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Karen
Kulecz
Rich and Karen in front of
their motorhome
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Karen with one of her
competition dogs
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Karen and her cat at
Syracuse University
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It's
wonderful to have the opportunity
to reconnect and hear about people
that I knew 40 years ago!
Time has a way of passing, yet so
many things remain the same thanks
to good memories and good people.
After I graduated from RFA, I went
to Syracuse University. I
was still dating Gary Quatto at
the time, but he was always too
popular and hard to 'hold
onto." Prior to that I
dated, Henry Swift... Like
too many young girls, I "invested"
my identity in my boyfriends
rather than nurturing the
girlfriends that I had...wisdom
gained too late I guess.
Happily I met a great guy in
college, whom I married for a
brief time. He was a
brilliant young man from a
wealthy, Jewish family on Long
Island. Needless to say, I
never really could figure out what
fork to use, nor could I see the
point of "dressing for
dinner." Being from a
working class, Catholic family it
should have been obvious that
sometimes cultural differences
trump love.
The best thing that came from that
relationship was that I met my
second husband, a friend of my
first...Yes, this does read like a
soap opera...Sadly, he was a Viet
Nam vet with a tortured
soul. As much as I tried, I
couldn't save Frank. He took
his own life, and I was a widow at
the age of 28. The dear
friends that I had, made pulled me
through, and I stayed in
Westchester County teaching
kindergarten.
Oddly enough, I had a student
teacher who insisted that I was
too young to hole up and simply
work my life away. This
young woman was wise beyond her
years. She dragged me to a
Halloween Party where I met
Rich. Naturally everyone was
younger than I, but I chatted, and
had a few drinks. Rich was
"worried" about my getting home
safely. The joke is that he
"followed me home, and I kept
him!" I guess I was
one of the original "cougars,"
since Rich is 9 years younger than
I.
So that brings me to the
present. Rich and I have
been married for 28 and a half
years, and happily I might
add. I've always wanted
children but wasn't blessed with
any. We have had a variety
of pets over the years that we
refer to as our "furkids."
Rich is a CPA and the Account
Manager for KLM Royal Dutch
Airlines worldwide. In his
heart, he wants to be a truck
driver. (ahhhh the quest for
simplicity!) I'm starting my
39th year of teaching come
September. This year it'll
be 3rd grade, however, I've taught
Kindergarten, 2nd, 4th and 5th
over the years. Science is
my specialty. I could have
retired this year, but I still
love my job!
As a hobby, I train and show dogs
competitively. I also teach
dog obedience classes. Rich
is beginning to share this hobby
now that he has a dog of his own
to work with. We travel to
dog shows and do alot of "camping"
in our motor home. We like biking,
walking, organic food, staying
healthy and keeping busy.
Life is good!
Rich and I live about an hour from
where we both work, so the commute
isn't the greatest, but we ride
down together and use the time to
talk and listen to music (very
eclectic in our taste). Our
home is in Stormville, NY, which
is about an hour and a half from
Manhattan. We rarely go into
the "City" preferring our more
rural setting. I'd love to
hear form any of you guys, and
you're welcome to visit if you're
in the New York area.
Hugs!
:-) Karen
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