Penny, who also happen to be domestic short haired cats.
I come from a family of five children: two brothers, Mark and David, and two sisters, Tamara and
Darla. Born on August 13, 1969, I am second to the youngest. We are all very close, but I have an
especially close bond with my dad and mom, Fred and Sally Thain. They raised us in a small town,
Glennville, Georgia, which is approximately 60 miles SW of Savannah. When I say small, I mean
minuscule. The town consisted of a few traffic lights, banks, pharmacies, Hardees and my dad's 5 &
10 Variety Store. I spent summers working for my dad, who didn’t cut me any slack as his daughter, I
might add. While I quickly learned the value of a dollar, I came to realize that retail was not a career
choice for me.
My brother David worked for Piedmont Airlines in Charlotte, North Carolina and was constantly
traveling for FREE. This got my attention! That was the moment in which I set my sights on the travel
industry. In the spring of 1988 I enrolled at Southeastern Academy of Travel and Tourism in
Kissimmee, Florida, which involved a 16-week course covering Airline Ticketing, Car Rental
procedures, Conversational French, Geography, Hotel Management, Public Speaking and Travel
Agency functions.
Upon graduating from SAT&T, I knew there weren't any jobs related to travel in "Small-town", USA so I
moved to Charlotte to live with my brother David. Once there I decided to work as a Temporary until I
could find permanent employment with an airline or travel agency. One of my first assignments was
at Piedmont Airlines Central Baggage Services. Due to Piedmont’s merger with USAir, that
assignment only lasted for ten months. However, my luck held and my next assignment was with the
USAir Simulator Engineering Department where I was hired full time as the department
administrator. This was a very intriguing place to work and I was even allowed to fly the simulator: my
take-off was executed with precision, but you should have seen the landing. There was no way I could
keep the "airplane" on the runway. I "crashed and burned" and developed a new admiration for pilots.
Ironically, four and a half years later I transferred to the Chief Pilot’s Office. This is where I currently
work as the Office Coordinator and assistant to the Regional Director of Flying.
Although I do not have lofty aspirations, I do have a thirst for knowledge. During my tenure with US
Airways I decided that it was high time that I went to college! After many years of blood, sweat and
tears, I will graduate this fall from Central Piedmont Community College with an Associates degree in
Business Administration. I do not have any regrets in my reverse beginnings - career, then college -
as my work experience has given my studies the added dimension that I would not have had
otherwise.
On a more personal note, my passion in life is the great outdoors. I live to snorkel, hike and kayak,
and those are just the top three of my outdoor pursuits. It is my great fortune that Chris shares the
same interests. Chris also has a sailing background and has managed to pass that interest on to
me. Ultimately our dream is to set sail and see the world. Then I will be able to snorkel any time I
please. To this end I plan to continue my education in order to increase my language skills so that we
will be able to effectively communicate in other languages during our travels. In order to diversify, I
have chosen Spanish and Chris will tackle French.
In September of 2003, hiking indelibly became a part of my soul when Chris and I were bound for the
summit of Longs Peak, Colorado, and I found that I couldn’t go any further. It may sound dramatic, but
no matter how much I longed to reach the summit, my body simply would not allow it. That experience
on “The Narrows” of Long’s Peak was a life-changing event for me. Even more memorable was in
October 2004 on the summit of Half Dome where Chris asked me to marry him. That moment is
something that will live on in our hearts forever. Since then, Chris has taken hiking to new levels and
now enjoys mountaineering. Sometimes when I know that he is climbing where the conditions are
especially tough, I am filled with fear that he may not come back to me. An event such as this
happened in March 2006 and thankfully he did safely return. The next month I received a call from a
pilot, Ed Terry. He told me about a song that he was led to write called “My Love’s in Arizona”, which is
about trying to come home to the one you love and not making it. Ed said that he wanted to film a
music video for the song and asked would I be willing to play the wife of the cowboy who doesn’t
make it home. This struck a chord deep within me. I told him yes, but of course, Ed didn’t know all of
the reasons why. Although I didn’t have formal training with acting, I felt that I would be able to do this
part justice because of the own turmoil that I’ve carried in my heart while waiting for Chris to return
home.
I wanted someone close to accompany me to Arizona for support if needed. Chris was working, but
my mom and a co-worker/friend, Carol Gell Crowley, agreed to accompany me. We flew to Arizona in
May of 2006 and filmed the video in Arizona. It was an emotionally charged day. On November 14,
1965, Carol lost her father, Sgt. Jack E. Gell, when he was killed in action in the Ia Drang Battle of
Vietnam. During the filming of “My Love’s in Arizona” Carol told me what it was like for her mom to
receive the news that her husband would not be coming home to her. She told me of the dark days
that followed for her mother and family. She told me how it felt to see video footage of the wood box
carrying her father come off the plane. The parallels are chilling to me of what Ed Terry saw as a pilot
that led him to this project. To know that I am a part of something that will benefit the children of our
service men and women who never made it home, fills me with a sense of purpose that I have never
known before. I fervently hope that my part in this project will somehow make a difference in their
lives. I urge everyone to listen to this song and watch this video and think of how it feels when you
know that your loved one is never coming home. I think of the loved ones left to carry on and I hope
that in some small way, I can make a difference in their lives.
Marisa
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