2012 conventions 2012 election 2013 session 2013 special election arts arts and culture author ballot measures basketball bomb books boy scouts budget bullying business charlie hales children clackamas climate change coal college courts crime culture culture club democrats drugs economy education environment family film fluoride food gay rights guns handguns health health care health insurance high school history housing immigration international internet kitzhaber law legislature lgbt literary arts living marijuana marriage media medicine mental health military minor parties mohamed mohamud movies music native americans news newspaper obama olympics oregon our town parenting pers photography police politcs politics port portland portland business journal president prevention public safety religion republicans rnc romney rural salem sam adams sandy hook schools science shooting sports suicide supreme court taxes technology television terrorism theater third parties transportation union university of oregon washington wildfire women

Please see my post on the subject of Shaindel's childhood and background. I am Shaindel Beers' mother, SheilaSB.

Regardless of viewpoint, I am glad my daughter's writing has helped you.

posted 2 years, 6 months ago
view in context

I am Shaindel Beers' mother, and I wish to set the record straight. When Shaindel was five, I took her and her younger sister to Texas to visit friends. Yes, I did have a 1972 Chevy Nova without air conditioning. Yes, my former co-worker Nancy, the owner of a Pomeranian dog, had lost her sight in an automobile accident, and we did visit Nancy.

In June 1996 my family and I were in the process of buying a larger home in the country so that Shaindel and her siblings could have their friends visit on weekends and holidays. I had envisioned some of our children being married there and celebrating other happy events. In preparing to move, we had packed up many of our belongings and had the boxes sitting in the den while waiting for a truck to take them to a storage facility. To make matters worse, my father died unexpectedly, and this, of course, was a major disruption. Some unscrupulous people who knew of our plans capitalized on the situation to burglarize our house. After helping Shaindel turn in her 4H projects, I entered the home and surprised the burglars, who struck me and knocked me down when I tried to call for help. Then, when I tried to hold the burglars and their vehicle until the police arrived, the burglars defied me and drove to the police station, where they claimed they were the cleaners I had hired. This was an outright lie because I had hired other cleaners (reliable, honest people) for the next week. The police, being an inept small town department, believed the thieves in spite of the fact that the stolen goods were on the truck. The police refused to make them return our belongings, and my family and I lost everything we had worked for all our lives. As readers might surmise, the police arrested the wrong person, me.

Shaindel was given many advantages (lessons in dance and music, ten years of 4H, honors programs, and lifelong religious training) and was encouraged to get a college education. She also had loving parents who participated in community and school activities and who supported her academic and creative efforts.

I am happy that Shaindel is a tenured professor and that she has had her works published. However, her childhood was by no means deprived or tumultuous.

posted 2 years, 6 months ago
view in context