High School is a "gateway to the world" Pat Conroy says in BEACH MUSIC. If so, I raced out of the gateway at W-L High School into a life that has been a fascinating and exciting adventure.

Like many in our graduating class, I went to William & Mary College. During my freshman year, Larry Keating and I began a relationship, and we were married in 1963. We moved to Boulder, Colo., where I graduated from the Univ. of Colo. in 1964.

From there we moved to Blacksburg, Va., where Larry finished his degree and where I taught high school English. From Blacksburg, we traveled to Madison, Wisconsin and the Univ. of Wisconsin, where Larry received his Ph.D, and I received my Masters. By this time, we had two daughters, Lauren & Lisa.

We were in Madison during the turbulent late 60's and early 70's at the height of the Viet Nam War protests. While there, I was confronted with possibilities for social change that were eye opening and seemed possible. Changes in the area of human rights were happening,,,,from civil rights, to women's rights, to gay rights to children's rights. What I did not understand then was how long it would take and how difficult it would be for these changes to occur. Yet, our generation has moved all these changes forward at a fast pace, and I have supported these efforts and other causes all my adult life.

In 1973, we moved to Atlanta, Ga. Larry started his career at Ga. Tech, and I started the first reading program at a local high school. We were divorced in 1978. At this time, I received notice that I was going to be evicted from the apartment where I had been living simply because I had children. This act of injustice began for me a political journey that would take me from City Hall in Atlanta to Congress in DC. I worked with John Lewis and many others across the country, and finally, in 1988, against the backdrop of Reagan's family values platform, equal rights in housing for families with children was added to the Federal Fair Housing Law. This advocacy and final success remains one of the most meaningful accomplishments of my life.

Looking for a change and a way to support Lauren and Lisa more adequately, I got a realtor's license in 1986. For 20+ years, I have sold homes in Atlanta's lively and diverse intown neighborhoods. I live in one of those neighborhoods in a 1935 Tudor bungalow with my significant other. This house has morphed from a major "fixer upper" into an "almost" intown gem.

Both Lauren and Lisa returned to Atlanta after going out of state to college. Lauren writes for CNN and Lisa does research for Health and Human Services. Both are married, and I now have two grandchildren, Audrey and Molly, who constantly remind me of what is important in life.

I relax at our beach house overlooking the Atlantic on a barrier island off the coast of North Carolina. I love to read and to travel both in the US and abroad.

I am looking forward to seeing all of you who shared the W-L "gateway" with me at our 50th reunion! Many thanks to Mary Ann and to Lynne for putting this event together.