We empower our generation to voice your concerns and hopes. We fight for tomorrow's generation to experience a brighter future and hope for every individual.
As older Americans, it is essential to protect our children and grandchildren from destruction of our environment, loss of our democracy, and potentially fighting World War III!
We need to protect our freedoms and our financial stability. Our Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is under threat. Our private information has been invaded. All of this to benefit the billionaires.
Let's have fun, but empower yourself to be active, be responsible, and be a voice for all.
Predict the future by creating it
You didn’t come this far to stop
Our Children are the Future! Focus on Them NOW!
Let's Get to the Future with a View of the Past and the Present!
We will focus articles, blogs. podcasts, chats, pictures, and vidoes, but the following sections are about the past and how we got here! It's important to know the past, so we can fight for a better future!
The Past
My Story - My Parents
I waas born in 1961. It was a very different time..My father, Ken Pretzer, was born in 1919. His family was extremely protestant. He really didn't like school, but he loved the lake. He had 2 siblings, his brother Willard and his sister Margie. Willard was 2 years younger them him. My Aunt Margie was 9 years younger. My grandparents lived on Schaaf Road in Cleveland Ohio. Howard worked for the Federal Reserve of Cleveland. My grandma Florence was a stay at home mom, but everyone was back than. My dad was a roadie in a band in high school and he was not allowed to o if the band played at a Catholic school. My grandfather was a 32nd degree Mason. My grandma was in the Eastern Stars. My dad was never lik
He was drafted the day after Pearl Harbor and was in basic training January 1, 1942. He spent the entire war in Australia. He was a decorated Staff Sergeant. He handled all of the supplies for everyone stationed in Australia. Although he was Army, he was detached to the Air Force. He took dead bodies out of planes, rescued down pilots, and a bunch of other things. Unfortunately I don't know alot about that time. He, like most of the boys, didn't talk about when they got home. I know he had a pet kangaroo and a parrot that swore at officers. He got malaria that had negative effects on him the rest of his life. He was on a boat home on VJ day. He crossed the equator twice.
My Uncle Will volunteered for the Air Force. He was a pilot based out of Italy. He was shot down over Czechoslovakia on Friday, October 13, 1944. Yep Friday the 13th. He spent the rest of the war in a POW camp.
My grandma made scrapbooks for both the boys. They were incredible and told a story of their war years.
My mom was born in 1920 to polish immigrants, and she was very poor. They spoke Polish at home. My Grandma was bed-ridden from the time was 9 years old. She had an older sister, Helen, an older brother, Chester, and a younger sister, Eleanor. Uncle Chester dropped out of school, so he could go to work. Aunt Helen was a wild child and left home at 14. She and my mom were not close. My Auntie Eleanor was very close to my mom and very much a part of our life growing.
Ultimately, my mom, Ann Loje, went to work for the Federal Reserve of Cleveland, and that is how my parents finally met.
My Story - Growing Up!
Like I said I was born in 1961. I was adopted by Ann and Ken. I had an amazing older sister, Karen. She was creative, fun, funny, and put up with me even though really wanted me to be a live doll! Like I said , she was ver creative. She curled m hair when Mom and Dad had a big New's Eve Part with the Birthda Clb. It wasn't her fault I wanted to see if the heating element was still hot whemn ou took the roller off. I still have the scar! It wasn't her fault I freaked out 8 months after ou decided to tell me m real partners were Jewish. We were swimming in Economos pool when she told me. It was April the following year. I was preparing for m First Communion. I came home cring. M Mom asked what was wron, so I wanted to know if I could make m First Communion even though I was Jewsh. M mom caught on when she noticed Karen crawling out of the famil room. I didn't beleive when she told me I was Charles Mason's bastard child. She introduced me to Dark Shadows. I had the worst night,\mare I ever had after an edipisode of that show. She introduced me to Bruce Springsteen when I was in 8th grade. She played "Born to Run", and I fell in vlove with the music and the man. It's lasted my whole life!..She got me a fake ID, so I could go to see Bruce at the Agora in 1977. Wow, I rocked it! She influenced all of m music choices from Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young, James Taylor, Joannie Mitchell, Paul Simon, and many more. Karen passed aw in 2020, and I will miss her forever.
My family moved into the pink house in 1965. It was a great place to grow up. Lots of kids, great neighbors, the valley, a tandem, Economo's pool, the church bells from OLA, the lightening bugs, the games of Red Rover, watching Dark Shadows, Lost in Space and reruns of Gilligan's Island on the black and white TV, and eating snacks that were SOOOO bad for you. I remember the Moon Landing on July 20, 1969. It was Sal's birthday, and I got him a rocket. My family watched iut together on the couch. My dad and I were enthralled. Karen and my mom were not as ecited.
There was also the really bad stuff like JFK's assassination, Jon Jon saluting at his father's grave, my first memory, MLK's assassination, RFK's assassination, Kent State, the race riots in Hough. Hard to believe it was 56 years ago. We celebrated the Bicentennial in 1976. It was my first paid babysitting gig!
Life went on. In 1975, I graduated from St. Angela Merici's. We are having our 50 Runion this year. I would like to go back. I went to Magnificat for high school. I was in plays at Mags, St. Ignatius, and St. Ed's. Smoked a lot of weed at Freak's Field by the green barn. Drank and smaked too much. I made tons of friends. I still consider them the best friends ever. Oh Eileen and I have been best friends since kindergarten. Love you, Een! I graduated in 1979 and headed for Purdue.
Purdue was a corn field in Indiana. It was not the right place for me, but I had good friends. Unfortunately, I have lost touch with them. Bernice, Matt, Joe, Donna, Ginny, Sue, I miss you. If you see this, please touch base!
My Story - Pretending to be an Adult...
In May 1983, I graduated from Purdue, I went home to the pink house in Fairview ParkOhio. I started work at the Board of Elections in Cuyahoga County. Crazy as it might sound, I got my jobs through the Republican Party since my dad was a staunch republican. I went to work for the Big Haired Lady, Jimmy's mom, and she was a great boss. I mostly stayed out of trouble!
In September, I got my first real job at CNS as a reporter for a trade publication Ken Krych hired me and during my interview I learned he was playing the piano in the chapel at Kent State during the riots. I was sold on Ken and the job. I met Susan, and she became another life long friend. She was a wild women, and we had soooooooooo much fun! The job was great. The people were great, but unfortunately it was a start up with minimal cash, and paychecks bouncing didn't work!
In 1985, I went to work for Society Bank fixing ATMs. The job was wild dealing with lots of cash. I grew to hate money, smelly and dirty! I got a place to live. I got a dog. And I got pregnant. Crazy! My mom was a very strict Catholic, so I was scared to tell her. I left a note in the bathroom. IAfter she called and screamed at me, I didn't talk to her from September until after Kenny was born. I hid my pregancy very well. I also realized I wasn't going to marry Kenny, but I wanted my baby! Because I had a choice, it made me see abortion differently. I changed from anti abortion to pro-choice!
Life went on. I had Kenny! I moved to Toledo for work with the bank. I met Bill. My mom got sick. I moved back to Cleveland with Bill. My mom died! Bill would steal my car and get DUIs. I married him.
Kenny got sick, We found out he had a brain tumor. Kenn went to the Cleveland Clinic for surgery immediately. Dr. Cohen was his pediatric neurologist, and he kept me sane for many years. They put a hole in his 3rd ventricle to allow the fluid to drain. That didn't work, so the took him in the emergency surgery to shunt him. Life went on!
We moved to Tulsa, so I could work for First Data Resources. I met Valerie and Iris, and we became life long friends. I had a beautiful baby girl named Elizabeth. We moved to Omaha. We moved back to Tulsa. I had a beautiful baby girl named Samantha. We move to Winfield Illinois. Kenny told everyone he was in the witness protect program. We moved back to Ohio!
I came back with 3 kids, 3 dogs, and unfortunately Bill. My dad couldn't drive anymore, and I needed to be there. We found a great place to live in Fairview. Ultimately I got rid of Bill. He went to jail for 4 years, and I was the victim. Kenny went to St. Ed's and started swimming and diving. We moved in with my dad in 2004. We lived in the pink house until my dad passed away on Christmas Eve 2009.
Kenny went to warren Wilson College and graduated in 2009. He left for the Peace Corp that summers. The girls and I move to Deep Gap NC in March 2010. They hated me. Leaving Ohio and moving to a place that the closer Target was 60 miles away was horrible! But the grew to like the mountains. I relearned how to drive in the mountains. Samantha excelled at school. Liz joined Mountain Alliance. Kenny came home to a place he had never been beforee.
I got an incredible job offer at Family Dollar in Charlotte, so we move again. The girls were not happy with me, but Charlotte was a better place academically for them. We found a great place to live off of Providence Rd They went to Providence High School. Liz joined ROTC and drill team. Samantha joined theatre and met Ken. Kenny moved to Asheville and started dating Brett again. We had 4 dogs, Curly, Hope, Sparkels, and Wilco.
Family Dollar merged with Dollar Tree. I lost my job. Liz graduated from High School. I went to work for Wells Fargo, then Delhaize, then NCR. Lizzie went to Western Carolina. Samantha graduated from high school and went to UNC Greensboro. Kenny and Brett came back from Hawaii, tried Denver, the San Diego. Ultimately, they came back, bought a house in Sylva, and went to Western. Samantha decided UNCG wasn't for her, so she moved home and went to UNC Charlotte. Kenny got his Masters in 2018. Lizzie graduated in 2019 with her Bachelor's Degree. Brett received her PHD in 2019. Everyone went to california by way of Vegas for Kenny and Brett's Wedding.
I think I did okay growing up. I still drink to much. I like eating gummies, but I don't smoke anymore.
My Story - Getting sick and NOW!
Remember this is 2020. We were in the height of Covid. If you went, you were masked. We were supposed to go to Alaska, but with everything going, we went to Birmingham to get a taste of history. Lots of things were closed, but we had a homeless guy give us a tour of Kelly Ingram Park. It was inspiring and mind boggling. We went to the Edmund Pettus Bridge. The museum was open. Then we were given a tour of the park by the bridge. I was surprised how little I knew. I learned so much that day. We walked across the bridge. I did it walking quite quickly for me with my cool cane. The trip was a really fun time. When we got back, I was convinced I had covid. I couldn't breathe and I was coughing up a lung. It kept getting worse.
The day after they finally announced that Joe Biden won the election, I woke up and felt like crap. I had to get out of the bath because I couldn't breathe. Lizzie was very worried. Samantha wasn't home. I almost let her take to the hospital, but I started feeling better. Ut was downhill from then on. And it kept getting worse. The girls and I needed to go to my sister's funeral. That was a wretched experience. Between losing my sister and trying to hide how dreadful I was feeling, it was an intense couple of days. My legs were swelling, and my little toe on my right foot was infected and swollen, too. By the end of December, I could barely function. On December 30th, I went to my primary doctor. After some tests, he came back in and told me I needed to go to the hospital immediately, do not pass go, directly jail. I, of course, told him that I had to work the next day since I was covering for 2 team members and it was New Year's Eve. He stated if I didn't go, I would die. Oh well!
I went home and told the girls. We ate Twizzlers and I drank red wine. Unfortunately, I was out of white wine, and the girls would not go to the store to buy me a bottle of white wine. I think it was my punishment for not going to the hospital.
I rose early on New Year's Eve day. Took a long bath. Then I worked. I sent an email to my boss to let her know I would be out and would let her know more when I found out. I packed a bag with everything I would need. Of course, my underwear and socks needed to match my pajamas and sleepers. I had all of my shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, mousse, hot curlers, blow dryer, baby powder, dove soap, and a few million other things.
Eventually, my daughters had enough and took me to Presbyterian Medical Center in uptown Charlotte. December 2020 was during COVID, so my daughters dropped me off since they couldn't go in. They spent the evening with their boyfriends, and we did not get to eat our traditional shrimp and grits. That was devastating!
The hospital was packed with coughing people. It was so cold outside and inside was chaotic. I was prepared though. I found a spot and hide under my blanket while I waited and waited. After a couple of hours, I was finally seen. Bloodwork, tests, and many questions. Plus my daughters were texting me for updates. Back to the waiting room and more waiting.
Ultimately, I was put in a room and waited more. It was probably a little before midnight when I saw a doctor. Wow, shock of shocks, they were going to admit me!
I was placed in a more private room in the emergency room since there were no rooms. I felt like I was in Bethlehem with no room in the inn. More tests, more doctors, and more texts. At least the girls could visit me in my room. I also gave all the kids access to mychart. On Sunday, I had my toe amputated. Just the start of my adventure!
Then I was placed in a room. The food was horrible. The girls were wonderful and bought me decent food. I also had to fight hospital regulations, so I could get up and go to the bathroom. I tried to escape several times so I could smoke a cigarette. More doctors and social workers and video conferences so Kenny, Lizzie, and Samantha could all take notes and ask questions. I even tried to work but I really was not functioning very well.
My doctors were great and answered all our questions.
The nursing staff even tolerated me and helped me. They even allowed me to shower at weird times, wear my own pajamas, and eat what I wanted.
I weighed less than 100 lbs, so eating and controlling my sugar was critical. Samantha and Lizzie had the really difficult part. Samantha took great notes and supported mee on some difficult days. Lizzie always combed my hair, excused my behavior, and watched the news with me. Remember this was January 2021, and I am a true Biden supporter. It was Trump "bad behavior" news 24/7.
Then it was January 6, 2021 -- the day before my open heart surgery. That was not my focus. At 1 pm the news broke -- the insurrection at the Capitol! That was all I watched from then until 5 am the next day. It was horrible, and I was overwhelmed with the death, the behavior of a horrible man that happened to be our President for 14 more days, the bravery of the Capitol police, and the fortitude of the House and Senate led by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer. It truly impacted me. Poor Lizzie! She was with me that day, and I was fixated. The nursing staff and the doctors had to deal with me!
My 3 amazing children and daughter-in-law were so brave. Plus they had to deal with me and my insanity. I was in a medically induced coma for 72 hours. It was not fun bringing me around. I was convinced that I had not had my surgery, and that the nurses weren't letting me have. They wanted to kill me because they were all Trump supporters. They wanted to kill my daughters, too. When they tried to take up my thorax tube, I went nuts. I was swearing up a storm. I told I didn't like Mike Pence, but they tried to hang. I was going to protect him. So everyone should forgive me for biting the nurse!
Eventually, I fell back asleep and kind of behaved. Kenny was there when I finally woke up. I demanded I know how my nursing staff voted! I wanted Kenny to contact the FBI. Call James Comey if he had to! I got really mad at him when he called Brett and said I need to go to a dementia ward. I kicked out! The nurses made him come back in. I thought he was a yellowed demon from Supernatural, and I didn't want him there. I was calling my daughters that 3 in the morning thinking the dogs were in the pound and needed to be picked up, so they weren't euthanized. I felt horrible I didn't get to watch Sam's virtual graduation. Samantha had mom duty the next day. I still believed the nursing staff was all Trump supporters, but I didn't beg her to call Comey!
I finally got to go home on January 18th. I got new pj's. I apologized to the nurses. Life went on. I started recovering. I watched the Inauguration. The poet laurete was incredible. I was so glad that man didn't attend.
I went back to work on March 1, 2021. We played a murder mystery for my birthday. Samantha kept careful track of my diet. Lizzie made great food. Brett and Kenny came in for Valentine's Day, so the girls could escape.
In April I started feeling really horrible again. I ended back in the hospital. This time it was a UTI. I din't watch political news. I watched Band of Brothers.
The girls moved out in the fall. It was nice being on my own again. I got an English Bull Dog. we named him Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector of England. He and Alf did not get along. He ended up with a tumor that metalized to his brain. I went quickly. Hope started slipping in May 2022. I Had to put my girl down in July! that was horrible. It was just me and Alf!
I was downsized from NCR i Febrary 2022. I decided to get a place in Marion NC and build a tiny home. That was going weel, but than I got a job at a manufacturing company in September, so I couldn't commute. I moved in with Lizzie and Sean for about 6 weeks. Kenny and Brett bought a house for me in Rock Hill, so that's how I ended here.
So I had to wear steel toed shoes. I got some cute ones, but with my feet issues, they caused problems. At the end of January 2023, I woke up one morning and I couldn't talk. Lizzie was out of town, so I called Samantha. She thought I had been drinking. I hadn't. I went to work the next day, Monday. Things got worse. I thought I was having a stroke. The Director of Operations insisted on calling an ambulance. They took me to Presbyterian, so back to the hospital. They never determined if I had a stroke. They called it a TIA, but my feet were in bad shape. I had 2 more toes removed from my right foot. They were able to save the toes on my left foot. Ultimately, I had to have the remaining toes on my right foot removed. Eventually, I 2 removed on the left foor. There was a problem on the underneath of that foot, too. I ended in a wheelchair for 2 months. I wouldn't be working in a manufacturing facility again!
I got my diabetes under control; in fact my sugar goes too low. Lizzie kept finding unconscious. Had a couple of really scary episodes. One I was hallucinating. The other time, I fell out of my chair, and it was really cold outside. I was probably unscious for about 18 hours. my temperature was really low, and I was back in the hospital. Seems things to be under control now.
I got another dog, Copper. He is an 85 lbs. beast that jumps the fence. he is a sweet boy, though, and very smart. He and Alfie are good together. I started substitue teaching at St. Anne's. Lots of fun. I also work at the York County Board of Elections during elections.
Since I an on summer break, I decided to launch this. That's my whole story.
