The Road I've Traveled

By Danna Shirley

Have you ever contemplated how you arrived at your destination in life? What choices you made and what events took place to bring you to this end?

My Birth:

After World War II, my parents moved to CA because my dad couldn’t make a sufficient living for his wife and two daughters in AR. Their family was complete, or so they intended, until mom got pregnant with me. The term “unexpected pregnancy” does not begin to describe the impact another mouth would mean to my parents. Thank goodness abortion was not an acceptable solution in 1948.

They lived in a housing project in Richmond, across the bay from San Francisco. When they were notified that this housing area was to be demolished, they bought a piece of property in Pinole and my dad began to build the house in which I was raised. We moved there when I was five.

God had me born in California!

My Education:

I started kindergarten at the Margaret Collins School, or Pinole #2 as it was called, I attended the “Old School” or Pinole #1 for 7^th and 8^th grades, then Walter T. Helms Jr. High in San Pablo, CA for 9^th grade, and Richmond Union High School in Richmond, CA for 10^th thru 12^th grades. I took one college class after graduation on speed reading and couldn’t keep up so after three weeks dropped out. I kept my childhood friends throughout my teen years and have reconnected with some through Facebook.

God has given me lifetime friends!

My Employment:

After graduation, my first job was with the:

1.      Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), Berkeley, CA; Security, Visitor Control clerk (1996-1970)

Other employment included:

2.      Oxford-Lafayette Co. Hospital, Oxford, MS; insurance clerk, business office (1971-1974)

3.      Kaiser Permanente Hospital, Richmond, CA; pharmacy (May-Oct 1973)

4.      FDIC, Watkins Banking Co., Faunsdale, AL; receivership clerk (1978-1979)

5.      First Alabama Bank, Montgomery, AL; Trust Dept (Feb-Aug 1980)

6.      Various volunteer positions at churches and schools

7.      Vancleave UMC, Vancleave, MS; secretary (1990-May 1992)

8.      Dr. JoAnne Calhoun, Clinical Psychologist, Ocean Springs, MS; intake transcriptionist

9.      Ocean Springs Fire Dept, Ocean Springs, MS; Admin Asst (1998-2004)

10. Bartlett Senior Center, Bartlett, TN; new members clerk (2005-2006)

Employment gave me income and independence!

My First Apartment:

A regular paycheck permitted the purchase of my first car, a 1957 Chevy Bel Air two-door hardtop in mint condition, which my father found for me. It also allowed me to move into my first apartment in San Pablo, CA at nineteen. It was just five miles from Mom and Dad but I was still on my own, except for having three roommates over time who shared expenses: Linda Autrey, Susan Wagner, and Cathy Pannell. This apartment just happened to be across the courtyard where my future husband, Ron, lived with five sailors off of his ship, the U.S.S. Merrick. Before he left for Viet Nam he had proposed and that’s when my life’s adventure really began.

My move into an apartment allowed me to meet my future husband.

My Marriage:

Ron and I eloped to Reno, Nevada and during our thirty-four years together we resided in seven states and three countries but made 19 moves:

1.      California (San Pablo, Oakland, Imperial Beach, Napa)

2.      Bermuda

3.      Maryland (Perryville)

4.      Alabama (Montgomery, Demopolis)

5.      Mississippi (Oxford, Ocean Springs, Gautier, Vancleave)

6.      Florida (Pensacola)

7.      Philippines (San Miguel, Subic Bay)

8.      New Jersey (Mt Laurel)                                                                           

9.      Washington (Bremerton, Port Orchard)

10.  Japan (Sasebo)

After our five-year interval in Japan, we returned to MS where Ron went back to his same job at his same desk at Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. We built a steel-frame home in Vancleave due to the hurricane threats and had settled in to work, retire, and live out our days there. Little did we know our days were numbered?

My marriage to Ron sent me all over the world.

My Children:

Kristen Valera Shirley was born February 27, 1971 in Oxford, MS.

Russell Keith Shirley was born February 7, 1977 in Subic Bay, Republic of the Philippines.

Aaron Matthew Shirley was born September 15, 1980 in Montgomery, AL

and Grandchildren:

Mackenzie "Kenzie" Rae Pierce was born January 17, 2001 in Ocean Springs, MS (Aaron’s daughter)

Emma Katherine Grigson was born October 2, 2002 in Memphis, TN (Kristen’s daughter)

Isabella “Bella” Reese Grigson was born July 4, 2006 in Memphis, TN (Kristen’s daughter)

God has blessed me with a wonderful family.

My Last Move:

I would still be in Mississippi today if Ron had not passed away unexpectedly from pneumonia at age fifty-six. Losing him necessitated another move, which brought me to live closer to Kristen. She met her husband, Shawn Grigson, while both of our families attended church together in Gautier, MS. He was hired right out of college by a company in Memphis, and so she moved to TN after they married in 1998. 

Living all over the world led my daughter to meet her future husband.

My Last, Last Move:

Well I thought I had finally settled down in my last home in Bartlett, TN but in 2013 caregiving duties took me to Napa, CA to help my sister, Paula, care for her husband with Parkinson's and my mother who was 93 and living alone at the time. I rented my house and stayed in Napa for two years and three months, and then returned to TN. I didn't want to uproot my renter and I also wanted to locate closer to Kristen and my grandgirls, so I bought a home just five miles away from her in Cordova, TN. Am I through moving? Only God knows!

My Churches:

I grew up attending Pinole United Methodist Church, Pinole, CA until I was sixteen years old. However, salvation did not come to me until 1980 at age 32 at:

1.      First Assembly of God, Montgomery, AL

Then a short move to Mt. Laurel, NJ where we attended:

2.      Lighthouse Tabernacle, Lumberton

Another move to the MS Gulf Coast (1981-1992) brought me to:

3.      Cedar Lake Christian Assembly, Biloxi

4.      Grace Fellowship Church, Ocean Springs

5.      Fountain of Praise, Gautier

6.      Vancleave United Methodist Church, Vancleave

When we moved to Japan (1992-1997), I attended:

7.      Hario Chapel and several missionary churches; I also taught a Bible study for 4 years.

Then back to the MS Gulf Coast (1997-2004) for:

8.      Vancleave United Methodist Church . . . again

9.      A small home fellowship under my former pastor (#8 above)

10.  Vancleave Assembly of God, Vancleave

My move to TN in 2004 began a long search for a home church until I finally settled at:

11. Bartlett First Assembly of God, Bartlett (2005-2013)

A temporary move to CA (2013-2015) for caregiving duties, brought me to:

12. Napa Valley Baptist Church, Napa

Then back to TN (2015-present) and back to:

13. Bartlett First Assembly of God, Bartlett

God directs our footsteps and brings people into our lives.

My Retirement:

I retired in 2006 from the Bartlett Senior Center at age 58 when my granddaughter, Bella, was born. I believe I’m busier now than when I worked full time. I continue to attend the Creative Writing Class at the Senior Center . . . bonded, connected, and united to these writers as close as any family can be.

My Writings:

I now sit in front of my computer writing on my books and short stories. I’ve written four book(let)s:

1.      Do You See What I See

2.      A Widow’s Advice to Young Wives

3.      Sleepy Bend

4.      A Mother’s Hard Heart

I have two Christian romance novels sitting on my hard drive:

1.      Southern Return

2.      The Silk Purse

With two possible sequels in my thoughts:

1.      Do You See What I See Too

2.      Oaks Manor (sequel to Sleepy Bend)

and lots of ideas. My creative writing assignments roll out a short story almost every week.

Thank You, Lord, for Your many blessings

and Your sovereign hand upon my life.