{"product_id":"9781479732050","title":"Fiji and Me","description":"\u003cp\u003e     Chicago was my home town, but I grew up in Green Bay, Wisconsin. We all loved those Packers. I went back to Chicago to study nursing. This was during WWII,     when we all wanted to help in the war to end wars. What I had wanted to be was an English professor so I could read and write all the time. I found that     nursing was a magic carpet in many ways.     \u003cbr\u003e     I married a doctor from North Carolina. We moved to Southern Pines and I was glad to raise my six children in a place where the winter wasn’t nine months     long. My first vision of North Carolina was in April. Everything was in full bloom and I remember feeling that I had died and gone to heaven. People have     said that it must have been difficult to have six children, but my memories are of enjoying it-- most of the time. My husband’s midlife crisis ended our     marriage. At forty five, I went back to college to finish a graduate degree. I began a career in nursing which included teaching. My writing during my     nursing career had more to do with work sheets and constructing tests than fun. I did enjoy writing long letters to my children and grandchildren as they     came along. In those days people wrote letters.     \u003cbr\u003e     I have always loved to travel. When an opportunity came to circumnavigate the globe with a friend, I took it. We spent a wonderful month in Japan,     Thailand, Nepal, India, Dubai, UK and Canada before returning. I remember well how grateful I was to be home in the US. I’d heard about people kissing the     soil of their homeland and I understood.     \u003cbr\u003e     I married a former Duke art professor who had decided to paint full time. He said he would find a place where a nurse and an artist could live happily. He     found Key West. I rented my house, packed my car and started driving down the Keys. When I got there I found a houseboat named Miss Maggie and we lived on     her. It was a real adventure for me. I worked in a mental health clinic and met some of the unusual people who inhabit Key West. A lot of stories were     there to tell. After a year my story didn’t include the artist.     \u003cbr\u003e     I returned to North Carolina and went back to Duke Medical Center where I was head nurse of the Family Medicine Center. Residents were there learning to be     family docs, something I admired. After three years, I found myself ready for a change. My children were all self sufficient. I met a Peace Corps recruiter     at a party and when I found I could go to Fiji I said, “Yes, please don’t give that place to anyone else”. It was a wonderful two years of my life. I loved     the people and the beauty everywhere. I taught a bit and learned a lot.     \u003cbr\u003e     One of the things I learned in Fiji was what they called “diridiri”. It meant slow down and enjoy the moment. When I returned I went back to Duke to work     in psychiatry, but never full time. I arranged my work so I could take classes at the Duke school for older people, now called OLLI. I also facilitated     classes on Reading Shakespeare and Great Books. I taught English as a second language at our library. Doing these things, slow and easy, gave me joy.     \u003cbr\u003e     OLLI gave me more than a place to teach and learn. A classmate, Mal, and I shared a number of classes. Finally we decided to share life. Mal and I traveled     to many places. He had been in the diplomatic service and knew Europe well, so I got to see some special places off the beaten path. He left for heaven on     a train in Budapest after saying that our three week river cruise had been the happiest time of his life     \u003cbr\u003e     Now, I live in a wonderful village called the Forest. I enjoy reading, writing, a bit of bridge, friends and family. This family now includes my four     wonderful children, ten grandchildren with spouses, and twenty great grandchildren. Life is good \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Xlibris Corporation","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47126283223280,"sku":"9781479732050","price":3.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781479732050_p0.jpg?v=1763617691","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781479732050","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}