Red, White, Blue, and Uncle Who?: The Stories Behind Some of America's Patriotic Symbols
Teresa Bateman was born in Moscow, Idaho, but moved to Washington State when she was three-years-old and that's where she has lived most of her life. An avid writer and reader, Teresa has been making up stories and poems since she was in grade school. "To me it was as natural as breathing," says Teresa. In high school Teresa would drive her teachers crazy by 'creatively' completing assignments. She always met the letter of their assignment, if not the spirit. She worked hard to inject some humor into her work, knowing that the teachers would be reading hundreds of papers and wanting her to stand out. It worked. Teresa took English classes for fun in college and when she applied for a Washington State Teaching credential, the state looked at her transcripts and added an endorsement to teach English through the 12th grade! Teresa cites her teacher Donnell Hunter at Ricks College in Rexburg, Idaho, as having a big influence on her and her writing. He published a class magazine to which the class submitted their work under pen names. Their grades depended on how many stories were included in the magazine. Teresa submitted under about 15 different pen names--just to be annoying! But she knew her work was being judged on its merits alone. Mr. Hunter encouraged her journal writing and instilled in Teresa good writing habits that she continues to this day. Teresa served an 18-month mission for her church in Argentina, and taught school for a year in Honduras. She also taught school briefly in St. Mary's, Alaska -- a little bush village with a population of 500 in the winter and 50 in the summer. She currently is the librarian at Brigadoon Elementary School in Tacoma, Washington. Teresa writes every single day. Without fail. She also works full-time, so that means some days she doesn't write much, but she always writes. When at home, Teresa's special spot for writing has a good view of the lilac bushes outside. The wallpaper on her computer is of a winding path through gentle rolling hills and meadows. She tells herself, when stuck for an idea, that the story lies at the end of that path. Teresa also writes when she's away from home and she carries a laptop computer with her. On family vacation to the Oregon coast she balances her E-mate on her knees and sits out on the deck as seagulls wheel and cry overhead and the ocean waves pound to the shore at the bottom of the cliff. Teresa lives in Tacoma, Washington.