true inspiration to all of us, especially when we take our health for granted. Heidi has MSA and reminds us to “appreciate what we have right now,” and that, “it can always be worse.”

Heidi Morell

 

Sharon Melton Lippincott: paints a picture of her strong-willed Grandma Rene, and how she stood up for what you wanted, defying convention. During the process, she enabled Grandma Rene to show her softer side.

Sharon Melton Lippincott

 

Barbara Ehrentreu:  Shares a story of the power of love, and how her “gutsy” decision at twenty, was the right one.

Barbara Ehrentreu

 

Laura Dennis: Brings up some interesting questions about being both the adoptive mother, the adopted child and the birth mother. She asks the question, “When did your adoptive mom become a mother?”

Laura Dennis

Please check out their websites by clicking on their names above.

You each get ONE VOTE, and please share with your friends and bloggers so the winner can pick his/her prize from our list of sponsors.

The voting starts August 31st until September 12th and the winner will be announced on September 13th. Please go to the sidebar to VOTE and click on your favorite story of the month. Thanks, and please share with your favorite social media buttons below.
***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

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Book Launch Party! My BIG Day is here

Tonight is my book launch. This is a day I’ve been working towards for the last seven years since I started my journal in Belize.

In celebration of all authors I’ve met and connected with over the past seven years, I can say that you all deserve to be congratulated for your hard work. I never realized what it takes to write a book until I went through all the headaches, anxiety, frustrations, rewrites, edits, re-edits, and finally a book in my hands.

This celebration is for all of you.

On my BIG day, I am going to make a speech, and with so many people to thank, I’m afraid the speech will come across as the ones we hear at the Academy Awards.

As you can see on the poster above, I wish to thank Laguna Beach Books for hosting my event, and six sponsors.

I would like to thank the following businesses for their kind sponsorship:

K’Ya Bistro, for offering some yummy appetizers.
Eva’s Caribbean Kitchen, for offering rum punch
Laguna Playhouse for offering two complimentary tickets to the performance of “Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. (One of our 4 raffle prizes)
Brighton Collectibles in Corona del Mar, California, is offering a very special necklace and bracelet gift for our raffle. Thanks to Lynn and Linda.
Regency Theaters, 4 free tickets thanks to Larrry Poricelli.
Spectrum Specialties & Awards, A bottle of Pinot Noir wine set.

My apologies for starting the voting for your favorite August “My Gutsy Story” contest tomorrow instead of today, but you will have until September 12th to vote. Come back tomorrow to VOTE.

“My Gutsy Story” by Laura Dennis

 

Becoming a Mother

Even before I was completely sewn back together, I held my newborn. In those first moments of hormones, love, and crying baby, I knew with my entire being that I could not, would not, ever let her go. How could anyone give up such a precious little girl? How very devastated would I be if I had to relinquish this person who I’d just made, who was mine, all mine?

And yet, that was exactly what my birth mom did to me.

Of course, I knew she’d loved me. That’s what my adoptive mom always said, “Your birth mom loved you enough to give you up. And now I love you.”

The adoption agency told us that my birth mom even wanted to hold me before I was taken away. Meaning that, on some level, I had in fact been wanted. Even for my child’s mind, this was a very important distinction indeed.

Agencies peddling closed adoptions encouraged the birth mom to forget about the baby, to move on with her life. They reassured the adoptive parents that the bond of love offered by the well-educated, stable adoptive mother replaced that of the birth mother. The infant lacked cognitive ability to know there’d been a switch. If introduced to her new mom early enough, she would bond with no problems.

What psychologists are coming to understand is that newborns are capable of learning, and therefore capable of memory. If a newborn can remember, then the mother-child bond is there. It’s preverbal; she won’t even be able to articulate it once she can talk. Nevertheless, that primal connection exists.

It turns out that the child’s bond with the adoptive family is in addition to her original bond with her birth mother. And there’s enough love to go around.

When I reunited with my birth mom as a young adult, I was inexorably drawn to her, connected on a profound level. In her presence, I knew I was whole, and I knew she had loved me all those years. I understood that even though she didn’t have her baby with her, even though she didn’t know her child, she was still a mother.

At the time, I didn’t have children. In fact, directly after meeting my birth mother, I broke off an engagement to a man who was ready start a family. I for one was adamantly not ready to be pregnant; as evidenced by the stupid act of starving myself so thin that I didn’t menstruate, thereby becoming (temporarily) infertile. Besides, I planned to adopt a perfectly healthy baby. As a dancer, I wanted to remain thin and agile, and certainly couldn’t do that with a huge pregnant belly. No need to “ruin” my body, I argued.

This semi-delusional thinking took years to unravel. Finally, I came to accept the stark, but simple, reality that closed adoption is deeply flawed. Children are meant to be with their biological mothers, to look into the faces of people who look just like them, and to know that they belong.

Yes, adoption as an institution is necessary. Yes, it will always exist. Yes, it gives “unwanted” babies to loving parents who otherwise couldn’t start a family. Fine. I get it. But I won’t adopt a child. Being adopted and having had experienced the same loss of identity would not help me raise an adopted child.

With this in mind, I married a wonderful man, and we agreed to start a family. I can’t say I enjoyed being pregnant, but I did it. I grew a nine pound baby inside of me. She was likely too big, in fact, for a natural birth, my OB advised. On the appointed day, I was terrified. I hate hospitals, I hate blood and guts and gross bodily functions. But the baby had to come out, I reminded myself over and over.

I hadn’t felt like a mom when I decided to start a family. I hadn’t felt like a mom when I was pregnant. Then, while the doctor was finishing up my scheduled caesarean, I held my daughter and I knew it could be hell-and-high-water and I’d never let go. Those immature, selfish predilections I’d held onto well into adulthood melted away as I realized my life was no longer just my own anymore. In other words, I knew I was a mom.

The sun set on a gloomy February day, and I sent my husband home. I wasn’t scared to sleep in the hospital without him after all. I invited no one to visit me. I had my baby: the only person I wanted to see. The night nurse offered to take her to the nursery so I could rest. I politely declined. The thought of being away from my baby was unbearable, as if I would die.

I slept little that first night. I kept imagining the hospital room on the day my birth mom became a mother. Even at the age of seventeen, she felt distinctly that giving birth was the proudest moment of her life. She didn’t have any visitors, either. My birth was a secret. On the day I was born, she’d held me, even took a few photos before the nurses realized all of that might not be okay.

Then she let me go. But she never forgot me, and she would always be a mother.

When did my adoptive mom become a mother? The morning I was born? The day she received the call that her baby could be picked up the very next day, she’d better go buy an infant car seat? The moment the social worker put me in her arms?

For my two moms and me, that moment was the same: holding our daughter for the very first time. With the birth my baby girl, I had joined their ranks of irrevocably binding, fierce-as-a-lioness motherhood.

Laura Dennis and her family

Laura Dennis Bio:

Laura Dennis was born in New Jersey and raised in Maryland, but she learned how to be a (sane) person in California, where she lost her mind and found it again in 2001. A professionally trained dancer, Laura gave up aches and pains and bloody feet in 2004 to become a stylish, sales director for a biotech startup. Then with two children under the age of three, in 2010 she and her husband sought to simplify their lifestyle and escaped to his hometown, Belgrade. While the children learned Serbian in their cozy preschool, Laura recovered from sleep deprivation and wrote Adopted Reality.

You can join Laura on her sites by clicking the appropriate one:

Facebook, Twitter, Laura’s blog, LinkedIn, and to order her book, please visit Laura’s website.

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Sonia Marsh Says:

Laura, you bring up some interesting questions about being both the adoptive mother, the adopted child and the birth mother. I like the way you question when did your adoptive mom become a mother?

“The morning I was born? The day she received the call that her baby could be picked up the very next day, she’d better go buy an infant car seat? The moment the social worker put me in her arms?”

A great conclusion that makes us all mothers.

“For my two moms and me, that moment was the same: holding our daughter for the very first time.”

***

Laura Dennis’ story is the last one this month. We also have Barbara Ehrentreu’s story, Heidi Morrell’s, and Sharon Melton Lippincott’s.

Due to my book launch on Thursday, August 30th, the vote for your favorite August “My Gutsy Story” will start on August 31st, until September 12th. The winner will be announced on September 13th.

***

Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

 

 

My “OC Register” Interview on Front Page

Sonia holding a copy of OC Register 8-23-12 and pointing to the article written by Lori Basheda “Lake Forest family leaves the rat race.”

Yes, today I’m bragging. I couldn’t believe it when Register writer, Lori Basheda, told me that her article about my family escaping OC for Belize would make the front cover of the OC Register.

I woke up early, ran to buy 3 copies of the OC Register outside my local bagel shop, and asked my husband to take some photos of me holding the paper in our back yard.

The story continues on Page 13, and I had to get another photo of that page. As you can see, the OC Register photograher took a photo of me at Laguna Beach, holding my book, Freeways to Flip-Flops: A Family’s Year of Gutsy Living on a Tropical Island.

OC register article “Freeways to Flip-Flops”

You can read the online version of my interview with Lori Basheda, here.

There are extra photos to look at on the online version and if you would be so kind as to leave a comment on the online version. I was told the more comments, the longer that article will remain online.

Thanks to all of you for your support.

Sonia

 

“My Gutsy Story” by Barbara Ehrentreu

The Night I Changed My Life

 During my senior year of college I spent half of it with my boyfriend. Then he left to go to New York City to take a job so he could make enough money to come back for the following year. Every night we talked on the phone for hours and though nothing had been said we were each so involved I knew this wasn’t any ordinary relationship. When at last I returned home for spring vacation, my parents had a long talk with me one night. They were concerned that I was wasting my chances with this young man who had just come back from serving in the military and hadn’t graduated from college. The year was 1965 and my parents wanted me to date other men. The argument went on for hours with me trying to explain why I was drawn to this extraordinary man and how he had affected me. They were worried that maybe he was going to dominate me and I wouldn’t reach my full potential. He had said some really dumb things in an attempt to be controversial as some young men who are rebelling within society will sometimes do. So my parents were worried and urged me with their angry voices to stop this nonsense and give him up. I wound up with tears streaming down my face staring my parents in the eyes and telling them I couldn’t stay there one second more.

In 1965 young girls did not wander around at night alone. I could barely see from the tears blinding me and I grabbed a few things and ran out the door screaming to them that I was leaving and going to my boyfriend who lived in an apartment hotel in Manhattan in a very seedy area. I lived in Kew Gardens, Queens and had to take two subway trains to get to him. I walked outside to a dark and empty street and hopped on a bus to the subway. I called him from a pay phone and said I was coming. We were very much in love so he was thrilled to have me come over to him. I didn’t care that it was past midnight and the subway was filled with the usual characters. There were homeless men who sat alone in the middle of a circle of empty seats. There were the entertainers who went from car to car trying to get people to give them money and of course there were the normal people who rode the subway with vacant eyes. I, not even 21, though a veteran subway rider during the day, had never been alone on the subway at night. I gritted my teeth and tried to be as invisible as possible as I rode the train to the hotel near 14th Street. When I got up the subway stairs to the bustling street I had a moment of panic. What was I doing? Would my parents ever talk to me again? I had no other place to live until I had to go back to school.

Approaching the apartment hotel, I felt a little awkward. Nice girls didn’t go into these places at night and especially to a man’s hotel room alone. I felt almost cheap and nearly left. However, I sucked in my breath and walked through the lobby to the desk clerk and asked him to notify the room. Riding in the elevator I still had second thoughts. But when I found the room and my boyfriend opened the door and saw me I walked into his arms. We spent the night together and the next day we went for a walk on a horse path near the hotel. He seemed nervous and unsettled. Finally, a little way down the path he stopped and got down on one knee with a ring box in one hand. He asked me to marry him and placed the ring, his grandmother’s pearl ring with diamonds on either side of the pearl, on my finger. I said yes and hugged him so hard we almost couldn’t stand. I knew then that my life had changed forever. I had made a decision to spend the rest of my life with this firebrand of a man and it went against all my parents had wanted for me.

Nothing was ever the same again and at that moment I said goodbye to the girl I had been and became the woman I was to be. The future was an open book and I was very happy to open it and begin my new life.

My life has had its ups and downs since that day and I have been at the side of this man as my husband since the day we married. We have navigated a very unusual life that has not been quiet or uneventful and he has never stopped being the same opinionated and argumentative man. My parents are long gone, but after that night they eventually learned to love him too.

Barbara Ehrentreu Bio:

Barbara, a retired teacher with a Masters degree in Reading and Writing K-12 and seventeen years of teaching experience lives with her family in Stamford, Connecticut. She has been editing for 4RVPublishing for several years. When she received her Masters degree she began writing seriously. If I Could Be Like Jennifer Taylor is Barbara’s first YA novel published by MuseItUp Publishing.

In addition she has a story in the anthology: Lavender Dreams and three poems in Prompted: An International Collection of Poems.

Barbara was a NY Literature Examiner for Examiner.com with several articles for them. Her blog, Barbara’s Meanderings, is networked on both Facebook and Blog Catalog. She hosts Red River Writers Live Tales from the Pages on Blog Talk Radio every 4th Thursday. In addition, her children’s story, “The Trouble with Follow the Leader” and an adult story, “Out on a Ledge” are published online She has written book reviews for Authorlink.com. and several of her reviews have been on Acewriters and Celebrity Café. She is a member of SCBWI. Writing is her life! You can find her on Twitter and on Facebook, and LinkedIn

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Sonia Marsh Says: What a lovely story of the power of love, and how your “gutsy” decision at twenty, was the right one for you. As a mom, I understand what your parents were thinking and feeling, but you proved them wrong by having a long lasting marriage.

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Please leave your comments for Barbara below and share with your fellow readers. Thanks.

Barbara Ehrentreu’s story is the third one this month. We also have Heidi Morrell’s, and Sharon Melton Lippincott’s. The vote for your favorite August “My Gutsy Story” will start on August 30th, until September 12th. The winner will be announced on September 13th.

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Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.

Winner of the July “My Gutsy Story”

We’ve had an unprecedented TIE!!  Due to an unfortunate glitch with the poll, it did not close at midnight as programmed, and votes were still coming in this morning. But according to the poll logs at 12:00 AM, we have two winners, who each scored 59 votes.

 

My Gutsy Story 1st place

Juanima Hiatt

Congratulations to Juanima Hiatt for her incredible story which will help others and give hope to those who face PTSD. Juanima’s goal is, “to shatter the stigma of PTSD and abuse, and inspire others to break the silence.” She has a memoir out which I am reading and recommend called: The Invisible Storm.

 

My Gutsy Story 1st place

Belinda Nicoll

Congratulations also go to Belinda, an expat from South Africa who moved to the U.S., in 2001.  She shows us how change can also present us with opportunities in life. Please check out her book, Out of Sync,  I am enjoying reading about Belinda’s life in the U.S after moving over from South Africa.

My Gutsy Story 2nd place

Mary Hertslet

Mary Herslet has an uplifting story about her life, and her words of wisdom can help all of us. “Take advantage of your opportunities, follow your passions, and never stop learning.“ We are all encouraging her to finish her memoir.

 

My Gutsy Story 3rd place

Sherrey Meyer

3rd place goes to Sherrey Meyer. Sherrey’s story showed us how she overcame the cruel threats of her mother’s psychological games and threats of suicide.

 

Bob Lowry

4th place goes to Bob Lowry who inspired us with his remarkable story of how perseverance and staying “Gutsy” paid off as far as leaving the corporate world and finding his own job.

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We already have two wonderful new stories for August with Heidi Morrell and Sharon Melton Lippincott.

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 Do you have a “My Gutsy Story” you’d like to share?

 

To submit your own, “My Gutsy Story” you can find all the information, and our sponsors on the “My Gutsy Story” contest page. (VIDEO) Submission guidelines here.