Rodger and Carol

Rodger, 47, is nursery manager at a large Florida native plant nursery and tree farm and has been working with plants and trees for over 28 years.   I am 58 and have been Administrative Secretary to the Chief of Police at a mid-sized Central Florida Police Department for over 22 years.

Rodger and I have been married for 17 years, this being the second marriage for both of us.  I have a daughter from my first marriage, Chrissie, 37, who works for the State Department of Transportation and is married to Buddy, 38. They have two children, Christa (15) and Little Buddy (9) (grandson's name is sort of southernese!).

Rodger was born and raised in Winter Haven, Florida and is somewhat of a rarity - a true native Floridian.  He has worked hard practically his whole life, beginning with raising cows in his teen years after his parents purchased 40 acres in Central Florida.  He rode horses and worked on a ranch, until his horse Thunder slipped and fell on his (Rodger's) back.  A broken pelvis and numerous other injuries essentially ended his horseback riding after that.  In 1981 he and his mother, Phyllis, started their own nursery--Bilbrey Nursery.  After years of working together as partners, Rodger lost his mother to lung cancer and emphysema in April 1996.  His mother left him (and his older brother and sister) a legacy of  fierce determination, intelligence and a never-ending quest for knowledge.  These inherited characteristics led Rodger to operating the nursery by himself, through the sweltering heat of our Florida summers as well as through the piercing cold of some days during our winters.  In 2000, the nursery was closed--too much for one person to handle as well as too many headaches.

I am the product of a post-World War II romance in France, where my mother met my father while he was still in the U.S. Army.  My mother, Bruna, now a young 83 years of age, was born in Italy and raised in France during the War.  She came to America in 1947 and I was born the following year.  My mother, on her own, learned the English language, to the point that she speaks and writes it as fluently as the Italian and French languages which she still speaks, as well as a little bit of German.  She is proud of her Italian heritage but she considers herself a true American.   My mother knows no strangers, making friends with anyone in her path and having a good time no matter where she is.

My late father was born and raised in Tennessee, but after serving his country during the war, settled in Bellevue, Nebraska, which is my birthplace.  My parents divorced when I was around 6, but despite the many miles between us (which increased significantly after my mother's marriage to a career Army sergeant she met in Italy), my father remained in my life with letters, cards, gifts and phone calls.  He passed away suddenly in December 1997.  Of the many memorabilia I obtained after his death, my most meaningful and proud possession is his World War II Eisenhower style jacket, which he wore with such pride and loyalty.

In my first marriage of 18+ years which ended  in 1985,  there was at least one good end result:  my daughter Chrissie.  In 1987,  I met my husband-to-be and soul mate -- he just didn't know it at the time!  Although it took some convincing and some maneuvering on my part, he finally realized what we had.  The difference in our ages (12 years)  eventually  proved to be insignificant and inconsequential.  I was a child of the 60s, enamored of the Beatles and other rock bands of that era; Rodger was a child of the 70s, listening to Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater and others....and we can laugh about that as well as him commenting on watching the re-runs of the re-runs of the original shows I  had watched.   Our diverse backgrounds led us to the point where we are today - in love with each other - and loving our menagerie!

Despite working full-time and working on my website, I still try to keep up with my hobbies, which consist of tending to our menagerie, collecting anything and everything related to cats, working  with the computer and growing plants of my own (mainly bromeliads).  More than anything, though, I am an avowed animal lover, whether it be cats, dogs, horses, birds - domestic, wild, exotic, farm - they are all God's creatures in my eyes.