September 2026
Dear Family and Friends, I have now completed my first year in Florida, and thought I’d sorta recap for the benefit of the new ones, my life leading up to this time. I am still a true Westerner, since San Diego, CA and Portland OR were the extent of my territory, with a few trips to AZ and UT thrown in. I’m also a city girl, who has never been on a farm nor ridden a horse. I was born Marie McBride (no middle name) Dec.1,1927 in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, Calif. to parents Lavern and Malinda (Mac & Linda) from the small Mormon towns of Pima & Thatcher Arizona. I had two older brothers: Clifford and James, but lost Jimmy when he was run over by a truck when not quite 4 years old. Then 10 years later had a little sister named Carol, whom I adored and enjoyed being with and teaching. I thought of becoming a school teacher. Our family was raised in Los Angeles during the depression years and the World War II years, then moved to the...