Born Bronx
My birth name is Barbara Ann Walsh Born in Bronx New York on june 15th 1951 to an Irish protestant father and Italian Catholic mother. I had one older brother. We moved to Los Angeles California in 1955 where my four younger siblings were born. One sister and three more brothers, Since I am one of six children you might guess that about now my family is huge, you would be right..
My father also wrote a little poetry and loved to recite it. I began rhyming almost with my first words. Daddy would always tell me you are a poet you just don't know it yet. I guess he was right.. Although I've spent most of my life writing and rhyming I only began calling myself a poet about nine or ten years ago. I have written all these years for my own enjoyment and sanity and so I Had never even thought about publishing anything until recently.
My father also wrote a little poetry and loved to recite it. I began rhyming almost with my first words. Daddy would always tell me you are a poet you just don't know it yet. I guess he was right.. Although I've spent most of my life writing and rhyming I only began calling myself a poet about nine or ten years ago. I have written all these years for my own enjoyment and sanity and so I Had never even thought about publishing anything until recently.
In school I was extremely shy and self-conscious being the smallest one in all my classes and very thin. We were very poor and when I was about eight years old my father took to drinking. With an alcoholic father the school would buy our shoes and bring us food and I just knew the whole world knew about it....
I started to become silent, my joy in life was just dwindling away. I was a child with the problems of an adult it seemed. My fourth grade teacher Mr Border noticed something in my writing. He took me aside and told me not to hold things in. He said that i needed to let my feelings out and I could do it on paper. It wouldn't matter if no-one read it. It would have still been released and I could even tear it up if I wanted.. He gave me my first journal and told me to let my feelings out on paper and I did and have ever since. My first real poem was in Mr Borders fourth grade class. It was about the gold rush days. The title was simply "I Am A Wagon Wheel" It was published in the local newspaper. I still have it. The poem not the newspaper. I wrote a poem several years back called my hero my mentor dedicated to Mr Border and will post it at a later time.
MySpace Poetry
Around 2000 I joined Myspace and began writing my own blog on and took the Myspace name of shallimarRose.. shallimar my favorite perfume and Rose my mothers name. This was my Myspace profile picture.
As a Myspace poet I frequented Flex Writers Creative Network, The Creative Poetry Coral known as the CPC and later did some moderating on Legacy Writers of Harmony Pub. My pen name was bj smith but later so many knew me as shallimarRose that I added the aka shallimarRose to everything. bj smith had already been on the few things I had published.
When Myspace began to bomb out My whole poetry group Harmony Pub moved to a site called mybabyboomers.com. It was supposed to be a safe place for the baby boomer generation but we soon found out people there were more interested in hooking up and sending dirty pictures then writing or reading. I do have some close friend there though so I am still a member. Anyone that sends me anything bad is deleted and blocked.
♥ I Love wikinut because it is JUST ABOUT WRITING. There are no picture comments, chat rooms (that I know of) Just real writers wanting to leave their mark and yes of course we all would like to be read and recieve critique.
I'm loving it here at wikinut.
As a Myspace poet I frequented Flex Writers Creative Network, The Creative Poetry Coral known as the CPC and later did some moderating on Legacy Writers of Harmony Pub. My pen name was bj smith but later so many knew me as shallimarRose that I added the aka shallimarRose to everything. bj smith had already been on the few things I had published.
When Myspace began to bomb out My whole poetry group Harmony Pub moved to a site called mybabyboomers.com. It was supposed to be a safe place for the baby boomer generation but we soon found out people there were more interested in hooking up and sending dirty pictures then writing or reading. I do have some close friend there though so I am still a member. Anyone that sends me anything bad is deleted and blocked.
♥ I Love wikinut because it is JUST ABOUT WRITING. There are no picture comments, chat rooms (that I know of) Just real writers wanting to leave their mark and yes of course we all would like to be read and recieve critique.
I'm loving it here at wikinut.
Married with children
I am married and have five grown children and grandchildren. This was my story posted earlier under the title page as ...
"February 11Th 1971 Fate or Fiction? You decide."
On February the 11th 1971 my now husband returned from Vietnam two days after the big Northridge earthquake. He returned to find his wife with another man. They had married when he was home on a previous leave he went back and served eighteen months and returned to find it was over. Also on February 11th 1971 my first husband left me for an older woman two days after the same Northridge earthquake....
I was 8 months pregnant with a 20 month old son.
Fast forward to February 11th 1973... while shopping in a grocery store a male cashier took notice of me and started up a conversation. I went through his line for several days while he juggled my baby food jars to impress me, lol. Then one day he noticed me walking with the shopping cart with groceries as well my two small children in it.. He immediately asked for a break and drove over offering a ride home... We were married 8 months later... As we got to know each other we were shocked to find we had the same principal, went to all the same hang outs... Both spent Friday nights at the same movies and afterwords went to the same Bobs Big boy... The same teen center and dances.. At one point He worked at Dales market and I worked at the drugstore next to it in the same shopping center at the same time. Why did we never meet? Because it was not the right time...
Fate took over..
On October 27th of this year we are renewing our vows after 39 years of marriage. My two oldest will be best man and maid of honour and our three daughters acting as bridesmaids.. We have thirteen beautiful grandchildren and a first great-grandchild due in July. Yes timing is everything. I think it was fate. What do you think?
"February 11Th 1971 Fate or Fiction? You decide."
On February the 11th 1971 my now husband returned from Vietnam two days after the big Northridge earthquake. He returned to find his wife with another man. They had married when he was home on a previous leave he went back and served eighteen months and returned to find it was over. Also on February 11th 1971 my first husband left me for an older woman two days after the same Northridge earthquake....
I was 8 months pregnant with a 20 month old son.
Fast forward to February 11th 1973... while shopping in a grocery store a male cashier took notice of me and started up a conversation. I went through his line for several days while he juggled my baby food jars to impress me, lol. Then one day he noticed me walking with the shopping cart with groceries as well my two small children in it.. He immediately asked for a break and drove over offering a ride home... We were married 8 months later... As we got to know each other we were shocked to find we had the same principal, went to all the same hang outs... Both spent Friday nights at the same movies and afterwords went to the same Bobs Big boy... The same teen center and dances.. At one point He worked at Dales market and I worked at the drugstore next to it in the same shopping center at the same time. Why did we never meet? Because it was not the right time...
Fate took over..
On October 27th of this year we are renewing our vows after 39 years of marriage. My two oldest will be best man and maid of honour and our three daughters acting as bridesmaids.. We have thirteen beautiful grandchildren and a first great-grandchild due in July. Yes timing is everything. I think it was fate. What do you think?
So this is me today
This is me now.. Taken in August of 2011. My profile picture was taken last June on my 60th birthday.
OK now... I was born Barbara Ann... I have always loved the name shallimarRose and on myspace and facebook and blog talk radio I am called shallimar. A few close to me will call me Barbara or Barb... Some even chose to call me Ann or shalli... When I moved to Boomerplace I guess they were too lazy to type out shallimarRose or even shallimar so I became simply Rose..
So there it is... I have no preference to what I am called as long as I am called a friend.
My real name is Barbara, I love the name shallimar but if you prefer you can call me Rose...or even sR .Nice to meet you...
So thats my story and I'm sticking to it...
huggs! shalliimarRose
OK now... I was born Barbara Ann... I have always loved the name shallimarRose and on myspace and facebook and blog talk radio I am called shallimar. A few close to me will call me Barbara or Barb... Some even chose to call me Ann or shalli... When I moved to Boomerplace I guess they were too lazy to type out shallimarRose or even shallimar so I became simply Rose..
So there it is... I have no preference to what I am called as long as I am called a friend.
My real name is Barbara, I love the name shallimar but if you prefer you can call me Rose...or even sR .Nice to meet you...
So thats my story and I'm sticking to it...
huggs! shalliimarRose
