MEMOIR OF A GRATEFUL POET is the second book Judy has written. She began composing the poems themselves in her early forties. That was in the early 1980s when she moved from Colorado to California, and the fact that flowers bloomed even in the Wintertime there inspired her very first adult poem! In the last few years, she realized she needed a better way to preserve her eighty-plus poems. She also wanted to make them available to not only poetry lovers but chose to add memoir style' reflections on her own life and that of her parents and grandparents that she hopes will also be helpful to readers. Having lived in eight states in the West, many of the events described may add to your understanding of common United States history.

Way back when Judy first began sharing new poems with friends and family, she heard readers thank her for expressing feelings they had but couldn't put into words. Some of those poems centered on particular people. She feels ballads are the most difficult for her to write. It was worth it' she notes, though, because it preserves episodes in the lives of family ancestors and noteworthy people, like her great grandfather who went with his father around the Horn' by ship from the East Coast to the West to participate in the Gold Rush!

Preserving fabulous experiences from various travels has been more than creating poems as memories of her own life. She hopes readers may be inspired to consider places to visit and methods of providing family times that enhance the educational experiences of themselves and their children. She hopes you will find enjoyment in the reading of both the poems and the memoir events included; plus, if you are encouraged to write poetry yourself, she wishes you as much growth and other benefits as possible from putting pen to paper, to use an old-fashioned phrase that can include our modern ability to ply the typewriter and/or computer keys!