THIS IS ME...FUN STUFF
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I was and always will be...present residence notwithstanding...a farm kid. Born in Orofino, Idaho in 1951, I grew up in the farm and ranch country in North Central Idaho. Nezperce was the family residence for my junior and senior high school years. My graduation in May, 1969 was a big occasion; education was of utmost importance in the Galarneau household. I barely had time to grasp that my formative years were over when dad asked, '...now what are you going to do?' Work smart, not hard daddy said, so, in answer to his query, '...guess I'll be going to college, dad.' Work sounded very much like, well work...God forbid.
I graduated from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Id. in May, 1973 having earned a BS degree in English and History. I 'knocked around' in different occupations until I decided to put my college degree to good use. I taught in the Lewiston, Clarkston, and Asotin school districts before teaching on the Nez Perce Reservation in Lapwai, Id. In 2001, I 'took the bull by the horns' and moved to Fairfield, CA and taught in the FSUSD until I retired in 2016. Two things in my life seemed to collide in the middle 2000's: horses and cowboy poetry. The two obviously go together and having had horses most of my life, poetry seemed a good way to tell a little something about me. Most of my poetry comes from reflections of my youth in Idaho. There is always a kernel of truth in all my prose and poetry, although I do 'stretch the blanket' every now and again. I am 1/8 Blackfoot and I am proud to embrace my heritage and a new, unfortunately sad, issue: MMIW---Missing/Murdered Indigenous Women. I had no idea how many women and boys/men have disappeared without a trace and have not been found. |