The Sound Track of My Life

Whenever I hear Johnny Mathis on the radio, I am transported back to the time my husband and I were dating. His tunes were all the rage in the 50's;Chances Are, 12th Of Never, It's not for Me To Say. I can remember slow dancing with my husband/boyfriend to those romantic tunes like it was yesterday. That was the score which we began our life together with. Being with him was all I ever knew as an adult so when at 40 years of age we were no longer together I needed a new anthem...and I found one...I Will Survive!

When I got up in the morning before I left for work from my studio apartment, I played my chant- it got me going. That was my mantra in more ways than one.

My next relationship was totally different ,and the number #1 song on my hit parade then was So Happy Together by the Turtles. We loved traveling camping and exploring nature together. It was a very exciting time for me...until it wasn't. Then my theme song became Amazing Grace ,who saved a wretch like me. That break-up hit me hard but there was no other recourse.

Teaching was my life now and how I loved it. Being with young adults carving out new lives for themselves was inspiring. So my pick for the teaching years was Forever Young because teaching kept the spark of life alive in me.

When I retired from teaching, I followed a new pursuit...my passion was for the metaphysical. I studied at Edgar Cayce ARE in Va. Bch. to expand my psychic abilities. My song became I Can See Clearly Now, I had quite a run with that tune and currently I still am.

Now I've come to a place of acceptance in my life of what is and am no longer wishing it was different. As one of the great sages once said 'All suffering is caused by attachment'. In the words of Patti LaBelle,'It took a long time to find this place,it took a long time to be happy".

My life has come full circle as I am going to see Johnny Mathis who will be appearing at the Tampa Performing Arts soon with a young friend. It will be sweet to hear those tunes once again in his mellow voice.  Everything's fine.

Next: I'm looking forward to singing At Last , my love has come along. More will be revealed...stay tuned!

The Highlight of My Career In Education II

Another of the perks was my relatives could attend classes gratis. My daughter took advantage of this and entered a sculpture class. I'll never forget, she made a sculpture and wood piece that she gifted me with that Christmas, I was so touched. It was a win-win all around.

My biggest challenge at AMC was the court date, I never saw it coming. A couple of cute guys from the FDNY would come around sporatically to inspect the premises and make sure the building was meeting the legal requirements. I was always welcoming of them as my son is a member of the FDNY also. I looked upon their visits as a pleasant diversion...until it wasn't. 'I'm sorry to tell you this but I need to give you a summons to appear in court. Everything is not up to par" WHAT!!! 'This summons explains everything". I was thinking it was a very old building. I immediately called the Garden City powers that be and explained what was happening. "Don't worry, we'll fix everything and you'll handle the court date". WHAT!!! As I lay in my bed that night I was trembling with fear imagining them hauling me off to jail straight from the court room , do not pass go, do not collect $200. I have a vivid imagination. The day finally came,I dressed up and showed up as I was taught with the papers certifying the correction of the charges. After it was all taken care of I treated myself to a nice lunch and put it behind me. Another win for Ani.

As time marched on I continued to enjoy my duties as Director of AMC. Then the day came that changed everything; my friends' ambitious husband got a promotion to Pres. of the University. This meant that there was a new person over me and he wanted his own people in. So as easy as I was in, I was now out! As I reflect back that opportunity had expanded me in ways I had never expected or could imagine and I was grateful for it all. And all I could say is, Next? 

I looked around from my vantage point of my 33rd floor apartment in Tribeca... and I saw Borough of Manhattan Community College right next door. I'll go there for a job I said to myself, cause that's how I roll. I have never scanned the want ads for work. I have many wonderful friends who think highly of me, my friends are my currency and I Am a rich woman. So off I went to BMCC and picked up 3 classes as an adjunct professor in the English Dept. teaching Comp.I...and enjoyed every minute of it. it wasn't as glamorous as being the Director but it was lovely indeed. I taught students from third world countries who wanted to advance in America and it was my privilege. While working there I made a friend who also taught at New York University.

She told me they were looking for another teacher in the ESL dept. Off I went and now I'm teaching at one of the most prestigious Universities in NYC teaching foreign students English.

'From your students you shall learn' and I did. I learned all about the countries they were from : China,Japan,Korea, France,Russia to name a few. These elite students were humble and appreciative of improving their English. They were a delight. The coup de grace of those years was the pen-pal project I initiated between the 2 schools, connecting the students through letter writing, filmed conversations and finally meeting at the term's end. But I digress...back to the investigation of my teaching pension. I finally got some clarity from the union rep in Boca Raton in simple terms...'You weren't appointed, which you need to be to put into the pension fund, and you weren't there long enough to be appointed.'(now I fully understood the horror of my fellow teachers when I opted to leave the Bd. of Ed.) So this clarity gave me closure to a question I had been pondering quite awhile. But I might add gaining this clarity, taking this journey

​back through my years of teaching service​, I came away with a greater gift, a new appreciation for  and valuing my contribution. I was myself.

Je ne rien regrette! I did it my way...

cause that's how I roll.

The Highlight of My Career in Education I

Recently I investigated the mystery of why after a 21 year  teaching career in NYC I have no pension...better late than never. This project took me on a trip down memory lane. I reviewed my years as a paraprofessional/teacher's assistant, my years teaching in an alternative program called ASHR/Auxiliary Services For High Schools and my years teaching on the college level as an adjunct professor ay BMCC and NYU. All those years of teaching service just didn't add up to a pension. Why? What was missing? I contacted the United Federation of Teachers and the Teachers Retirement Fund in NYC to get some answers. I did get more clarity from the union rep right here in FL. where I reside.

And then the light came on...there was a 3 year period in the middle of my career when I left the Board of Education for an offer I couldn't refuse. Here's how it all began...

My career in education first began when my 5 kids were all in school and I was going to college at night to get a teaching degree. I decided to get some on the spot experience and extra money. So I went to the high school my 2 oldest attended to get a position that allowed me to be off when my kids were...cause that's how I roll! As luck would have it they were looking for a para so I fell right into that job. I enjoyed working with kids in the reading program,cause I am an avid reader myself. Ever hear of reading foe pleasure I would ask them. I also enjoyed getting the accolades from my daughters' teachers,she a star student but not so much the complaints about my son who enjoyed cutting up and not doing homework. That position took me through to my degree and my divorce which I got in the same year which was lucky for me because now I really needed to support myself. While working as a para I befriended  a couple of teachers who later left the traditional classroom and moved on to ASHS, an alternative program.I'm all about alternative so they invited me to come on board when I got my degree...which I did cause that's how I roll! At that same period in my life I moved to Long Beach,L.I. I went to the sea to recover from my divorce after a 21 year marriage. 21 seems to be a relevent number in my life story. There I made some new friends and swam in the healing waters of the Atlantic. 

I enjoyed my time at ASHS, it was a scary/exciting time being newly divorced and all. I had gone from my parents' to my husband with no breathing space in between, this was my first time on my own and I was 40 years old. Je ne rien regrette, I did it my way.

I loved teaching,I prepared the HS dropouts for the Language Arts part of the GED which was right up my alley and it was thrilling when they passed and could go on to college. And I loved using my creativity to create fun lessons. It was a stimulating environment. As the years rolled by, I got an invite from a friend and former neighbor. She was marrying an important person at Adelphi University on LI and he was looking for someone to run the Manhattan Center. By this tim e I was living in Manhattan in Tribeca so she asked me if I was interested in the job? I was thrilled! My fellow teachers not so much...are you crazy? leaving the board of ed? (clue-years later I understood why) . At the time I said Why? I got a better offer and I meant it. I was delighted with this opportunity,not to be cavalier about it...I guess I was just naive and innocent.

This assignment was the highlight of my career so far. My commute to work was a short ,sweet bus ride from Tribeca downtown to 28th St. , very pedestrian. 

My duties were to oversee all the Ed programs offered at the site 7 days a week and make sure they were running smoothly. I loved calling meetings with all the program heads to brainstorm, problem solve and raise morale. I was in my element! My first challenge came when the operations manager who had expected to be promoted to my job quit. (welcome to the real world) I admit I got this position through nepotism. Now I needed to throw myself into hiring a new operations manager. I threw myself into it with gusto and took on the challenge. I placed want ads and interviewed candidates. I loved it! I hired a young black man who was bright and savvy. My supervisor loved him, a coup for me. coincidentally, he just happened to do some volunteer work at the Joyce Theater/Dance. I enjoyed many a dance performance with comps from him. Ah! the perks of the position.

What People Do Not Know About Me...

I tend to be a laid back mellow sort of person with a cheerfulk disposition but do not push me because I have been known to pick a baseball bat and start swinging. A baseball bat was my weapon of choice , since I'm against guns. It all started after my divorce, I felt scared and alone. So I decided to get a baseball bat and put it under my bed for protection.Over the years I only used it twice: once when my son took a joy ride in my brand new hard earned car. It wasn't long after that he moved out which was all for the best as I didn't want to commit a homicide. The next event was when my ex-boyfriend  pushed me to the limit, I jumped on the bed and started swinging the bat. Enuff said,we are no longer together.

As I have been 'working on' myself for years, I got to a place thgat I wanted to handle these upsets in my life in a more mature manner. I made a conscious decision to throw away the bat feeling just having it attracted bad juju. In it's place I started studying non-violent communication which was started by Marshall Rosenberg who wrote a book by the same name. Also known as compassionate communication, I have incorporated it into my repertoire . I went to a study group for several years where we practiced the techniques. I have since implemented it into all my affairs : negotiating with my landlord, being an advocate for myself over unfair billing practices etc. so now I am armed with words and beware the POWER of words!