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I value hard work, living life to its fullest, and trying as hard as possible to be as helpful as possible to everyone I can. I have in the past started PhD research in Engineering and Science. I value the finding of scientific data to further subject knowledge over the application of blind belief in expert opinion. Having spent a great deal of time feeling like an outsider, both in music and in academia, I work hard to help people feel included in group settings.

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When I can, I support my husband, as he connects with accomplished actors and actresses. Here we are with actress Caroline Munro at Chiller Theater Expo, NJ, in April 2017.

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This is my husband and I meeting Ernest Borgnine, and I attempted to speak a little Italian with him. I do know how to speak some Italian, but he either pretended not to understand, or just did not like my accent. As much as possible, I try to learn at least one simple greeting in a new language every few years.

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I grew up Presbyterian, and married into the Episcopal Church. This is an image of the church where I was married in 1998, St. John the Evangelist, before the building was torn down back in 2013. I attend Christmas and Easter services, and I regularly connect with different Christian denominations.

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Playing the violin was a big part of my childhood. I never felt like I fit into the world of classical music, and later on, I realized that I could play music by ear, so I embraced the jazz community later in life.

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I used to compete in long distance swimming, in freestyle, and butterfly. In college, a coach took things a little too far, and required the swim team members to wear "drag suits," suits that contained extra pockets in them, to create more resistance, or "drag," and cause muscles to work harder.

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At the request of my husband, I found out that I qualified for Mensa, the High IQ organization. I realized late in life that I have a high IQ, but I also a learning disability. I don't have strong audio processing skills. Connecting with other high IQ people has been a big relief, and source of calming validation.

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Wounded Healer Experiences Life With Music

I spent a great deal of my childhood learning violin and piano. I also swam on the swim team in college, injured a large muscle in my back, and now work to strengthen that entire area, so I can enjoy playing the violin again. I try, when possible, to help others work to heal from past wounds. I am working with a world-renowned violinist, Dr. Owen J. Brown, in this picture.

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Through an artist friend, I have connected with a Ugandan young man, Bgaya Magid, who just graduated from college, and who wants to use his own art to support and fund an orphanage he founded. I wired him some funds to pay for his final graduating fees.

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I come from a family of inventors (the Philadelphia shot tower was the first of its kind in the nation), musicians (my father's mother knew composer Samuel Barber as a child, polyglots (my ancestors spoke English and French), and very hard-working people.

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My great-grandfather on my mother's side emigrated from "French Belgium," and was of Walloon heritage. I became fluent in French before I learned that a branch of my family originated from French-speaking Belgium.

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Two great-great grandfathers on my father's side, John Bishop and Thomas Sparks, jointly created the Philadelphia shot tower for the purpose of hunting. During the War of 1812, it was used to supply ammunition, at which point my Quaker pacifist ancestor, John Bishop, sold his interest in the project. A daughter of Thomas Sparks married a son of John Bishop, adding to their joint legacy.