Shana Star Light  

    Hi!  I'm Shana Star Light.  I decided that since Dad's pages are mostly comical and abstract, at least one of mine would show what life's like around here.  If reality bores you (which is understandable) you can skip to my next page which is basically nonsensical babbling.  As for reality, sometimes, if you look at it in the right light, it can be just as fun as make-believe.  So . . . here's my reality.       My mom grew up in Massachusetts, where she went to Catholic school and spent a lot of time being told that she was too skinny by her enthusiastic Italian aunties.  Her parents had seven children of which Mom was the oldest.  Dad is from Ohio.  He grew up with his parents and two sisters. He was a trouble maker and a boy scout (apparently you can be both).  Mom and Dad met in Texas on South Padre Island.
    I was born in a little cabin in Eugene, Oregon on July 11, 1980 at midnight.  The ashes from the eruption of Mount Saint Helen fell around us.  From Oregon, we moved to California, somewhere near the Golden Gate Bridge, and on to Kentucky, where we have lived ever since.  To this day, I do not understand how we ended up here.  I was only one year old when we arrived in Kentucky, so I can't be blamed, but my parents should have known better.  Actually, I wouldn't give up growing up with the creeks and trees and animals for anything in the world.  It was only after I got old enough to want culture and excitement in my life that I started getting restless here.
    My sister was born here in 1983 and I adored her until she learned how to talk.  Then we detested each other for at least ten years, but lately we are best friends.
 
    We have lived in Kettle, Kentucky since 1981, in a valley called Bear Wallow Hollow.  Kettle isn't quite a community, it's more the remnant of one.  There used to be a post office in Kettle, but its been gone for a while.  There are a few tiny country stores that sell little more than bologna sandwiches and pork and beans.  The old Kettle School is empty and abandoned, except for the occasional vandal or troublemaker that wanders its vacant halls.  Now everyone goes to school in Burkesville, the nearest town and the county seat.  We also get our groceries in Burkesville, go to the post office there, and most everything else we do or need is in Burkesville.         Burkesville is very small.  There is one stop light and one elevator in the entire town.  Burkesville social life isn't very complicated.  On Friday and Saturday nights the local youth pile in their cars and drive around town on a defined route that takes them from one end of town to the other.  In the winter there isn't much to do around here.  In the summer, though, we play baseball or softball until it gets too hot, then we go to Dale Hollow Lake and swim or go water skiing.  There are many caves around here to explore and the Cumberland River is peaceful and beautiful.  The swift moving waters are too cold to swim in but they make for a lovely canoe trip.  The cliffs that tower above the river are perfect for climbing and rappelling.  Not far from here, there are white water rivers, mountains, and breath-taking national parks.  Although there is no movie theater, no McDonald's, and no mall within forty-five minutes of here, there is a wealth of nature and beauty and there are many wonderful people.
 
    As for me, I am an aspiring actress.  I would like to attend Middle Tennessee State University next year and major in Drama.  I think my minor will be Journalism. Most of my interests are things that Mom disapproves of so I won't list them.  I do read constantly, though, and I really do love to learn.  I think that life is an adventure and should be lived like one.  I am never happier than when life surprises me.  I love music more than just about anything else.  I listen to Violent Femmes, Jimmy Hendrix, Radiohead, Sheryl Crow, Frank Black, and Theoloneous Monk.  (Of course there are more, but there are too many to list.)  I am seventeen years old and have, until this year, attended Cumberland County High School in Burkesville.  This year I am taking correspondence courses from Cambridge Academy in Ocala, Florida.  I am chronically happy and somewhat cynical.  I would love to hear from anyone who has anything interesting to say.  E-mail me at the link below.  Thank you for visiting.   Shana Star Light

E-mail me!

shana_star@hotmail.com

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