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Moondancer's Herstory pt 2


Yes, I was a dog in high school	But, remember, sometimes it's the dog that gets the girl.	Mom and me	And it's official, I finally did it. I got my diploma

Like all passages in a young woman's life, things must change. In 1987 I decided to go back to school and get the diploma I should have gotten years earlier. It was odd to be nearly twenty and be a senior in high school. My grades were a hell of a lot better than they were when I was younger, but then again, living in West Virginia with my grandparents my stress factor were lower as well (at least until my grandfather passed away a couple weeks before graduation). I did all the things all seniors so, prom, games, school productions, but there was defiantly a separation between myself and the seventeen year olds, okay, besides the fact they drank a lot more than I did. Considering I didn't (and still don't) drink that really didn't take much to achieve. Their day to day gripes seemed insipid. When I was their age I was struggling just to stay alive, and they whined about not getting the clothes they wanted, or to go to some party because they got grounded for drinking, or about a boy that was "to die for." That's when I knew I lived in a totally different world then they did.

When I came back to Milwaukee after a year at Fairmont State (no money to keep going if I got out on my own, and things between my grandmother and I, not good) it was a touch disheartening. I didn't have the money to continue my Theatre and Speech education, and the next logical step seemed a military G.I. bill. I'd taken the test in high school (Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery) and done well enough the recruiters had been calling be ever since. I signed up to go to train as a field medic, and was offered a post helping a lieutenant at the local reserve base do FX for field simulations once I finished my training. It seemed like a dream assignment. Came to find out I have unnaturally high arches as well as a birth defect caused deformities in the muscle in my calves. Both of these things made it past the physician that did our original tests before shipping out. It was, however, enough to send me packing after almost five weeks of training. So much for money for college.

One thing that changed my life in so many ways was some of the women I met with in my discharge unit. I met several First Nations women who did a lot in their acceptance and support to drive me to learn more about my Cherokee Ancestors. I also was given the gift of an opportunity to teach others that true compassion knows no racial boundaries. It was common for especially southern communities for women to stick in groups if their own race. Oddly enough, I was never real good with those sort of boundaries.

When a young black women in our unit fell into great pain because of her fallen foot arches, and her friends didn't know what to do, I was the one that brushed her hair with her head in my lap and spoke words of comfort. She thanked me that day for not only being her sister and easing her pain, but for showing her that love has no boundaries. I will be forever grateful of that gift of being there in that moment, and will never forget that experience.

After I left the Army, I did a couple years working with the physically and mentally handicapped in group home around Milwaukee. It was long hours and the pay sucked, but all and all, it felt like I was at least doing some good. The goal was to teach the clients life skills so they could be self sufficient and live on their own, and we had a few that did. That was a satisfying feeling. That was an interesting year. I got involved with the Time Lords and did a fan production of a original Red Dwarf episode. Nothing cooler than getting to play with lots of latex. I also was the recipients of a ending to a long term relationship with a woman who I had been with for years. And again, though it tore out my heart, I survived.

I'd been playing table top D & D along with other types of role playing games since I was about ten, but when I learned about Live Action it was a whole difference experience. IFGS was my first taste of being able to create a character and then run out into the woods with a foam sword to fight the monsters. It was very work intensive for the game writers, of which I got to be one a time or two, as well as those that produced the games. Sometimes I found creating the games and playing the monsters was even more fun then running my own hero through and adventure.

We did a really fun script, myself and several others collaborating, that involved a absent minded wizard named Dewey that messed up a spell and gets trapped in storybooks. The heroes have to go through the stories and gather components for a spell to get him out. That was a hoot.

One great refuge for me was the Zoo. I'd always been a nature show junkie. When the other kids were watching cartoons, there I was butt planted in front of the TV watching Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom. Well, it was that or some late night Kung Fu Action theatre flick. I think both are still a big draw for me even today. Now they must share my love with documentaries of ancient civilizations and CSI type shows. Good thing I don't get grossed out easy cause I love the investigative stuff.

I adore all the animals, but I think the big cats and the raptors were always the biggest thrill for me, and I still try to catch the raptor show at the Milwaukee County Zoo as often as I can manage.

I learned from a Navajo woman (while in the Army) according to her empathic estimation that my totem is the black jaguar. I have to admit later on I found out she was very right. I remember going to a mall and seeing some photo carnie thing where you could get you picture taken with a baby cat. Not an alley cat, but lions, tigers, and a single black jaguar cub. The jaguar was very upset and fought noisily every time they tried to sit him down for a photo. I hated to support such a thing but the urge to hold the jaguar cub over rode my self righteous anger for a few moments. The cub screamed as before when they picked him up, but as soon as he touched my lap he instantly quieted down. As I held him in my arms, the urge to bolt for the doors was almost over powering. I still think if I hadn't been with my mother and grandmother I might have made the rescue attempt. He just sat there, quiet and trusting, and when they took him away, he screamed again. It was horrible but it cemented my vow to protect Her creatures and Her lands whenever and however I could.


The not so little mermaid	Me as Moragan Le Fey. Enthrall is a fun spell.	Now where did I put those dwarves?	Tink's ready to kick butt and forget names


Hilly (the female version of Holly) the Computer from the Red Dwarf production	If you don't know the character the is a tenth generation hologramic on-board computer. It has a rapidly diminishing IQ of 6000.


Though, I think like most little girls, I always wanted a horse.	I rode a few times, but in the city never had the chance for more.


Peregrine falcons are my favorite raptors	Now can you see why I wanted to come to his rescue? <sigh>


	The elephant was a strange ride, fun but a tad smelly.