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Today's Featured Biography

 
Dinah Smith Weatherby

Once upon a time a naive young girl left Kahuku to go to Duke U. After a really shy time there, I got married to husband #1, worked in a library while he graduated from law school, lived communally with friends of his in Charlottesville, VA, and was a frequent political activist in Washington a few hours away. I had the honor of having a heat stroke while holding a vigil with the Quakers in front of the White House. After he graduated we moved to Louisville, KY, where he ran off with a lesbian lady (hey, it was the '70s!). I got a "real job" with the state in a women's prison, got fired for sympathizing with the prisoners, got married again to someone who ended up on drugs, got divorced again! My younger brother Pete was diagnosed with leukemia in 1978 and I was focused on supporting him until he died in 1980, then brought his wife back to Louisville with me. We remain very close. By then I was working for community social services for the state. In 1984 I was in a steady relationship and working in juvenile services for the state chasing teenagers around town, when I found I was pregnant at age 38. It was the very happiest thing! Her dad and I married; after she was born I was hired by an agency that provided therapy for families with incest and physical abuse issues and worked there for 12 years. My daughter was a hoot from the start and remains the highlight of my life. We three lived on 5 acres outside Louisville and I indulged a lifelong interest in organic gardening and wildflower gardening, while maintaining my hibiscus and plumeria plants on the deck. In 2000 several things happened: my father died after years of smoking those cigarettes, and my husband and I split. I was working in the state mental hospital at that time, and went from there to the state forensic mental health center (doing pretrial competency and criminal responsibility evaluations). I retired from there in 2005, after trying to juggle work and daughter with the needs of my mother who lives in North Carolina. In 2005 she was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was living with my youngest brother Mark who was quite abusive to her. I got her to my home, and after a time I was unable to provide enough supervision to keep her safe. Her sister was still in her home and subject to my brother's abusive behavior, so we placed them together in assisted living. She has adjusted to that setting very well after a tough beginning. I'm her guardian so much of my time is spent with her paperwork. I am back to work full time in community mental health after working part time in emergency psychiatric services for 2 years. My primary clientele is children under 6 who have been abused one way or another. I am on the floor all day long! Covered with paint, playing games, collecting toys, teaching yoga stretches and guided imagery, singing and dancing. And they pay me for this! My daughter works for our congressman, a really good guy, in Washington, DC. She spent a year in France and I visited her there for several weeks a few years ago, and on her graduation we camped through the west for 3 weeks, fell in love with so many places, and fell in love again with camping. I live in a little place now and have my organic garden, wildflowers, and magical kingdom in the back yard. Wish I could grow more tropicals to keep my eyes and nose in touch with Hawaii!

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