Life Without a Stage Manager consists of acts and scenes from my life. It features memories of my Depression-era childhood, one of nine children, spent on a farm on the arid eastern plains of Colorado. My family endured drought, grasshoppers, dust blizzards, and belly-hunger. For entertainment, we swam in the stock tank in summer and played family games throughout the year. During the school year, we eagerly anticipated the literary meetings and box suppers at the community school. The book recounts stories of my love-rich, but cash-poor, marriage to Lloyd and of our children and grandchildren. A mentor influenced my decision to be a teacher, and in my 35-year career as a high school English teacher/Guidance Counselor, I taught an estimated 20,000 students. For 36 years I have grappled with the effects of Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) brought on by the nationwide Swine Flu Inoculation program. An appearance on the Phil Donahue Show provided an opportunity for me to caution viewers about the relative benefits vs. risks of vaccinations. It is not a memoir per se; rather, the stories provide glimpses, or bits and pieces, of my life. Like looking through a kaleidoscope, each one reveals a new, varying view."