Those of you who have read my poems know that several of the poems from the manuscript are about my birthparents, adoption, and/or parent-child relationships. Many of you also know that I've been working on a memoir about adoption (the watered down abridged version). Recently, while doing research, I found out that my birthfather, Ray, was killed at age 22 while in the Coast Guard in Antarctica. He was helping a Navy ship unload and was using a forklift that he was not certified to operate. The conditions were terrible: 100+ mph winds & -42. The forklift overturned on him. However, the injuries were not enough to kill him. Due to the fact that he was not supervised, he went into shock and froze to death.
The upside of this horrible story is that I recently found his parents, my birth-grandparents, and met them last week. It was wonderful, odd, and surreal all the time same time. I will write more on this later when I have processed it all.
That being said, please understand that if you don't get an answer to a submission right away, an order fulfilled, or a return email, I'm busy with all of this (not to mention working on the memoir, teaching a college course for the 1st time ever, and trying to keep my life organized).
Enjoy the photos (some of you have asked for them) and I appreciate your support.
