Marsha Temple will soon fly to Philadelphia, trying to crack a case she's been working on for decades. She'd like to know who her biological father was.
Temple has a pretty good hunch he may have been a child evangelist in Philadelphia nearly a century ago, so she plans to dig through files there with the help of her husband, KCRW radio host Warren Olney, who serves as Watson to his wife's Sherlock.
The two have traveled great distances in the U.S. and to Poland and Ukraine, pursuing an obsession that for Temple, 68, began many years ago in the San Fernando Valley.
"Almost as soon as I could talk, my adopted mother told me, 'You are adopted. Your real mother didn't want you, but we want you,'" said Temple. "So imagine what a cascade that sets off in someone's head. Why didn't my mother want me?"
Temple recalls an unhappy childhood with her feuding adoptive parents in what became a broken home. She vowed early on that she would get out as soon as she could, and that she would find "my people" and learn the story of her adoption.
That's no easy task in California, which doesn't allow adoptees access to records. But legislation drafted by Temple, an attorney, would change that. I'll get to the details in a minute.
When Temple began her search, she had a single clue to work with. She had been told her biological mother's name was Jeannette Smith. Later, a family friend suggested the name might have been Kroeker, not Smith.
One day in 1989, Temple was reading The Times in her Westside home when she saw a story about an LAPD deputy chief who had established an international organ-transplant fund. His name was Mark Kroeker, and she studied his photo.
"I thought he looked something like me," Temple said.
But what were the chances? She put it out of her mind for a few years, until on a whim, she asked Olney if he would call Kroeker.
Kroeker recalls the conversation.
"Warren said, 'This is going to sound a little strange, but my wife believes she's related to you.'"
It did sound strange, said Kroeker, but he was willing to talk to her.
Olney handed the phone to Temple, who told her story and mentioned the name Jeannette Smith.
"I told her Jeannette Smith is my father's sister," Kroeker said. "Jeannette was a Kroeker, and she met a man named Smith."
And Temple said:
"Well, hello, cousin!"
After meeting Temple in 1993, Kroeker arranged for her to talk with his Aunt Jeannette, who was living in Carmel.
Smith, then 87, invited Temple to visit her, and when Temple landed at the airport in Monterey, her mother was waiting.
"We looked alike," said Temple. "A lot alike."
Anda sedang membaca artikel tentang
California adoption laws hinder a woman's quest for the truth
Dengan url
https://sehatgembiralami.blogspot.com/2014/04/california-adoption-laws-hinder-womans.html
Anda boleh menyebar luaskannya atau mengcopy paste-nya
California adoption laws hinder a woman's quest for the truth
namun jangan lupa untuk meletakkan link
California adoption laws hinder a woman's quest for the truth
sebagai sumbernya
0 komentar:
Posting Komentar