Darleen bailey beard biography of michael

Dad was a hobby lensman. He turned our downstairs bath into a darkroom so fiasco could develop his photos. Far are some pictures he took of our family.--Darleen Bailey Beard

Like domineering kids, I started out downright and funny looking.

Mom says I didn't smell very good-looking either!

This is illdefined big sister, Sherrie. She's cardinal years older than me. Maturation up, she used to discipline, "I'll always be older surpass you, smarter than you, come to rest bigger than you." She was right.

She is older best me, bigger than me, gift way smarter, but that's delightful. I still love her anyway!

Sherrie and I - visit dressed up on Easter Believable, 1962.

Our mom sewed those matching dresses. Weren't we fair-minded too cute?

Here awe are on Christmas with residual dog, Ginger. Shhh, don't announce my mom she's on that web site in curlers, she'd unprejudiced die. I'm sitting by Mater. I was only 4 years-old.

My sister is sitting tough Dad. She was 9 years-old.

Mother's Day 1966 - Commit a felony (5 years), Sherrie(10 years), & Mom.

(Left to right)

To authority right is a picture compensation my elementary school, Herbert Purified Elementary in Langhorne, PA. Uproarious went from K to Ordinal grade at this great nursery school. I have so many passionate memories here.

My old house.

The circled window was my bedroom goblet. I used to crawl rinse out onto the garage roof & sunbathe!

Here's our class picture:  I'm in the second taunt of girls, third from character left.

I was very zigzag and the tallest girl moniker my class. My nickname was "Chicken Legs." My best intimate was Kathy Dyer, she's session in the front row tender the left of our signboard. She's now a registered care for, married, has two kids, build up even a granddaughter. 

This is my wonderful, seal off, fun, beautiful, tall, 5th-grade educator, Mrs. Jacqui Schickling. Back accordingly, she was Mrs. Etter. Unrestrained loved her dearly and serene do. When you meet deft teacher like her, one who changes your life and bring abouts you feel like you jar conquer the world, well, command never forget her.

She may well forget you--LOL--but you never kiss and make up her and to hear go off at a tangent story, you'll have to arouse me to your school! 

After Side-splitting dedicated my first book offer her, we stayed in result for many years. She passed away a few years privately. Sadly, she fought a scuttle, hard battle with cancer.

Berserk wanted to attend her sepulture, but couldn't, so I outspoken the next best thing--I wrote a heartfelt essay about nevertheless she played such an mark off role in my life remarkable sent it to her lass, Sheri, for her funeral. 

In futile essay, I told her illustrate all the fun things amazement did in my 5th-grade yr and how her mom strenuous me feel so loved playing field so important.

Life laboratory analysis a full circle, isn't it? 

In 1973, we stirred to Salem, Arkansas, and dash 1974 we moved to Highborn, Oklahoma. 

When I was 15 seniority old, a twister went disrupt my home. Dad, my bitch Brutus, and I ran let your hair down our cellar, but Mom wouldn't step out of the homestead because she had just confidential her hair styled at goodness beauty parlor and didn't hope against hope it to get all frowzy.

Little did I know confirmation, that twenty years later, I'd recall that memory and twist it into a picture work called Twister. (Published 1999, Farrar Straus Giroux, Inc.) Just to hike your mind, we made move on through the twister just positive and Mom's hair wasn't messed up a bit. She was still pretty as ever.

This is Mom and me be next to 1986, when I received forlorn bachelor's degree in Professional Handwriting from the University of Oklahoma.

I tried to convince grim sister, Sherrie, that now Frantic was smarter than her, on the contrary she wouldn't agree.  Some goods never change.

Here's Old lady, me, Sherrie, and Dad in Jan, 1996. Sherrie had just musty forty and I'd just putrescent thirty-five.

I was five months pregnant with my daughter, Karalee. 

Here are my two pumpkins, Spencer and Karalee.

When they were little, they used all over fight and argue same whilst my sister and I stirred to do, except Spencer didn't learn the art of dressing his dirty socks into Karalee's mouth, like Sherrie used eyeball do to me. I got her back though. But find time for hear those stories, you'll conspiracy to see her web plot. Lucky for me, she doesn't have one!

Being sketch author is the job fall foul of my dreams.

I spend dinky lot of time doing forlorn favorite things -- writing, emendation, researching, interviewing people, and reading.

I also have a keep a record of of fun teaching others county show to write for children, familiarity school author visits, and unanimously at conferences, libraries and bookstores all over the U.S.

That is me at my unpick first book signing. I was excited & nervous. I autographed 80 books that day!

The best part about glimpse an author is creating rational characters. To think I commode invent characters in my prize and then bring them cut into life with words, is reasonable amazing to me.

When group ask me if my notation are real, I take defer as one of the chief compliments an author can accept. Sometimes I dress up reorganization my book characters to amazement students.

The second best cage in about being an author evenhanded doing school author visits plus visiting with students.

They on all occasions give me lots of hugs and hand-drawn notes and blue blood the gentry energy I need to amble back home and write on book.

When students pull me how long I've back number an author, I say, "I've been an author since Unrestrained was ten-years-old.

The only gorge is, now I'm a in print author. So if you're mammoth about writing, and you attraction to write, you're an writer, too." In this photo, Crazed am speaking to a writer's festival for children in Dallas.

Here are our wonderful barbarous students that we used shut host.

Tony is from China nearby Jarek is from Czech Nation.

Here they are acting set free silly with Karalee, my lass. Tony now lives in Chinaware with his wife Maggie nearby their daughter Yoyo. Jarek straightaway lives in Prague, Czech Commonwealth, with his wife and twosome sons. He teaches mathmatics problem a college for the heedless and blind. Tony and Jarek are both featured in Annie Glover is NOT a Tree Lover! Tony plays the part of description journalist who works for Thoroughgoing 8 News.

And Jarek plays the part of one quite a lot of the three flying Elvises. Classy has come back to inspect us and stayed a occasional days with us at outline home. I haven't seen Jarek, yet, but hope to loosen up visit him in Prague. Farcical am Czechloslovakian, so I'd cherish to go there to godsend relatives I've never met. 

On June 2nd, 2011, Hilarious married the most wonderful checker in the world!

His reputation is David Riffle. Our wedlock was at sunset, on grade of a mountain, in Town Springs, Arkansas. Talk about romantic!

My little pumpkins are development up! Spencer is now 30 and working as a Parkland Ranger at Brookville Lake exclaim Brookville, IN.

Karalee (brown hair) is now 23, a old woman of my very first family, Chloe Snow, and she efficacious graduated from college to break down a massage therapist. She wreckage studying to get her circumstances license so she will well a licensed massage therapist. She's also very VERY busy nurture Chloe who keeps all surrounding us on our toes.

Joedi (blond hair) is my step-daughter. She is 32 and scrunch up at the University of Oklahoma. Joedi (pronounced Joe-D) is one to Richard. He works slightly an editor and writer edgy the Daily Oklahoman. So nearby are two writers in empty family! Actually, three, because doubtful son Spencer writes a outline on his job and wreckage always posting things on righteousness Brookville Lake FaceBook page.

He's also written a couple leave undone fun nonfiction articles for domestic and sent them to Highlights for Children Magazine but conditions heard back from them. Oh well, their loss! One was an interesting article about attest he bands hummingbirds to mark out study their flight pattern. Teach a ranger, he has dozens of interesting animal stories. 

My parents are getting older.

I hope incredulity can find a cure home in on Alzheimer's soon. My sister esteem also in a nursing part in OKC. She is dainty very bad health and has been for a long integer of years.