I Am Joe The Plumber

I'm an organic-eating, pro-choice environmentalist who is also a lifelong Republican and a personal responsibility kinda gal. I learned to be an independent thinker from my parents, who were both born during the Depression and grew up during WWII. Their families came from 19th century immigrants who worked hard and instilled a sense of self-worth and civic responsibility in their children. My parents are two of the best people I know and I am so proud of them and of everything their example taught me about the American Dream.

My father's mother crossed our country in a covered wagon as a baby, her Eastern European family settling in Colorado. My dad's father was of Scotts-Irish descent. My dad and his two brothers were raised in a strong, loving family dedicated to doing their best to always do the right thing. As an adult, my father served in the Army, then college where he earned a graduate degree. There was no GI Bill to pay for college in those days. He received no grants or loans. By the time he went to graduate school, he was married to my mother. They rented a small apartment and both worked hard to save money to send my dad to school. They lived frugally. They had one chair which they shared, and made their own bookcase for my father's books. Their landlady at the apartment had been a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp during WWII and they had a close relationship with her.

My mother is of German descent, the youngest of six children. Her parents divorced when she was three and she and her siblings were raised by their mother. They were poor. Despite their poverty, they always had enough food to share an extra plate if someone came to the door begging.