Ye Olde Bio

Wildheart's real name is Diane. She was born in Chicago (The Windy City) and moved to West Texas (a windy place) when she was twelve during the Great Oil Boom of the 1970's. She has lived in Lamesa, Del Rio and Lubbock (The Hub City), and has lived inMidland (The Tall City) since 1987.

Diane's education began one bright September morning at Eugene Field Elementary School in Park Ridge, Illinois. Despite being left handed, nearsighted and a girl, Diane made good grades and was well liked by her fellow students and her teachers. Her second grade teacher once wrote that Diane was "a bit of a chatter box", but we all mature with time, and by fifth-grade a teacher commented on a report card that Diane "used her time wisely".

The path that lead to her present career began at Lamesa Middle School, where Diane took her first journalism course and worked in the school's library. A few years later she joined her high school's annual staff, yet another stepping stone on her way to a career in the mass communications industry. She graduated with honors from Frenship High School in Wolfforth.

After graduation, Diane's journalism career got a bit side tracked by the glitter of Hollywood. She went to work at a movie theater and gradually became a life time student at Texas Tech University. These were exciting years. Diane learned how to make nacho's by pouring melted cheese on corn chips, how to charge customers $5 for Milk Duds without feeling guilty and that only a few people can tell the difference between popcorn made 6 minutes ago and popcorn made 6 months ago. Diane's career in the entertainemnt industry soared and she was promoted to the box office where she was called alot of R-rated names by parents for not allowing their children into R-rated movies.

As Diane accumulated more and more college hours, changing her major several times, she grew tired of popping popcorn and longed for a life beyond the mall and above minimum wage, so she came to Midland, enrolled in the University of Texas of The Permian Basin in Odessa and graduated in December 1988 with a bachelors degree in literature and a minor in Spanish. The literature degree would explain the length of this bio; her Spanish can be best described as rusty and can only be spoken in the present tense.

At home home Diane enjoys spending time with her four cats: Nosey and Whisper, who are brown & black tabby brothers; Puff, a friendly Siamese female who was abandoned by some heartless person at Diane's apartment complex; and Smokey, a black, part Burmese female, who answers to the name "Little Kitty" and was also abandoned and mistreated, but is now happy and healthy. All of Diane's cats are neutered and their vaccinations are up to date.

In addition to her family life, Diane is an active volunteer. She tutors ESL (English as a Second Language) students for Midland Need to Read, a non-profit organization which offers free literacy and English programs. If you know anyone who is illiterate, needs help improving their literacy, wants to get a GED or can't speak English refer them to this agency by calling 915-685-4572. If you are illiterate, need help improving your literacy, want a GED or can't speak English, you probably don't understand any of this and should work on your education instead of playing with a computer.

Her activism doesn't end at the Midland County Line. Because she loves all animals, not just cats, Diane is a member of the Humane Society of the United States and a member of Amnesty International, because she likes people too. She is also a registered Democrat.

For the past 7 years Diane has been a judge for Midland Community Theatre's McLaren Comedy Playwriting Competition, which involves reading many really bad plays from all over the country in order to find one good play to be presented by a reader's theatre.

Diane was reared as a Unitarian-Universalist, but without the threat of eternal damnation, she feels little incentive to go to church and hasn't in years, except for when she has attended mass while visiting relatives in Chicago, which makes her a Drive-thru Catholic as opposed to a Cafeteria-Catholic.

Currently, Diane is the Editorial Department Librarian at the Reporter-Telegram , which is owned by the Hearst Corporation. She was originally hired by the newspaper's Production Department in February 1990 where she worked the night shift doing news and advertising paste-up. During her two years in the Production Department, Diane distinguished herself with her neatness, speed and wit. She is a two-time recipient of the MR-T's much covetted Employee of the Month Award, in recognition of her efforts.

As for the internet, she is an intermediate surfer and a practicing chat-aholic. If you're ever at her favorite chat site,The Park, you'll probably find her in the Romance room M & F.