The winning essay

Six months ago my friend June Brasgalla wrote an essay about me for a contest about people who reinvent themselves in the second half of their lives. The contest sponsored by Wells Fargo Investments. It was called the Second Half Champions contest. Duh. I was pleased and honored by her lovely words about me but never even fantasized about winning. Now it seems It pays to have a dear friend who is a great writer. Of the thousands of entries, we were one of the three winners in the state of Washington. In addition to awards, video interviews, they are flying her to Seattle to present the award to me, putting her up in a hotel, meals, and other amenities. That is the best part of all. It means June will be here and we will also bring our dear friend Sandy if she can get away. I can invite all my friends and family to attend. It should be a great party - sometime in early October.Here is the essay:

Claire has been my friend for over 25 years. When I first met her she lived in Miami, Florida, where she led a very busy and productive life. Divorced at an early age with two sons to raise and no guaranteed career, she created for herself a life of productivity.
Her most productive years , financially, were in her 50’s and 60’s where she worked as an accountant and was organizing secretary for organizations like Harvard Alumni club, Wharton Alumni club, etc. Her three sons were grown and lived far away so Claire made a life for herself where she was healthy , happy, and had many friends.

However , one day, when she was in her mid sixties, she woke up and she could not see out of one eye. An examination showed that she had had an optical stroke which left her, effectively, blind. She handled it with aplomb...still driving her big old car around and still going to a different group meeting every day or night of the week. Two years later, while driving through Arizona on vacation, the other eye shut down. Her worst fears realized, she faced life as a legally blind woman.

Since that time, she has moved to Seattle , Washington and started a whole new life.
She can see enough to get around a little ,and she moved into a home where there was some assistance and meals. She learned the bus system in Seattle and proceeded to get around that city by herself. After a year, she went to Guide Dogs for the Blind camp in California and met her lovely dog, Davida. The two of them spent a month learning to live together and now they are inseparable.

Claire has never lost her resolve to live life to the fullest. She joined Toastmasters in Seattle and, besides the weekly meeting, she went with the others to a local prison to help the inmates learn public speaking. She connected with the local Mensa group where she began to share her great ideas and penchant for innovative activities with the group and is now running for office as local group leader. She travels alone, a real challenge for a blind woman with a dog. However, she faces each challenge as an adventure and is not shy about accepting help from people who offer it.

She also joined the Speakers’ Bureau and , with Davida, gives about 8 talks a month.
Claire is a gifted writer, has written books and articles about running a business and improving your life. She has a Blog and writes stories about her adventures with DaVida.
She is eager to travel and visit friends, and is not afraid of the difficulties that might face her.

She is the consummate friend, and has literally saved lives by her wise counsel and her supportive friendship and availability. No woman I know inspires me more or makes better lemonade than Claire!!!!

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