Would you like to know how many people have visited this page? Or how reputable the author is? Simply
sign up for a Advocate premium membership and you'll automatically see this data on every article. Plus a lot more, too.
 E-mail address: dlwright.nojunkaccount@gmail.com SHARE 
|
|
Half of an interracial marriage, she met her husband in 1970. They married in 1975. He was among the first African American firefighters in Tacoma, Washington. They have two sons, ages 23 and 26, who both work in information technology at Microsoft in Redmond, Washington.
Her father, a retired English professor, was also a mountaineer, and he and Darcy's mother cajoled their five offspring, of whom Darcy is the youngest, across and through Washington's mountain ranges during her youth, trips rich in character-building lessons.
In 1964, as part of her forward-thinking family, Darcy was one of two elementary-age white children (the other was her sister) and a small number of older students (her two older brothers and her oldest sister included) to take part in the Seattle school district's voluntary desegregation program. They lived in the University of Washington's low-income housing for graduate students but had been attending school in Seattle's nearby moneyed Laurelhurst neighborhood. They transferred into 90% nonwhite neighborhood schools for Darcy's third- and fourth-grade years. In the interests of racial balance, Darcy's mother drove the children five miles to and from school each day. This exposure to children of other hues and cultures was an enriching experience for which Darcy is grateful. The family was featured on the front page of the Seattle Times regarding the transfer. By her fifth-grade year, her father had attained his Ph.D. and procured a professorship at the University of Puget Sound. The family moved to Tacoma, where the public schools were already integrated.
As a young adult Darcy applied for and received a grant from the Puget Sound Law Foundation. She hired an environmental scientist and an environmental attorney to monitor and review the Tacoma ASARCO copper smelter's compliance with environmental regulations. The smelter spewed arsenic and cadmium over a broad swath of Western Washington, concentrated in Tacoma. Shortly after publication of the study, which revealed noncompliance in key areas, she was in an article in Time magazine regarding the plant's closure.
In 1992 Darcy's husband was a passenger in a car accident that ended his 16-year career as a firefighter. Darcy was finishing up a dual course of study: court reporting, and fashion design and clothing construction. The accident put the family in survival mode, and she focused her energies on becoming a court reporter, stabilizing the family and then moving forward economically.
Darcy is an activist at heart, but has long labored to keep it low key. Since 1992, she has been a court reporter, an impartial "keeper of the record." Says Darcy, "I take my job very seriously, under no circumstances allowing my political views to affect the official verbatim record, but as a rule, court reporters tend to be politically bland in order to avoid even the appearance of partiality in any legal setting." She confides, "In the current political environment, it is ever harder to maintain 'bland,' as I have opinions that nudge me to write, and I believe my perspective may be relevant and timely. Thus, I hope to segue out of court reporting in the next few years.
"I am excited that my dear friend Lori Stefano steered me to OpEdNews and hope to become a regular contributor. I have a lot to learn -- and a lot to offer -- and am looking forward to following through on both counts. The site is outstanding."
Creative by nature, Darcy's first and most enduring passion is artistic expression. She has taken a long, meandering route to creating space and time in her life for her inner artist. "I am ever closer," she confides. "The Universe is aligning for my metamorphosis into the artist and writer within." She declares with verve, "Let the renaissance begin!"
Darcy resides with her husband in Gig Harbor, Washington.
OpEd News Member for 748 week(s) and 3 day(s)
1 Articles, 0 Quick Links, 2 Comments, 2 Diaries, 0 Polls
Articles Listed By Popularity
List By Date
List By Date
(2 comments) SHARE
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
The Root of Republican Angst About Obama and a Call to Action An article opining as to the origins of the erratic behavior emanating from the American Right and as to character qualities missing from the American Left. An exhortation to progressives to buck up and get behind our president, a man possessing all the character qualities and sensibilities we need at this time, including the ability to respond favorably to a steep learning curve.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010The Root of Republican Angst About Obama and a Call to Action An article opining as to the origins of the erratic behavior emanating from the American Right and as to character qualities missing from the American Left. An exhortation to progressives to buck up and get behind our president, a man possessing all the character qualities and sensibilities we need at this time, including the ability to respond favorably to a steep learning curve.
