Date: Fri 09-May-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDREA

Quick Words:

snapshot-Anita-Thompson

Full Text:

SNAPSHOT ANITA THOMPSON

Occupation: I have three jobs - I'm a job coach/job developer at the high

school, I work at Bagelman in the morning three days a week, and I work at

People's Bank at night as a fraud service representative.

How long in Newtown: Seven years.

Family: My husband, Bill, works for the Marriott in Stamford. We have four

boys. My oldest son owns Clean Cut Lawn and Landscape in town, one son is

attending WestConn and is very active in the Theater Department, one is a

senior in high school and hopefully headed for Northeastern, and one is a

freshman in the high school. Both [of the younger ones] play lacrosse.

Hobbies: I read, do cross-stitch, take care of the animals, a dog and a cat.

Suzie takes care of the yard - that's the dog, and Sue takes care of the house

- that's the cat... Both are adopted; adopted pets are the best. I like

people. I like working with kids. I miss my kids so much - they're busy with

college and work.

What do you like to read: Mostly "trash." I've been reading a lot of New York

Times best sellers; Mary Higgins Clark, Judith Michaels - all fiction. I like

mysteries, action, and romance.

Favorite food: Walnut raisin cream cheese on an "everything" bagel, and

chicken noodle soup.

Organizations: I used to play bridge a lot with Welcome Wagon. The past couple

of years I did a lot of volunteer work at the middle school and started the

school store there and ran the book fair. I'd do pretty much anything to be

around kids and people.

Biggest change in town: They paved my road and they're putting in sewers. The

road is nice and smooth now, but people drive very, very fast. We'd like

people to slow down on The Boulevard.

View of Newtown: I think Newtown is a really great place to live. There's room

for diverse, eccentric, and eclectic people here and they are accepted for who

they are. We aren't going to agree with everybody, but at least we're able to

share the same place and enjoy people for their differences.

Favorite vacation spots: I like to go to California and see my family, or to

Indiana to see Bill's family. Or invite my family out to visit. I'd like to

have my mother or mother-in-law live with us. They're really fun.

Personal philosophy: See the cup half full. Just enjoy all the good stuff

that's going on. Make every day a great day. If you make every day the best it

can be, you can't look back and say, "I didn't do enough of that." For

example, I wouldn't clean my floor instead of going to a ball game or doing

something with a family member.