Deborah was born on a remote Indian reservation island in
Northern Manitoba of a Ukrainian father and French mother. This blending
exposed her to different cultures from birth, contributing to a unique world
view. Her father went to university for an engineering degree while her mother
supported the family. People were critical of her parents for not following the
traditional family style. It did not become apparent to her until she was in
college that her upbringing had been different. As a child when asked what she
wanted to be when she grew up her father would always ask her, “Why not ‘the
next level’?” If she said she wanted to be a teacher her father would ask, “Why
not a principal?” If she said, “Nurse.” Her father would ask, “Why not a
doctor?” There was never a question of her being female as being a hindrance of
any kind. In addition, in the Baron household, the question was not ‘IF’ she
would go to college but ‘WHERE’. Her mother prepared her for adulthood with,
“When you have your own home.” She made it clear that she should live
independently before settling down and getting married. Having a quietly willful
personality already, this childhood helped shaped her to be the inquisitive,
'question authority' personality she is today.
Before approval could be granted for her parents to marry
her father had to sign a declaration that he would raise the children in the
Catholic Church. Being the determined person she was she had a lot of questions
at Catholic school but she was quiet and shy. The questions were stored away
for later. The family moved to California from Quebec and into a secular public
school system. There was no apprehension in starting a new school in a
different country where the students commented on her clothing and ‘accent’.
Accent? What accent? There was some teasing but no bullying. High school was
relatively uneventful except for 3 teachers, in particular, English, junior
year and senior year Humanities. Miss
Mussey required her students to keep a journal. Initially she was at a loss as
to what to write and the pages seemed enormous, white and blank so the entries
were sparse and simple but Miss Mussey was complimentary and persistent. By the
end of the year, entries were long and detailed, filled with thoughts,
unanswered questions, poems and creative writing. This helped determine the
college degree choice, Liberal Studies. College was a positive, learning,
exploring time and writing became fun, not a chore. This is where, “The
questions that had been stored away for later,” started to be answered.
Fortunately, she was able to land a job with a startup
electronics company. After a long career in Silicon Valley and corporate
America, or perhaps, despite it, she found that she didn’t quite fit in,
questioned too much, was critical instead of acquiescent, a solo flyer, not a
team player. Faced with condoning the unethical and illegal actions of her CEO
she resigned without a job to go to, panicked but with a sense of freedom she
searched for the ‘ideal job’. Around this time her husband was diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s. Initially her reaction was shock, disappointment but also a sense
of, “I can handle this.” Ten years of caregiving was overwhelming even for the
strong of spirit and by the end it was a daily challenge to get through the
day.
When this trial ended she was looking at a widow’s life, an
empty nest, but a question from her soon to be sweetheart, “So what are you
going to do with the rest of your life?” was the impetus to write two books,
develop her art and create a website on her own. Instead of being overwhelmed,
it was as if the world was spread before her feet. “Yes, what was I going to do
with the rest of my life?” Share, find , explore, question, discover get to the
bottom of what made the business world such a crazy place, why were schools so
confining to some, figure out prejudices, question social issues and write and
create. All of the things she had been too busy to do while raising a family
and caring for her husband. During her time at home the internet and various
discussion groups were a life line to the outside world leading her to The
Idiot Free Zone where she was able to meet and discuss with others who wanted
discussion and not argument. Most importantly finding similar folks with the
desire to make the world a better place however difficult and challenging it
may be to find common ground. Because there is common ground. Because “It’s
Possible”.