Mr. Tom Andres was one of the vice principals at Rhinelander High School. I do not know of his whereabouts, but this is for him.

You saved my life years ago because you brought me to the hospital after I overdosed, which led me to go to treatment for my depression and trauma. What you did put me on the right path to go from failing to being on the honor roll and graduating high school. You helped me get the time and the help I needed to get my life back on track and deal with some things I needed to address. I want to thank you for being there for me and helping me get the help I needed. 

I wanted to let you know that I didn’t stay in Rhinelander. After graduation, I got married, and he was in the Air Force so we moved to Abilene, Texas, where I explored working in radio. I went to my first concert, Quiet Riot, which the station was promoting. Also saw Slaughter while there.

I moved to New York City when I was 21 years old. I got to experience so much living there, from Broadway plays to seeing concerts like KISS in full makeup and Smashing Pumpkins at Madison Square Garden, to walking through Strawberry Fields in Central Park and standing on the roof of the World Trade Center. I feel I came alive living in New York, trying foods I never had before, like Sushi and Indian, and Cajun, and taking all the familiar architecture and places we’ve seen a million times in movies and on television. This is where I taught myself HTML back when the Internet was just starting up.

I did live back in Rhinelander for a while and worked in radio, and then started at the telephone company in the Internet Department, New North Network, starting with technical support and then moving on to designing web pages, and even got in the paper for the City Hall website. Then I went on to attend Nicolet College for Graphic Design. I didn’t get to finish because I had to go back to work. I met my best friend Paula because she started dating my cousin Sean and became an honorary aunt to their twins.  Also became godmother to my friend Jodi’s twins.

I moved to Austin Texas, where I did technical and gaming support for a video game. Then I followed my second husband over the road and saw so many places and took many pictures of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and all over Texas.

We settled in Three Rivers briefly before moving on to Corpus Christi, where I worked at the Municipal Courthouse and then moved on to the Corpus Christi Police Vehicle Impound. I loved going to the beach Gulf of Mexico and swimming in the ocean. Also went to concerts with my friend Pamela and Laura, we saw Possum Kingdom, and then on my birthday, saw Pop Evil. I went to the Ann Wilson concert on my own and loved every minute of it. Then, for a while, I decided to drive a cab, which was fun.

After Hurricane Harvey, I decided, with all the chaos with everything to move back to Wisconsin. It was a brief stay of only a year and a half. My Dad came to Texas and brought me, Luna L’Amour, and Dexter Doolittle Moore back to Wisconsin. Then I experienced compounded trauma, the worst trauma I could imagine, while living in Rhinelander.

Love brought me to Cincinnati, where I am still taking pictures. I wrote for an entire year on my blog and am trying to get back to my other artwork and not just the photography. I’m also learning more about DBT, dialectical behavioral therapy, and mindfulness to help treat my PTSD, Anxiety, and depression.

I’ve become an animal rights activist and an activist for sexual assault and domestic violence survivors. I have gotten my story out there in many ways. Seen an original Georgia O’Keeffe and Vincent Van Gogh, amongst other artists that have inspired me. I’m still working on my anxiety and depression so that I can once again feel strong.

So thank you once again for taking me to the hospital and possibly saving my life.