My Portfolio

One summer when I was about 10, my 13 year-old sister, Sandi, and I spent a week at Ocean Beach Park in New London, CT, vacationing with our father. Earlier that year, we had moved from CT to Schenectady, NY with our mother, who had been promoted to store manager of...

Having recently found the reel-to-reel tape of my grandmother Wagner's poem and the good picture of her and our PawPaw at their fiftieth anniversary celebration back in the '50s has caused me to want to remember more about her.  For as long as I knew her, she did not have an...

A photograph of my aunts dancing on a Bronx tenement rooftop makes me think about the gap between then and now.  A camera held by either my father or uncle took a series of pictures one Spring afternoon, capturing something of their youth, and their hope for the future. It is...

On the road…again! Afghanistan to Zambia Chronicles of a Footloose Forester By Dick Pellek    Italy Joe Pellek was the first one to note that the bathroom in our hotel room in Genoa was all marble tile; the walls, the floor, and the quaint bathtub.  Even the floor in the bedroom...

Afraid She came up behind me, silently, stealthily and full of mad malice. I was 21 years old, full of brisk, confident starched efficiency, my attention focussed on the ward dinner box which had just arrived from the hospital kitchen. I rummaged in my uniform pocket for my keys, aware that...

I have to say it is a fact Most folks are mighty queer Especially as regards those things That fill us full of fear   I’ve done a thing or two in life You might regard as tough, Like childbirth minus any drugs Admittedly, ‘twas rough.   My knees both shook...

It was one of those mornings. I'd been up since 2:30, filling in for the regular morning news anchor. I had that "2:30" feeling around 8am, and I just wasn't focusing properly. I was in the middle of a cut-in, which is a quick 4 minute news update with a brief...

Mom and Dad had seven children. I am the only girl and the second to the oldest. In birth order: Jim, me, Bill, Rick, Dan, Sam and Glen. Dan and Sam are twins. There is less than an 11 years difference in age between Jim and Glen. Glen has been calling...

    One of our local community agencies started a program for students called Los Sabios.  In English, that means the wise ones or the ones who know.  The objective of the program was to provide a "wise" mentor for a student.  Most of the students who were chosen for the program...

The volunteering story I'd like to talk about today includes many other people. When I say this, I mean sometimes it takes the help of many to reach your ultimate goal of helping others. In my case it involves gathering, making, dressing, decorating, teaching and loving the people and cause for...

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I am continually in awe of my four grandparents.  One, the daughter of an immigrant, fluent in two languages and baker of the world's best pies.  Another, a Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army and veteran of World War II and Korea.  A flapper and feminist who could play a mean...

CERTIFIED LEGACY ADVISOR TRAINING- LESSON 6   MARKETING OVERVIEW This lesson will provide the marketing foundation for your CLA business. Once you understand the marketing basics and how to help people get started with the Legacy Matters Program, you will be able to pursue any of the programs we have developed....

He was a slight man, maybe 5'6", with a thin beard and short dyed hair. He took awkward steps when he walked, and his skin was tightly wrapped around his bones, as though only a step away from resembling a Holocaust victim. He was clearly in great physical pain. He strained...

Hello everyone. My name is Mark Garay. I am new to this site.  I was a broadcast journalist for 20 years, before venturing out on my own to create a company dedicated to preserving family histories and memories. I create broadcast quality documentaries for my clients. I build video stories around...

CERTIFIED LEGACY ADVISOR TRAINING- LESSON 5   I-ASK Affiliate Program OVERVIEW As discussed in Lesson-1 it is important to establish a trusted CLA referral network in your local area. As an advisor you'll need them to perform services you may not be able to. Additionally, working as a team will compound...

Two of my earliest ancestors that I could identify were Cassie Williams and her daughter, Phillis Smith. As the story goes, Cassie Williams was one of three slave girls in Georgia. Although I haven't been able to verify this story, or her country of origin, our family has been able to...

Legacy Story Prompt: Describe a life-threatening close call that happened to you. Are you familiar with the cartoonist Gary Larsen? He made one superlatively funny cartoon in which two deer are standing in a forest, one bearing the image of a target/bull’s-eye prominently affixed to his body. The other deer says,...

    It never occurred to me that I would actually pray for my father to die.  But watching someone suffer from cancer brings changes to people.  Especially if the person suffering is someone we love.     When my father had a lung biopsy which revealed that he had lung cancer, he...

OVERVIEW The Legacy Stories living history library is much more than a place to preserve and share personal and family history. It is a resource center for all things legacy. It is where you can connect with clients on a purposeful level. And it delivers the magical moment when clients experience...