Juliann currently lives in Portland, Oregon with her spouse and 4 cats.  One of the cats,
Ponce de Leon, is 104 in cat years.  Juliann is 55.

At 15
I was a freshman in high school the year I turned 15.  That year I was taller than all but one of the girls, and half the boys.  That was a vast improvement over junior high, where I used to walk down the hall and be a full head taller than almost everyone else!  Their heads came up to my chin.  In high school, there were LOTS of boys taller than me!  I liked to read science fiction and work crossword puzzles, two things I still enjoy.  Like many freshmen, I felt geeky and awkward, not pretty, and not popular.

I have a photo from that time.  I see a tall, slender girl with laughing blue eyes and brown wavy hair.  She is wearing a beret and her shoulders are hunched a bit.  She has a nice bust and long legs.  I think, If she would stand up and relax, she would be beautiful.

I spent most of my time and energy that year studying and reading, creeping around on the fringes of the social groups that high school is full of.  Only one teacher made any impression on me that year. Mr.Williams taught the science class.  My head was already full of science from reading science fiction, so I really sat up and paid attention in that class.  I wanted to be a rocket scientist, or maybe an astronaut.  Mind you, no one had gone to the moon at that time.  So “astronaut” as a career choice did not show a lot of forethought. Mr. Williams made every class fun.  He would mix clear liquids, and get blue, or red or gold.  He occasionally blew things up, to our great delight.  Sometimes things he would mix gave off horrible smells.  When that happened, the boys would show how tough they were.  No smell bothered them!  The girls could squeal and giggle and pretend to gag.  I wrote a 15-page report in that class, on the passage in Ezekiel about the wheel within a wheel, and how that was a record of a visit from a flying saucer.  Mr. Williams encouraged my fantasy career ideas, and kindly gave me an
“A” on the report.

He made me forget about being awkward and feeling unlovely and too smart.  He encouraged me to dream, and to work for my dreams.  He encouraged me to try new things, and not to be afraid.

I blossomed that summer after my year with Mr.  Williams. One of the new things I tried was bleaching my brown locks blonde.  Boys started hanging around the farm.  Ostensibly they were there to work with my Dad for some pocket change or date money.  They ranged in age from 16 to 22.  That was the year that the Rolling Stones’ “I can’t get no satisfaction” came out.  We all sang it, with aching and longing, eager to get out into the world and get our own satisfaction, sure that we could do it far better than the guy in the song.

Mr. Williams, the things I learned from you never left me.  You planted the seed of the idea that I could have dreams, and work to make them true.  Thank you.