ennifer A. Gunn has survived a plethora of misadventures during her life, the accumulation of which have landed her living in a house exactly 3/4 of a mile from the one in which she grew up, a middle-class home standing on the edge of a small village in Northeastern Ohio, the very same village she spent 17 years trying to get out of and 30 more trying not to return to. Jennifer has miraculously stayed alive for 49 years successfully managing to not be successful at much. Having worn the figurative hat of strawberry picker, rhododendron flicker, horse shit scooper, lifeguard, swimming/boating instructor, arts and craft instructor, US Army HEMMIT driver, administrative assistant and ammunition specialist, ass wiper, waitress, Disney World glow stick seller, store clerk, truck driver, cow shit shoveler, jail guard, maximum security prison guard, kindergarten teacher, oral history audio transcriber, history museum curator of collections, counselor with violent offenders (both juveniles and adults), police patrol officer, counter-narcotics agent, pharmaceutical diversion agent, lion and tiger caretaker, social science researcher for the Green Berets, director of capacity development with a US Aid project in Afghanistan, fiber shop owner, sheep shepherd, sheep finder, and now a potential indie author. During her career life, she was fired twice, deemed to be the worst undercover agent in the history of undercover agents, was the lowest paid phlebotomist ever, worked at one of the lowest paying police departments in the country, and was surely the lowest paid contractor to ever work in Afghanistan-ever. Her series of occupational disasters left her little time to pursue her personal interests. When possible she enjoys but does not prevail at; horseback riding, motorcycle riding, driving anything fast, going to the shooting range, hiking, camping, car camping, traveling (48 US States, 1 US island and 14 countries so far), doing anything outside, and quilting. Though Jennifer's high school counselor advised her that because she was not particularly academically inclined, she should not pursue a college career, she managed to complete four college degrees, two at the graduate level and was even recognized for academic achievements along the way. The train wreck she calls a personal life began with a series of unfortunate events and progressed steadily downhill from there. The silver lining of these dark clouds is that it was in these situations that Jennifer was finally able to 'win'. She was awarded nut case of the year more than once, worst mother of the year many times over, the worst ex-wife with first and the best ex-wife with the second. Life though, as we all know, works in mysterious ways. If it had not been for all the terrible, terrifying, excruciatingly painful, exhilarating, exciting, and wonderful experiences Jennifer would not have the deep appreciation for life, nature, the wonderful amazing people she has met along the way, and her family including her wonderful husband and son, she has today. She appreciates the little things in life, especially fresh air and water, flushing toilets, toilet paper, and coffee.
