• Nancy J. ThornerNeighbor

  • Lake Forest-Lake Bluff, IL

I have always been a Republican conservative, having grown up in a suburb of Reading, Pa in Berks County which borders Lancaster County in which many Amish still make their home.  The Amish are hard working, conservative individuals who speak PA Deutch (a dialect that over the years has developed into a corruption of German and English).  It was not uncommon as a child to see Amish buggies in the Reading area riding along the "Tulie" to attend Amish reunion gatherings (the Tulpehocken Creek joins the Schuylkill River near Reading).

My Republican conservative nurturing came from my own PA Deutch (German) heritage, which in no way ties me to the Amish (a strict religious German group who still practice old-world ways) who still abide in Lancaster county, other than having a father who spoke PA Deutch until he attended a one-room school house near Reading, PA where he learned to speak the English.  I regret that I never took the time to learn how to speak PA Deutch from my dad.

There is also a correlation of hard work as a virtue (honest work for a day's pay) that is apparent in those born into a PA Deutch heritage and the Amish people.

With this background, conservatism and hard work have became a way of life for me and an integral part of who I am.  The same has also shaped my political philosophy as is reflected in what and how I write and live my life as a senior citizen.  I believe in honesty and transparency in politics and am often critical of the Republican Party, despite my life-long affiliation with the Republican Party.

Regarding my educational background, music has always been important to me.  After graduating from Wilson High School in Spring Township, PA, I went on to receive a BS in Music Education from Lebanon Valley College, a few miles south of "chocolate town" Hershey, PA, and a Masters degree in Music Education from West Chester State College in West Chester, PA.

I no longer teach music, but I remain a cellist with the North Suburban Symphony based in Lake Forest, IL and play both clarinet and cello to enhance worship in the church I attend.

In respects to my writing, I only discovered that I could write when Bill Clinton was elected to office.  It was then that I felt the need to write, having never done so before.  After finding unexpected success I was hit by the "writing bug" which continues to this day.  I couldn't stop writing if I wanted to, nor could I give up music which is a calming influence which enables me to continue to write in a reasoned way.  

Realizing that not everyone will agree with all that I write where political overtones are apparent, I do attempt to back up what I write through research, so readers know where I am coming from and that my writing reflects ideas and opinions that have already been verified and documented.

 

  

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