Date: Fri, 09 May 1997 20:45:18 -0600 From: Jim Jenkins Organization: Jimmy's Clubhouse Subject: bio My life has begun so many times. The first was on August 4, 1947, in rural, north central Tennessee. The middle child of 7, we were a poor family who lived in shack after shack while my father followed the sharecropper jobs. We moved to Ohio in 1950 and my life began again. Now a northerner, even my southern relatives see me as a Yankee. I graduated from high school in 1965. What an era to be a teenager! I played in a band, worked at a gas station, had a girlfriend who loved to.... well, it was the 60's. I also knew that I was going to war as the draft was alive and well and I had no inclination of being deferred through college or marriage. I didn't feel qualified for either. I served in the USAF from '66 to'70. These were great years for me. I grew from the naive boy to the traveled man. I began paying attention to the voice within that felt a need to put in writing the stories and poems which traversed my mind. I began and still write because the thoughts percolate to fruition and asked to be scribed. I married in '72 and divorced in '91. I have a daughter who is a dentist and a son who is an art major at Ohio State. Two more wonderful children I could never hope for. They are a joy to me. Oh, they are regular kids who defy their parents and make stupid mistakes[just *like* their parents did]....but they are well adjusted and productive. They have vision and dreams. They are a constant joy to their mother and me. Neither wants to be a teacher, like me, nor a psychologist like their mother. Thank God! I teach elementary school. 17 years in 2nd grade and the last four in 4th grade. I teach language arts and social studies. I almost always love my job. Children are a sight to behold. I still play and sing in a group. This one is a church group. I do music with my kids in the classroom. I write poetry because it forms itself in my mind and then asks to be written down. I've tried short stories...and continue to develop that portion of my writing self. This is more than you ever wanted or needed to know. regards, Jim