After my parents built a home in Ringwood, NJ, we moved from Hawthorne. I changed schools in second grade, made lots of new friends and lived in a really neat neighborhood with lots of woods and great places to have forts and clubhouses. There were lots of kids to play with. Grandma Woodham, a friend of the family, now deceased, was a member of the Audubon Society and she was the one who helped me identify my first Piliated Woodpecker. After that, I was hooked on bird watching.. In 1966, after a Christmas filled with bird feeders, real scale models of birds and a National Geographic Bird Book, I was going to be an Ornithologist. At the age of 8 I could identify most any bird in our yard and then some. Some of my fondest childhood memories include sitting at the window, in solitude seeing and hearing the birds with the aroma of my mother cooking a fine meal, the sounds of my father in the background playing Bach two part inventions on the piano. Oh I love the Birds. Deb�s Bird Page

While in middle school, I was asked by my teacher to be the "weather girl". Always having had an interest in the weather, the teacher�s request was eagerly accepted. Keeping a weather log of the cloud types, the temperature and guessing what the weather was going to be the next day, the job as weather girl was taken very seriously. Running, and then driving to the best vantage point for a good thunderstorm was always a challenge. The more severe the weather the more excited I became I was accurate with my forecasting based on cloud and sky observations. Spending the summer of 5th grade in a science program at what was then, Paterson State College, I learned about all kinds of science. Fascinated by the atmosphere, the clouds, volcanoes, solar flares, aurora, glaciers and galaxies, I used to drag my sister, Barbara out to lay out in the middle of the road at night to watch for shooting stars. Now, I gave up wanting to be an Ornithologist, and wanted to be a meteorologist. Deb�s Weather Page

During my preadolescence, I can remember my father telling me bittersweet love stories taken from libretto of operas like La Boheme and La Traviata and racy stories like that of Carmen. I remember sitting on his lap as he told me the stories in between the acts of the Saturday afternoon broadcast on WOR-AM radio. We even had a Puppy named Mimi, after the heroin of Boheme. Opera is great, but even greater was sitting on my father�s lap while he told me the, "opera stories". I have fond memories of my parents singing in a quartet. I can hear my mother�s sweet operatically trained soprano voice singing solo. Developing a deep appreciation and passion for music caused me to me to give up my desire to become meteorologist and replace the desire with wanting to be a musician. Taking classical guitar lessons at a local music store, I diversified my musical interests by joining the chorus playing tenor drum in the marching band, timpani in the concert band. Guitar and double bass playing was reserved for the he jazz band. I passed the rigid audition for the madrigals, an elite vocal group of 8 in my Sophomore year. Mastering sight reading opened many choral doors for me. Upon graduating Lakeland Regional High School, I was at the height of my rebellious years fueled by the media, the music of the times and the near end of the Viet Nam War. My passion for music drove me to become a music major at Ramapo State College in Mahwah.

After becoming known for my music, and engrossed with performing and teaching I was convinced that college was a waste of time and I could make enough money to live by teaching, playing at weddings and on the streets of Greenwich Village. I became more and more rebellious and if it should NOT to be done, I did it. I was the life of the life of the party... and party we did!!!! During the years of touring the country going to bluegrass and folk festivals, I relocated to New Hampshire with $50.00, my car and my guitar, I began writing poetry and short stories and dabbling in electronics, carpentry and pottery. I moved back to New Jersey after a illness, settled down just a little, continued to watch the birds the earth and the sky and loved the music. Deb�s Music Page

Working as a carpenter and developing an interest in electronics and sound I became a scanner listener and loved Sunday nights for messing with the AM radio for what I now know as "rare DX". My ex-husband and I met and we married. After graduating nursing school with high honors, I worked as an LPN. I placed in the top 10 for state boards nationally, number one in the state of NJ. We bought a house in upstate New York and embarked on another adventure. After returning to college and Graduating Phi Theta Kappa, I worked as a registered nurse. With an abrupt end of my 14 year marriage, I moved back to New Jersey, left the Hospital and became Certified as a Nurse Case Manager and a Notary Public. Public. Deb�s Nursing Page

Finding myself in a void, still interested birds, music, scanners, weather, I felt I was missing something. One of my friends was talking on his radio. But it was not to a trucker a half mile away�.. it was to Australia!! He told me how the sun effects radio transmissions, solar flux indices, tropospheric ducting, proton storms, meteor scatter and then he popped the big one on me, SKYWARN. Well, the rest is history. I yearned to become a part of Amateur Radio. I got my ticket in 1993 and have been passionate ever since. Radio and the people involved are a big part of what I am about. I could not imagine being without the hobby and the people involved with it, the ones I have come to love. Radio was a perfect way to develop my obvious interest in the sciences and weather and to meet new friends. The benefits of Amateur Radio are reaped every time I make a contact or think about the radio or the person on the other side of the mic. Looking back on why I became a ham, well, probably just for the science of it. All the rest was a bonus. Since becoming an amateur, I have developed several new interests which are listed below. It is through Amateur radio I can honestly say, that I have met the most wonderful people in the world, literally!! Deb�s Amateur Radio Page

Currently, I work for The Prudential as a Certified Case Manager in Workers� Compensation environment. I belong to several professional organizations (JARPS, NARPS, RING, NATIONAL NOTARY ASSOCIATION). Keeping up with the criteria of my certification, I attend many continuing education seminars on rehabilitation and occupational medicine and ergonomics and risk management. Living in Hardyston Township in Sussex County NJ with my Maine Coon Cat, Fergie, who will be showing as a kitten in January, I keep in close contact with my Mom and Dad who still live in that same house in Ringwood. My sister, who is part of my very backbone, is married with 2 beautiful boys, Catlin and Kevin. I am very active with amateur radio and amateur weather watching. I still love the birds, and music, the earth and the sky. I love my family and my friends. I hope to return to college in the near future for Health care administration or education. We shall see what the future holds for me. I embrace it with open arms...