I grew up in Philly. My mom was a riveter on Navy ships during World War I. She raised me and my three brothers. When I was an infant, I had whooping cough, bronchitis, and pneumonia all at once. Being that sick put me into a coma for a short period. Surviving it was nothing short of a miracle, but when I did come out, I started having seizures.

We moved to California at age 12 so that I could receive medical treatment for epilepsy at Stanford. I stayed here all of my life and became a bagger at Safeway, Walmart, and then Target.

I love music. I started singing gospel at church when I was six. I love jazz and music from the 60s and 70s. The Temptations are my favorite. I sing in my church choir at Jerusalem Baptist Church.

One of the blessings of being ill was that I have become very close with Palo Alto’s first responders over the years. To this day, I end my morning walk at my local Palo Alto fire station (station 5) to have coffee with the firefighters, who have become good friends. Actually, I can’t drink coffee anymore…I stick to water and green tea.