I was born and reared in Whiting, Indiana, an oil refinery town just north of Hammond. My background was typical of most who are reared in Whiting, which is predominantly a Roman Catholic area.

I was reared in a large family in which I was the middle of five children. My brother Jim (71) is the oldest and only son born info the Kinnane family. He and his wife Lynn now reside in Fullerton, California, along with their six children: Debbie (Vince) Hambright, Jimmy (Sandy) Kinnane, Kevin (Jill) Kinnane, Kelly (Darrell) Miller, Tracy Gonzalez, and Colleen (Tony) Reagins. Jim and Lynn are the proud grandparents of sixteen. For his high school training, Jim attended and graduated from a private boys' school. He then attended and graduated from Notre Dame University.

Sharon (57) was born next into the Kinnane family. On December 29, 1997, Sharon went to Heaven as a result of cancer. She was my older sister, but shorter by a long shot. She was 5' 1 1/2" tall; though I am six years younger, I'm 9" taller than she! Sharon lived with her husband Danny in Yorba Linda, California, along with their two daughters, Erin and Courtney.

I came in a few years later. Most don't know it, but my real name is Anita Jo. My parents nicknamed me "JoJo" because I was so big (9 1/2 pounds) and dark-skinned compared to my brother and sister who were fair in complexion and small, six-pound babies. I was always kind of the ugly duckling!

On the day of my birth, July 23, 1946, my dad went to the maternity ward at St Catherine's Hospital in East Chicago, Indiana, to see my mom. He was so excited about his new baby - me! He went to the nursery and looked through the glass windows at all the babies. He noticed a rather large baby in the back row. He thought, "Look at that big baby lying there. Bless the parents' hearts. What an ugly baby. We are so fortunate to have such pretty fair-skinned babies in our family! That baby is downright ugly!"

When he could not figure out which baby was the newest Kinnane baby, he motioned to the nurse and asked, "Which one is mine?" She couldn't hear his voice, but she could see his lips moving and figured out what he wanted. Almost apologetically, she pointed to the dark-skinned, ugly baby in the back row.

"That bi...bi...big, over-grown baby is mine?" my dad sputtered. He couldn't believe his eyes.

To the day he passed away, he always kiddingly said that he brought me home from the hospital and put me on the floor to see if I would crawl or bark! To his utter amazement, I could do neither!

Next is my younger sister Cindy (56). She and her husband Tim live in Merrillville, Indiana, with their son Timmy and twin daughters, Katie and Karen. I chuckle to myself about Cindy because she has always made fun of me for having so many kids. To her amazement, she had twins at 39 years of age!

Last but not least in the Kinnane family is the baby of our family, Sheila (53) better known as "KeKe". She and her husband Scott live in Temecula, California, with their three sons AJ, Patrick, and Jeffrey, and two daughters, Kristen and Jill. By the way, she used to tease me about all the kids we have, too. Interestingly enough, Sheila has "beat" me as I never had three children in four years!

Roy and I have six children: Tina, Roy Jr, Mike, Jason, Justin and Joy Marlene. Tina is married; she and her husband, LeRoy Wilkins, have three children Brooke, Brandon, and Bryce (our priceless grandchildren), they live in Moorepark, California. Mike, our son, is married to Ann Marie and they have one daughter, Jada, and are expecting their second child, due in July 2007. Jason is married to Allison, and they have a son named Aidan. Justin is married to Emily, and are the proud parents of two dogs. Roy Jr. and Joy (she is a junior in college) are at home with us in Munster, Indiana, where we have resided for the past 30+ years.

It's so hard to believe, but my parents' family tree now has many branches from their five children: 22 grandchildren and 21 great-grandchildren! Yes, I hail from a rather large family! I would not trade my roots for anything!

Both my mom and dad worked unbelievable hours - more than most normal parents. They tried to provide the best, and they gave us more than we ever deserved. We were given music lessons in piano and accordion. (I took accordion lessons just so I could see my name on the side of the accordion - it was great!) We were also enrolled in ballet, tap,acrobatics, drama, and voice lessons, as well as fencing and charm school. We were in the Whiting Sub-Juniors Club, another word for debutantes.

Dad and Mom also wanted us to be organized and efficient. They taught principles by which they had lived. When my dad gave me a job to do, he always took time to show me how to do the job if I did not understand his instructions. After he assigned me a job, he gave me a time schedule. He always checked on the end results. Dad was my teacher. Many of the stories in my book show my Dad's unforgettable influence on my life.

Time has passed and times have changed, but Mom's and Dad's teachings have remained. Even though they have passed away, I will never stop being grateful for what they taught me by word and deed. They taught me that a home is a place where divorce is never considered. They taught me that love is staying by each other through sickness and health, poverty and wealth, investments and reversals.

I must end this segment by writing to my parents, "Thank you for giving and teaching the best you could! My dream is that we will all be together in the end - happily ever after."