My job, my profession, and my career weave through my personal life, my travel, and my writing. Whether getting my education, traveling to my next place of employment, or turning the page to the next chapter of my life, reflecting on my professional experience cannot be measured in the money earned or the title given.
Work should never be easy, nor was it.
History written, Kept throughout employment thrice And still never read Foot In The Door When I first accepted a position at The Walt Disney Company, my parents gave me a book about the creative works of the company. I did not expect when I spent my first college summer between my freshman and sophomore years working in the employment of the entertainment giant that I would eventually spend seventeen years in total in its employment, in one form or another. Given to me the day before my plane departed – my first trip to Florida – I planned to read the book in flight, but the excitement for the summer ahead overcame my patience to sit and read about the art of Disney. That first summer felt like adulthood. I bought my own groceries and cooked my own meals. I managed my transportation, even if I did not have an automobile. I received a weekly paycheck for full-time work. I dated a bunch. I attended weekly classes that were more enjoyable than college classes. I earned the best benefit during the summer: independence. I enjoyed the ability to be young, to have fun, and to see what life would be like when I finished college. I did not know it at the time, but I would only spend one more semester at my college. When the summer came to an end, I returned to college, interviewed with Disney again, and five months later was on my way back to Florida. Making History I left for the second time when my then-husband wanted to pursue a better financial opportunity. And so we did, but when that road proved to be a dead end, I again wandered back to the house of the mouse. During this third duration, I served in six different departments, doubled my income, and raised two kids, but I wasn’t the only one to grow and expand. From that first summer, just two theme parks and four hotels in Florida, the company united its sites, dabbled in a couple sports team ownerships, built water parks and shopping districts, made movies and expanded its television ownership, bought other companies, and outgrew me. When I left for the last time, I doubted if I would want to go back, except maybe for the familiarity. I considered it not a ridiculous possibility since I birthed two Florida natives who still call the Sunshine State home. I still reference those days on my resume. I even retain a collection of merchandise acquired during my tenure and a myriad of photographs of myself from my various positions. I often wondered what to keep and what to relinquish from the branded goods I owned. Thirty-five years from the first day in Florida, I still own a few objects from before my hire date – a Christmas ornament, a winter scarf, and a book. When I last looked at the book before giving it away, the one thing that I found of interest was the plane ticket from my Florida travel tucked inside the cover. As for the history enclosed, I never read it. I just made my own.
- Vast and Statuesque
- Breaking News – Part 65
- American Bison Calves
- Breaking News – Part 64
- Bisonettes
- Wellness Check – Part 63
- Alone In Paradise – Part 2
- Wellness Check – Part 62
- Alone In Paradise – Part 1
- Wellness Check – Part 61
- Sacred Sites, Sacred Bites
- Wellness Check – Part 60
- The Pacific Beach
- Roots In The Sand
- Wellness Check – Part 59
- The Art Of Walt History
- Wellness Check – Part 58
- あなたは私の言語を話します
- Lies Of Omission – Part 57
- Lies Of Omission – Part 56
- Lies Of Omission – Part 55
- What’s Going On Up There?
- Lies Of Omission – Part 54
- Lies Of Omission – Part 53
- Proceeding Onward – Part 52
- Alone And All Glittery
- Proceeding Onward – Part 51
- Proceeding Onward – Part 50
- Crossing Paths
- Proceeding Onward – Part 49
- State Parks Of Wyoming
- Proceeding Onward – Part 48
- State Parking
- Proceeding Onward – Part 47
- Wheels Down
- The Secrets We Keep – Part 46
- Wheels Up
- The Secrets We Keep – Part 45
- The Secrets We Keep – Part 44
- The Secrets We Keep – Part 43
- Epicboy
- The Secrets We Keep – Part 42
- 100 Years To The Day
- The Secrets We Keep – Part 41
- This Majestically Grand Scenery
- The Secrets We Keep – Part 40
- Elvis Has Left The Campground
- No Room In My World
- Heavy Duty – Part 39
- Baseball Hall Of Fame – Part 3
- Heavy Duty – Part 38
- Baseball Hall Of Fame – Part 2
- Heavy Duty – Part 37
- Baseball Hall Of Fame – Part 1
- Heavy Duty – Part 36
- In The Shadow Of Giants… And Yankees, And Cubs, And Rays
- The Last Florida Odyssey – Part 3
- Falling Forward – Part 35
- The Last Florida Odyssey – Part 2
- Falling Forward – Part 34
- The Last Florida Odyssey – Part 1
- Falling Forward – Part 33
- The Long Road To Florida
- Falling Forward – Part 32
- Thunder Rolls
- Falling Forward – Part 31
- Fermented Filigree
- Falling Forward – Part 30
- Aircraft And Spacecraft
- Air And Space
- Falling Forward – Part 29
- Standing In The Hammock
- Closing The Loop – Part 28
- On The Other Side Of The Hidden Map
- Closing The Loop – Part 27
- Closing The Loop – Part 26
- A First And Last Road Trip
- Closing The Loop – Part 25
- The Clarity Of Nature
- On My Own – Part 24
- On My Own – Part 23
- Dams – Part 2
- Dams – Part 1
- Dam, Girl!
- On My Own – Part 22
- Faithfully Yours
- On My Own – Part 21
- M-I-C… I See You Ate My Shoe
- Swimming Back
- On My Own – Part 20
- Driving With Dogs
- Turn Signals
- Baggage – Part 19
- Gone Missing
- Baggage – Part 18
- Just This Little Bridge
- Baggage – Part 17
- The First Time I Went To Canada
- Baggage – Part 16
- Glacier Peak
- Holding Hands
- Baggage – Part 15
- On The Job – Part 14
- On The Job – Part 13
- On The Job – Part 12
- On The Job – Part 11
- The Wrong Way To Waldorf
- On The Job – Part 10
- Public Lands Day – Yellowstone Edition
- On The Job – Part 9
- Photo Op
- The Bay Of Green
- On The Job – Part 8
- Learning To Fly
- No Secrets Here – Part 7
- From Here To There – Part 2
- From Here To There – Part 1
- Laundry
- No Secrets Here – Part 6
- Anchors Away – Part 2
- Anchors Away – Part 1
- No Secrets Here – Part 5
- Yearbooks
- No Secrets Here – Part 4
- Only A Bench
- No Secrets Here – Part 3
- Breaking In
- Unwanted Travel
- No Secrets Here – Part 2
- All That Glitters
- Golden Mill
- No Secrets Here – Part 1
- Little Pomp, Or Pompey
- And Did You See That?
- Oddities
- Plane Train Boat Truck Car
- The Rainbow State
- Sound. Color. Hawai’i.
- Did You See That?
- Tunneling Through
- The Light At The End Of The Wind River Tunnel
- Stennis Space Center
- Fee-Free Fun – Part 2
- Karma With Clarified Butter
- Fee-Free Fun – Part 1
- No Mo’ NOLA
- Blue Screen Of Death
- Above The Bridge
- Back Where I Don’t Belong
- Foreground Flowers – Part 2
- Hills And Mountains
- Christmas On The Move
- Foreground Flowers – Part 1
- Foreground Flower
- Mousters Degree
- Random Rental Cars
- Lessons From A Rental Car
- When I Grow Up
- I Knew I Should Have Made That Left Turn
- Roasted Jalapeño Blueberry Porter
- The Lights on South Mountain
- Alone Journey
- Traveling Alone
- Not Area 51
- My Visit To The National Archives at College Park
- The Other National Archives
- Twelve Days And Ten Years
- Swallows
- Still Kicking
- I’ll Be Back
- Death Valley National Park
- Every Kind Of Desert
- Ball Chairs
- Opening Day And The Best. Night. Ever.
- Listen, Honey
- Antioxidants: Wine and Chocolate
- Hiking In
- This Is The Worst Trip I’ve Ever Been On
- The Appalachian Trail – Part 2
- The Appalachian Trail – Part 1
- Hiking (Parts Of) The Appalachian Trail
- Everglades National Park – Part 2
- Delano And Pompey
- Everglades National Park – Part 1
- Last Glimpse
- Swamped
- This Road Trip Sponsored By…
- Unopened Christmas Cards
- What I Remember When I Try To Forget – Part 3
- What I Remember When I Try To Forget – Part 2
- What I Remember When I Try To Forget – Part 1
- Washington Slept Here
- The Great Escape
- Driving Through Georgia
- In The Words Of A President
- I Don’t Even Like Soccer
- Cherry Blossoms
- Storage Units
- Another View Of Gettysburg
- Crossing The Battlefield