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LISTEN TO YOUR HEART...
If you can live the life that you believe in,
You will have everything you need to reach your dream.
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Receiving the "Citizen of the Year" Award from Mayor Virgil Schneider in Plymouth, MN in 1987
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PLEASE READ ABOUT MY STORY AFTER THE PICTURES. THAT WAY YOU'LL GET TO KNOW WHO I AM! ENJOY ALL THE PHOTOS!
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ESCAPE INTERNATIONAL REVOLUTION CONVENTION -
Ontario, California - March 9, 2007
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VISIT TO FLORIDA - February 2007
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AT HOME IN GEORGIA & OUR TRAVELS
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To begin with, I feel very privileged to have been born on December 25th. I take it seriously when I see something wrong--that I can help change. I am not "normal" - I like to think "out of the box" - even if it causes me extra work. I have worked many regular jobs in lots of fields. My former careers vary from being a fine arts painter to executive secretary to Computer Director to teaching 2-year olds in a daycare.
Having had the privilege of living all over the Country, I was able to experience some truly wonderful and very different adventures--in Ohio; Florida; Washington, DC; Maine; Missouri; California; Louisiana; Minnesota; and Georgia. I've raised 5 children, who are successfully running their own businesses. I'm extremely proud of them, not only because they are productive citizens, but also for the reason that they are genuinely nice people. They are true blessings to me along with my two grandsons--sweet little boys, 4 1/2 years and 1 year.
As I stated earlier, I am stubborn and not one to give up easily--and I have a strong desire to succeed. I never looked to be in the spotlight, but I believe in fighting against things that are wrong--especially when they hurt other people.
With NO computer experience, I volunteered at my kids' elementary school as a computer helper, but ended up setting up, training, developing and running the school's complete Computer Program for 3 years--operated totally by volunteers. For that, I received the "Volunteer of the Year" Award from the School Board in Minnesota. I made a difference.
In the past, I fought Shell Oil in California over a huge old gasoline pipeline they had been trying to reactivate for 8 years in my neighborhood; I took on the Minnesota Waste Management Board over a hazardous waste processing and incinerating plant they wanted to put over my city's water wells; and I battled a Minnesota company that wanted to put a halfway house for sex offenders on the recreational lake in my area. I fought them, because they were wrong. I won. I made a difference. Because of the work I did, I was awarded the prestigious, "Citizen of the Year Award for 1987," from the Mayor and City Council of Plymouth, Minnesota. See PHOTO above.
Raising five children and moving cross country several times certainly presented challenges. When we got to Georgia, I declared that I wasn't moving again! We had disrupted teen-ager's lives and there was hell to pay for that. Besides all that turmoil, I still had a toddler and I was worn out!
At some point, everyone has some tragedy or crisis in their life that gives them a defining moment. We don't always want to admit that we have an illness or a disability--but sometimes there isn't a choice--it can take us to our knees. Several years ago, the pain in my back progressively got worse until I could barely walk. I was teaching two-year olds in a daycare for 8 hours a day, but I was in excruciating pain. The only relief was in the water--with swimming or walking.
Horrifying some of the top orthopedic surgeons in Atlanta, I was given the diagnosis of severe Degenerative Osteoarthritis with NO cartilage on either hip (bone rubbing against bone) and had to have a double hip replacement--there was no choice. Only in rare occasions will the doctors perform the double surgery at one time. I worked to get in shape, had to have another surgery first, and was finally allowed to have both hips replaced at the same time by a great surgeon, Dr. David Coval. The first day, when I woke up, I knew God had given me a miracle--because for the first time in 5 years I had NO pain!! I gave them back the pain pump--I didn't need it. After so many years of pain--I couldn't believe that it was truly gone! They had me up walking the first day. And, I haven't stopped since. However, I am fully aware that the disease is still eating away at all my joints--so there will be problems in the future. I can't let that stop me--so I do what I can with nutrition (Optimal) and I exercise.
I had had to quit work for the operations and then spent time with recovery and rehab, which kept me unemployed for the next 8 months and was not really good for the pocketbook. I knew I needed some sort of income--and a friend just happened to tell me about a network marketing business. It made sense to me--get paid on my own service, refer others and get paid a monthly residual income--for talking to my mother! That really changed my life. I had a huge learning curve--bigger than most, because I was confined to the house (couldn't go out and meet people) and my sponsor lived 3000 miles away and was new at it, too! It forced me to be more outgoing and to talk to "strangers."
I wasn't always like that. As you'll see, if you care to read on, I did not start out like this.
FROM THE BEGINNING...
My parents met before World War II, but lost touch during the war. Through a strange set of circumstances, they found each other again and rekindled their romance. Religion and nationality were very important to their parents at that time. Since my mom's parents had come from Russia (my grandfather had actually been one of the Czar's personal guards), they expected all 8 of their children to marry a Russian Orthodox person. My dad's parents came from Romania and they expected their 8 children to marry in the Jewish faith. So, my parents eloped! (Still married - now 61 years!) After the shock wore off, they were eventually accepted by both families--especially after I was born! I learned about diversity early in life.
Growing up in a typical middle-class neighborhood in Ohio, I was the oldest of three children. My mom was a beautician and my dad worked at home, as a freelance commercial artist. I was painfully shy and it took a long time for me to come out of my shell. The neighborhood helped--it was full of kids--we rode bikes, roller skated, swam, played dress-up and jacks, had soapbox derby races, and picnics--activities for a more carefree time period. I had more responsibilities than my siblings, which instilled a strong work ethic in me.
Because my dad had to quit school at 17 and find work to support his mom and younger brother when his dad suddenly died, he was determined I'd not only get a good education, but also would have a skill so I could get a job and support myself. That gave me a path to follow--so I studied hard, worked part-time, participated in many activities at school, several with leadership roles, and was inducted into the National Honor Society--not an easy achievement. I graduated with 2 complete courses--college prep and secretarial.
Accepted at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, I planned to attend in the fall. However, my dad requested that I pay half the tuition for my schooling--which meant getting a better-paying job than working at Fanny Farmer's Candy Store--which paid a dollar an hour and all I could eat! It really had been a good job--where I learned a lot of skills in a short amount of time--from handling money and record-keeping to dealing with customers and bosses--and found out that an employer trusted me enough to run the store myself.
I seriously tried hard to find work--every day five days a week hitting the pavement downtown. However, I wasn't successful after the first month and I knew I'd never earn enough to pay for school, so I decided to postpone going to college. Working with an agency, I finally found a job that combined both of my fields--secretarial and art at a major university downtown. It was the best of both worlds--because the school was mostly male--and I was only 17! And, a special bonus was that I was able to go to school nearby at the Art Institute at night--which gave me the extra skills I needed.
When my family moved to Florida, I went with them. That lasted only 2 months, because I was a skier and snow ski season was coming. I decided to move to Washington, DC--where I had friends and I could join the local ski club. I loved DC - it's a great place to be single! We lived in a highrise apartment building, full of single people. We were the early version of the "Friends" TV show--with pool parties, volleyball tournaments, and progressive dinners.
After a couple of years there and lots of fun, I met my husband, a Navy man, right in the same apartment building. We had a winter wedding at Fort Myers Chapel and a reception at Andrews Air Force Base (perks of being in the military!). Because he was in the Navy, we were transferred to Maine for sea duty only two months after we were married.
That was a very different kind of experience. I was alone a lot, because the Navy base was 25 miles from where we could find affordable housing. There was only one person on our street that spoke English! And, my husband was on deployment overseas for part of the time. After a year, we moved me to our first house in St. Louis, his hometown. The only people I knew there were his parents. He was headed for Spain for 6 months and I was expecting our first baby. We were really separated more in the first two years of our marriage than we were together. Because of the deployment, he didn't get to see his first son until Rick was 2 months old.
It was a rough transition to civilian life--having to attend grad school, working, helping out his elderly parents, and learning to live with a wife and baby. Rick and I didn't see too much of him, but we knew he was there. The really good part was that he got to see his dad, who was 88, enjoy having a grandson. Right after Christmas, Pop had a stroke, spent time in a nursing home and died a few months later, when Rick was only 10 months old. My dad was busy selling real estate in Florida, so my folks only got to see Baby Rick occasionally. It was definitely a trying time for us.
The stressful times continued, as my husband tried to find a job and juggled life with a family. He eventually went to work for the Federal Government as a public health advisor. We had Bob while still living in St. Louis and I'd made some good friends by that time. I hated leaving, but we were transferred to San Francisco.
We couldn't move into our house right away, so Christmas was celebrated in a motel room. Spending a month in a motel room with 2 young boys was a challenge all in itself! Our house was finally available and we moved into a wonderful place for boys in the Oakland Hills -- it had trees, hills, dirt and lots of room to roam. Rick started preschool and Mike was born several months after moving into our house. I was fortunate to be invited to be part of a babysitting co-op, which helped out on babysitting and introduced me to some wonderful women. We survived the "Terrible two's" and all the fun events of early child rearing together. We're still friends today. I loved living in California--it was so beautiful. The boys loved our yard, because it was wooded and had plenty of space to dig with their Tonka Trucks (foreshadowing their future work).
Three years later, Katie was born. We were excited to finally have a girl after three boys! It was a difficult birth and a few days later, I landed back in the hospital deathly ill. So, Katie spent the first few days of life being shuttled back and forth to the hospital, so I could feed her. Dave had his hands full with Katie and the three boys, while I was trying to recover in the hospital.
To make matters worse, four weeks later we transferred across the Country to New Orleans. I could write a whole book on that fiasco--imagine camping out in the empty house for 10 days each way without furniture and 4 kids! My introduction to New Orleans and their critters was being welcomed by a 2 1/2 inch cockroach the first night in our new house!! I was ready to go back to California! Katie was only 5 weeks old when we moved to New Orleans, so unpacking and getting kids in school was challenging, to say the least. It's no wonder I'm crazy and can handle pretty much anything thrown at me now! In the two years that we lived there, we endured three 100-year floods! Such fun! Noah, where are you???
Two years later, Dave was transferred and we were headed to Minnesota--a great place to raise kids, if you don't mind being frozen 6 months out of the year. That's why folks live so long up there! It was a good place for families--especially in our neighborhood. Lots of kids and friendly folks--kind of reminded me of the 1950's - like "Ozzie & Harriet!"
My political fight over our City wells took place right after we moved to Minnesota. Because we lived with the environmental nightmare of Louisiana, I did what I could to prevent them from ruining our water and our wonderful parks and lakes. We eventually won after almost 4 years, much to my relief.
Danny came along while I was running the Computer Program in Minnesota, so he spent his first 6 months of life in the Computer lab. Funny thing, he is our computer whiz and Manages a large Computer Repair Department. Our final move was to Georgia, where we've lived for 19 years. We have been through the evolution of 5 teenagers into adulthood...and survived to tell about it!!
Three years ago, I began a new part of my life, but did not get free until a few months ago. There has been lots of learning, but being the head of my own household has been somewhat challenging. However, the peace is worth the price. The businesses I run keep me busy and have given me the opportunity to meet some great people. I'm always looking for new business partners to work with, train and develop.
This past couple of years has been a rollercoaster ride - learning who I am. I spent so many years as someone's wife and a mom to five kids that I forgot who I was. It has been sometimes painful peeling back the layers to see who is in this body. One day, I feel so excited about what I can accomplish, as me, and then another day it will seem so scary venturing out on my own. I've started writing two books and formed a greeting card line. Sometimes, I wish I had more hours in the day. I want to do so much, but I do realize I have limitations -- mostly from time and its ravages, because I'm not 20 years old any more. I am grateful for the talents and experiences I have been given. In spite of my age, I hope to have many more wonderful adventures!
This epic is done--because it brings us up to now. I congratulate anyone who has read this whole story! It gives you a better understanding of where I have come from. My hope for the future is to be able to continue to help many more people achieve Internet security and financial freedom.
Additionally, I have a strong desire to achieve a big project. I see a need to help foster children have a chance at some real nurturing and guidance by somehow combining the untapped treasure of senior citizens, who have great wisdom and nurturing, and would like to feel useful again. If anyone has ideas or suggestions, I would love to hear from you. This is just in the early formulation stage, where I'm gathering information, so it is a "work in progress."
Carol BrownellAugust 2006
carolbrownell@comcast.net
866-266-0335
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A NEW CHAPTER UNFOLDS...March to June 2007
After having my annual routine physical checkup, I found out that I wasn't in as good a shape as I thought. First, they discovered a racing heart--kind of like short circuits when I'm exercising and won't slow down. Next, my annual mammogram showed up two new little spots that were not there last year - and one is breast cancer. It was only diagnosed 52 days ago and I'm slated for a lumpectomy this week to remove the cancer tumor and then have radiation. The delay in treating this has come from a number of reasons--many have been attributed to medical delays or having to redo tests -- very frustrating. Secondly, I have been "chosen" to have the plagues visit me - fire ants, pneumonia, poison ivy...not sure what is next!! God has a very funny sense of humor when it comes to me! He let me know that my "status quo" was not going to be the same--sitting in my hammock, He literally ripped it around me and dropped me on the ground--no warning, nothing. All I could do was laugh...and that's exactly what's happened. My cup is full - full of life - and I'm getting ready to take it head on!
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My Philosophy...
Every new day gives us the opportunity to start fresh, to make new choices and set new goals. Every day is an adventure--make the most of life. Don't be stuck in a dead-end job, being told when to come in, when to go home and what to do. Life is precious--try not to waste a minute of it. Go after your dreams...
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cbrownell52@comcast.net
866-266-0335
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