Jan Morgan-Swegle Compass Point    I have been a Leland resident for almost 12 years. My husband, Tony, and I moved down here from Cleveland, Ohio, to enjoy better weather in retirement. We have three children and nine grandchildren. We also have a dog named Dixie, who runs the house and fully trained us in only a month. 

I missed working and my career after I retired, so I volunteered and then was hired at Novant Hospital in the Emergency Room for five years. It was a rewarding experience that taught me a great deal.

 I have always wanted to be a writer.  I  wrote a story about losing a job I held and loved for 17 years, getting my first piece published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer in the early ’80s. It was called, “Fired? No, Displaced.” In it, I talked about the trauma of being downsized and how I grew from the experience. 

I have also been  published in Blue Moon—A Magazine for Girls. I wrote a piece called “Dream Killer” that illustrated a discussion I had with my father many years before. I told him that I wanted to be a writer. He told me that being a writer wasn’t a real job and that I needed to be a secretary.

I also wrote for the West Geauga Courier and was again published in The Cleveland Plain Dealer. However, it wasn’t until I found a copy of Cape Fear Voices at Bridgewater Wines, our favorite wine store, that I started to write consistently again. I wish I could tell my father that I am, indeed, a writer.

I can’t thank Gerald Decker  enough for developing Cape Fear Voices and Teen Scene; they have given me my dream back. 

And, I’m so glad my husband and I drink wine. It was meant to be!