User:Mary Ash

Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Mark Twain found at Wikiquote under the Creative Commons 3.0 license.

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BIOGRAPHY

I was born out west, lived just about everywhere known to humankind, tromped through the swamps of the deep south, spent days looking for those tiny no seeums, before returning to the great west where the sage brush meanders. When last seen I was learning how to right OOOPS write at CZ OOOPS Citizendium.

I have written no peer reviewed articles but I have met many a deadline. I was a working reporter for many years including 9-11 and provided local coverage for that fateful day that I will never, ever forget. I will always remember the people who died that day, especially the ones who gave their lives trying to save others.

I have survived nutty editors and even nuttier reporters. I have learned the best friend a reporter can have is a good editor who will always make you look good. I have learned it's best to build people up and to encourage them as giving to others will always make you feel better.

I have a wacky sense of humor developed after witnessing far too much human suffering at senseless accidents and other things reporters have to see. Ever practical I always had an extra pair of shoes for walking through broken glass while dodging vehicle fluids on the pavement. I learned to trust firefighters who always made sure I stayed safe when covering accident scenes. I learned to avoid PCB spills.

I often wondered about big government especially after reading and weeding through miles of paper concerning EPA and environmental reports. I often wondered how many trees were killed to print those reports in the name of saving the environment. I often wondered about the EPA when they required my fair city to complete wastewater studies by specific dates when our yearly rainfall is less than eight inches. And the required rainfall usually didn't fall on the day required. I also wondered about the wisdom of big government when it could not realize a nearby waterway was not navigable water unless you were the Tidy Bowl Man.

Thanks to reading all those reports I have learned to interview, research, write and edit. You have to be able to do this especially when writing on deadline as those skills are a priority, if you plan to make it in the newsroom.

I also value authors as without their writing there would be no wiki articles to edit.

I am a devout Christian, proud Conservative, and a very old Girl Scout who still remembers the Girl Scout Promise.

I am married to a Mechanical Engineer who is a Charles Christian Lauritsen Award recipient for his engineering excellence. Lauritsen was known for his work at Cal Tech and was president of the American Physical Society. My husband builds stereo speakers for a hobby and enjoys reading such magazines as Speaker Builder. We both enjoy amateur astronomy and have seen Halley's Comet and the Comet Kohoutek which was a dud.

We also enjoy touring wine country and gourmet cooking.

When not stargazing we love to read all kinds of books and have a significant collection of Sci Fi books. I collect cookbooks as a hobby and revel in reading old recipes.

Another hobby is writing book reviews at Amazon and I am nearing the top 500 reviewer mark. I enjoy writing reviews as they help others make informed decisions.

I also enjoy decorative painting and am learning how to reborn dolls.

We have raised two special needs children and survived many an IEP meeting.

Finally, I do believe in collaboration and the wiki way which goes along way not only at wikis but in real life.

Have a lovely day!