in the ground, one went up, the other down, if that makes sense.

i am afraid nobody in my family -ever- became respectable, although my mother did quite well professionally. she was the only phd psychologist in l.a. county who took medi-cal, this for humanitarian reasons (it paid, at the time $29.24 an hour), & she had the largest number of bill-ables for a non-clinic in l.a., or in her network (oh those horrible managed care plans) or whatever. something.

i will say that my parents drove me back & forth from punkrocker clubs long before they became respectable themselves & were still in alleys. my mother grew up poor, so she drove me in the cadillac for which she earned the money. 2am!! 3am!! oh, it was marvellous. then i would go home & we would discuss all the wonderful things that happened that evening over cupcakes & the like.

she had most of her practice in the house & i am afraid i spent too much time flirting w/ patients in those days. i was not supposed to do that.

then there was the ridiculously dumpy furniture, the bright orange upright piano, my sister (discussed tonite as the human equivalent of an elephant seal), & too much rock & roll for -any- therapists house.

& my father screaming.

constantly.

all gone, however, except the abovenoted elephant seal.

my father once dreamed of a goat farm; instead he-- well, he is the one feeling the fire right now. or has reincarnated into aquarium gravel & is being pooped upon by a neon tetra. you never know.

Let's see, my mother has established herself as a textile artist and always has at least one commisioned piece going, she is married to my stepfather who is a Professor at a major University and an accomplished fiddle player.

My Dad is a well beloved Poet in San Francisco's North Beach and my step mom lives in carmel doing commishioned murals for the rich n famous. All are doing well are healthy and happy etc.

My mother is in semi-retirement from her midwifery career. She runs a pagan/new agey retreat center near Seattle. sacredgroves.com

My father, ever the hippie bureaucrat, still works for Seattle metro, trying to convince more people to ride the bus. He's also been getting increasingly invested in his poetry writing.

My mother lives with her boyfriend of 23 years in a small, bluecollar town in rural MA. She still smokes weed and is still the smartest person in the room. Her boyfriend is a hard working, hard drinking bluecollar Blue State ex-hippie with a heart of gold.

My father married some money, quit all illegal substances and lifestyles, moved to a Florida town with the most old people in it and started voting Republican. My stepmother is a part time insane person whose part time job has been to keep me and my siblings from ever getting close to him again.

OK. I fell if I am gonna speak up in the other discussion, I better fess up here.

I am 5 minutes from one daughter and 90 minutes from the other. I have a son on both coass and one in the mountains. We all speak at leaast weekly, sometimes more often depending on whaz up.

After 34 or so years of marriage, I finally realized that when he said he didn't love me, he probably meant it.

I am putting my life back together having taken only "the clothes" on my back.

Life is beautiful. THe sun rises each morning. I still make sure bills get paid, but now I get paid to do that. I am respected, loved and HOPE for a better day, and this day was GREAT!!

I thought I blended in pretty well, but I have recently been told I look totally like an old hippie. Ho Hum, guess you can't hide a tye dye under a white dress!!

I have rediscovered my love for live music and LOVE the HOT BUTTERED RUM STRING BAND!!!

I'll be quiet now, and go away.

I hope you all were loved, and if you didn't feel like you were loved, You should have been treasured and honored and treated like the only person who mattered!! Chhildren are our greatest treasure!

Love you all, Magi

my dad became an electrical engineering professor for grad school on the east coast and also owns millions in real estate - most on the east coast but also some in hawaii & internationally.

my mom got a degree (while a single parent of >5<, AND selected as validictorian) and later a masters in education specializing in early childhood development. She has been preschool teacher, vice-principal and curriculum specialist for grades pre-k though 12th, all simultaneously for about 20 years now.

i think i've got some pretty big shoes to fill .....

My mother opened up her own business.
My father is a therapist.

My Mom is a Shrink in the Detroit Burbs who still watches too much PBS, Boos Bush whenever she sees him on TV, and puts imflammatory Bumperstickers on her Volvo. She lives in a big Red Wood House with a glorified swamp behind it, owns a couple over indulged cats and a passive 2nd husband, and still tries to learn all her new Maid's names and life stories (she even leaves them out Cokes, bottled water, or cups of coffee, depending on preference, "to be nice".)

My Dad has four degrees, including a Law Degree, a Pysch Degree and an MBA, is on wife number 4 (headed for Divorce court), is bankrupt and driving a School Bus. He voted for Perot in 1992, so you KNOW he's nuts...

Still, they are the reason I felt comfortable marrying a heavily tattooed woman who was on the Wrestling Team in High School, having openly Gay friends throughout the years, and doing dumb shit to my hair as a kid. Hippie to Yuppie ain't exactly an unheard of transition, but without HYPOCRISY is always the tricky part...