in 1980, i moved from nashua new hampshire to boston mass with a couple hundred dollars, if that  to my name.  I was so naive.  I had No idea that this was too little money to make a go of it.  But, by the grace of God, i found a room in a rooming house that charged by the week (50.00 a week) and i hustled and found a waitering job.  It was tough but I survived. Being poor and cold was not easy but I thrived regardless.  Boston was a magical city!  My favorite Boston story - I used to love walking past the Ritz Carlton on Newbury Street.  Shades of "Stella Dallas".  I looked longingly at the lunch crowd and said " someday I’ll be rich and I’ll stay here at the Ritz. I remember seeing Jackie Kennedy outside the Ritz one day.  She was waiting for a cab.  For a life long new Englander, this was a magical sighting!!  Anyweay, cut to years later, my wife Laurie works in travel and was able to get a $99.00 room rate at the Ritz.  My dream came true!  I remember looking down on Newbury Street from our room.  It brought a tear to my eye, remembering my days freezing as a kid without a spare penny to my name.  I had arrived!  And over the years, i’ve met friends and family at the bar and had breakfast & lunch in that restaurant that seemed so elusive.  How shortsighted of the Ritz chain to sell off their flagship property. Nevertheless, i have my memories.. I can still see Jackie Kennedy standing there.. so tall and proud- clutching her purse… thanks liz for your NYC story - it was a time of innocense for both of us..   xox roger c. memos

i ended up living in the projects of san francisco from 1980 - 87. i was the only white girl married to a white husband and was extremely naive. soon i started meeting other tenants on my floor and on the elevators. i was raised around all different colors as a jehovah’s witness in my childhood. so i had no fear of anybody. some of my own friends were scared to even come up and visit me because they thought they would be "beat up", "robbed" or "raped".

i lived there for 7yrs and raised my kids in that building and i think it really was good for me because it taught me how to fend for myself and how to make friends with all kinds of people. nobody judged anybody there we were all poor. most of the families worked and being that it was a HUD owned building they reported their earnings and the rent was subsidized by law. the apartments were big and would have been nice if the management company hadn’t let it go down hill thru embezzlement. we had pests and drug dealers (most kept to themselves, except when the kids started selling dope in the last two years we lived there.

after 2yrs i broke up with my husband and started over by myself. not once during that time of living there was i ever treated badly, nobody seemed to care about my color and i saw a piece of life from a different view. i still have many friends from the time i lived there. they finally blew up the two buildings that took up a full city block back in 97. it made all the big newpapers of the time. we along with ppl that had lived their whole life there came back to witness it. 

i think it was a great experience for me because it taught me how to survive and how to take care of my own. it taught my kids not to be stuck up, bigoted or racist. at the time everybody thought it was the most dangerous thing i could do. but it was more of a life experience and it taught me a lot. especially about how to be self sufficient and how to deal with ppl without noticing their differences!

I too was a J.W. when I was growing up. I think being one when I was younger helped me overcome fear of strangers. We had to go door to door and we met all kinds. I use to be very shy, but later in life I am able to strike up a conversation with just about anyone. Black, white, yellow it doesn’t matter. I love talking to people. In the groc. store, pharmacy on trips anywhere. The only thing that stops me sometimes is language. I only speak English. I would love to speak another language. I am going to be 70 in a few weeks and have had a great life so far. I still consider myself a christian, but do not belong to any organized relegion at present. The stories above were very inspiring.

Thanks, Dottie

My bravest moment was getting on a bus with my two children and moving from Boston to Long Beach when Boston Naval Shipyard Closed.  My sons were 2 and 4.  I had toys and snacks for them and books to read.  It was a 3 day trip and the bus had many children.  Every day I had kids coming to sit with my boys and play or hear a story.  What a fun time that was.  I have moved several times since then and now my boys are men but they still remember that time.

I packed a bag and had $500 to my name, got on a bus that stopped in Chicago and started PennDragon Studios in 1990…

…when my husband died, I packed a Uhaul with my son and my mother-in-law and moved outside Atlanta where I continue to work as PennDragon Studios today.

I don’t know if that is bravery … to me it’s following the path I was meant to follow. …

The work I’ve done with Civil Right’s In Crisis is important and even though it’s not yet complete…because I am not done with the historical representations of the key figures in the three fights I am representing by that work, and the the piece will become a full circle of canvases…is probably the bravest art I’ve ever done.

Prior to it, when I painted The Path in 1993 where I showed a representation of western religion/belief in balance of yin yang to show the east we aren’t that much different was the bravest piece I had done.

My erotica is my way of taking hardships I’ve faced and making them into love and beauty personified by art, which is my job as the artist I’ve always been. There is no external bravery there for me.

…and The Eagle is to help my People of The USA overcome the division 9/11 came close to creating for our Nation. …Am I brave for creating it?

…history will tell.

To see my works and know their story’s … please visit my hub at PennDragonStudios.com and explore the links to my work.

I am setting up the auctions…and am currently on bedrest until my doctor says otherwise so none of my works are currently in public shows. If you are interested in knowing more or seeing a work, please contact me through any of my websites. To see why I’m on bedrest and my works processes please visit simpletownUSA.com

I am also gathering links for Made In USA products to promote for the holidays…Please send me your links as I believe in supporting business in my Nation.

Thank you,

Amy, PennDragon Studios