After many successful years in the publishing industry, Marion Ross decided to teach high-school English as her retirement job. I was fortunate 
enough to have her for both my sophomore and junior years. At a time when many schools thought that students should read aloud in class, she let a withdrawn dyslexic girl know that reading to yourself was perfectly acceptable because it was the reading part that was the most important. She also let that same young girl know that even though spelling and writing were almost impossible for her, it didn’t”t mean that she had no stories to tell. Mrs. Ross left this life many years ago, but her friendship and teachings will stay with me forever. She was a wonderful bright light in a very dark time for me. The next person I met who believed that I had stories to tell became my husband. All through our marriage of almost thirty-five years, George H. Wood has listened to and encouraged me to write down my stories. He has been a fan and supporter of The Noble Anthony and His Lady Cleopatra from the ve1y first time he heard about the cat who traveled around on the head of a dog. He has listened patiently as their stories grew and their world expanded. He never gave up on them as characters whom children and adults would enjoy, and he never gave up on my ability to tell their story. These are his stories as much as they are mine.
[thrive_leads id=’149′]
