Born in Nebraska while my father was attending college on the G.I. Bill, I spent my first eight years worshipping my big brother and dreaming about growing up to be a cowboy. We moved to New Jersey and then to Connecticut, and after high school graduation I headed to Syracuse University to major in journalism. By graduation, I had changed majors twice and married a very nice fellow I met at a dining hall protest our freshman year. Unable to shake my interest in the history of dress, I finally took the graduate school plunge at the University of Rhode Island, where the research bug bit me hard. In 1976 I accepted a one-year teaching appointment at a university I'd never heard of in a state I had never visited, and I have been here ever since. Forty-one years later, I retired. A new adventure begins.

Since retiring, I have been doing more reading for fun, more cooking and crafts, and less formal research. I joined a book club and two pub trivia teams. I still enjoy all kinds of music, sampling craft beer, watching Indian films, and playing tourist in the Washington-Baltimore area. Our daughter, Maria lives nearby with her family. Our son Danny lives and works in Baltimore, when he isn't off playing in an Ultimate tournament.