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Class
Member Bios
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Kathy Wells "Silver-Twinkie" |
Forum Signature: "Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather sliding in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and proclaiming, 'Wow! What a ride!'" -unknown Theme Song: "Movin' Right Along" by Kermit The Frog and Fozzi Bear |
We were all so sad to hear that Kathy passed away on January 2, 2006. She was the 13th member to sign up and was so excited to be a member of the class that she was one of the first ones to order class pins for both herself and her dog. She will be greatly missed.
Her first post on September 22, 2003:
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"Hi. I am so happy to have found this site. I am a single woman and am planning to purchase an RV and hit the road within the next year. My mother and sister are having a "hissy" fit because they think it is not safe for a single woman. Are there many single women on the road full-time? I'm hoping someone can share their experience with me. Also, is there anyone full-time in an RV smaller than 20ft? (not only am I a single woman, but I am a poor single woman)." |
Through the rest of her posts, she asked many thought-provoking questions and expressed appreciation for what she learned from others. She shared in everyone else's excitement as members of the class prepared for and hit the road.
Once she found her RV, a 1983 silver Avion, (a/k/a "Silver Twinkie") she was both excited and anxious...
"When
I think about towing the trailer I can get pretty anxious. I told
a friend that I did not know where I would end up because I can only
drive straight or maybe turn left. He thought I was joking and I didn't
tell him any different. The thoughts of a right-hand turn makes me...
I'm probably really scaring everyone now." |
On traveling alone:
| "I am not a bra-burning feminist, but I think it is sad when a woman becomes dependent on her spouse to the point that she feels helpless and incapable of doing things on her own." |
And she didn't let her fears stop her...
| "I'm going to get on the road this year come hell or high water, but you have no idea how scared I am. I'm not gonna let that stop me though! You call me 'courageous', but my family calls me 'insane'." |
Even when those she loved the most did not understand...
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"I wish I could say that my family supports my decision to RV full-time, but they do not. My sister thinks I am 'weird' and my mother feels like she is being abandoned. How did I overcome it? I can't say I have completely. I don't like the fact that my decison to full-time has caused my mother pain, but not long ago it dawned on me that I am 52 years old and still asking for my mother's approval on how I live my own life! Something very wrong with that..." Later: "Thanks to all of you for taking time to respond. After much thought I realized that I don't care so much about the people who think I'm nuts as much as I worry about my mother. She wants me to wait until she dies and I want to go now while I am in good health. I understand that she is fearful, but I am going to do this and I will try to make it as easy on her as possible by visiting as often as I can." |
She experienced obstacles and delays, but I'm sure neither she nor her mother expected Kathy to die first...
She was planning to meet the class in Quartzsite despite her fears:
| "Will you be in Quartzsite in Jan, 2006? ...You can't miss me, I will be the woman (towing silver Avion) with the white-knuckle grip on the steering wheel and hair standing on end." |
So when we returned from the rally, we were so sad to see this 2/11/06 post by Kirk:
| "Some
of you may remember Kathy Wells, who was very active on these forums
for two or three years as she prepared to go on the road full-time
as a single lady. She lived in Madison, IN and she tried to be a friend
to all. She disappeared from the forums last summer and some may have
wondered where she went, as I did. We had planned to meet here when
we were in that area last summer.
In
any case, last fall I got a note from her that she had suddenly
been stricken with heart problems and had spent most of her summer
in and out of hospitals and that the diagnosis was that the only
hope was a heart transplant. Kathy chose not to go on that list
for many personal reasons, and to live out what time she had in
the best way that she could. Today, I received the following note: "This is Kathy's sister (Lavada). I just got into her email file and thought I would let you know that Kathy passed on January 2, 06. She died a peaceful death and I was so fortunate to be able to spend the last 5 months with my lil sis. She was the most intelligent, creative person I've known. It was so hard giving her up. She wanted to get in her RV and travel and never got the opportunity." Kathy would want me to tell you all to accept her passing as she did and to learn from it that one should never put off a dream if it can be made possible today! -- Kirk" |
She said she thought she had a "gypsy spirit" and one of her posts said that she regarded her theme song to be "Movin' Right Along" by Kermit The Frog and Fozzi Bear. Let's join her in this light-hearted view of life and sing along...
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"Movin'
right along in search of good times and good news, We'll
learn to share the load. Movin'
right along we found a life on the highway, |
Kathy, your
classmates will raise a glass to your memory at every rally around the
campfire and will carry you in our hearts down the road. Godspeed to you,
our friend. 