Jacqueline Hamilton

Name: Jacqueline E. Hamilton

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Age: O.B.B. (Original Baby Boomer)

Title: Co-Founder, or second in command, of AboutRuby.com

Married/Single: Married, still to my first husband!)

Kids: Three: 2 boys & 1 girl. But hey, only my grandkids count now.

City you live in: Surprise. Which means I must verify the name every time I am giving our address on the phone to the rest of the country.

A typical day in my life includes…

starting the day with the news, working on AboutRuby.com and accepting the fact that now my daughter can tell me what to do (I think it is called revenge).

I was born…

in New York City and have been away for what seems like a hundred years but people still tell me I have a NY accent. You can take the girl out of NYC, but you can’t take NYC out of the girl.

My favorite thing about Arizona…

the weather of course, and the fact that you can go north anytime and experience a completely different feel of the season and scenery. Also, the joy of calling friends back east in February and casually mention we are sitting in the sunshine and eating on the patio.

I’m listening to…

movie themes, especially Marvel movie themes. I love Marvel movies, and only DC’s Aquaman.

My family…

when we moved here, we did not leave a forwarding address, but all our kids found us anyway. So, they are all here and we are grateful because the grandchildren are here. For everyone’s birthday we will meet at a restaurant for Sunday brunch. That has become a tradition. We take family vacations together, renting beach places in California and Mexico. There is the joy of watching my son deal with similar issues we had to deal with when he was growing up and then reminding him of it!

If I could have dinner with anyone, it would be…

Stan Lee and Colin Powel. Stan Lee for his creativity, foresight and imagination. Colin Powell because of the life he has led and the people he has known. Also, he grew up in the Bronx on the same street my grandmother lived on and where I played whenever we visited my grandparents.

One thing I cannot live without…

my family, of course, and books. My grandmother instilled my love of books when I was very young and I think I have passed that along to my children and grandchildren. I have collected African American authors first editions and carry my Kindle where ever I go. I once swore I would never give up my hardcover books, but I ate my words long ago. Now I can’t imagine being without my tablet. One last thing, TECH. I am probably against the stereotype of the older generation and tech, (it is a stereotype that I don’t believe is true), but I am into tech and might know more than my daughter.

When I was younger, I wanted to be…

an Archeologist. The idea of uncovering the past and ancient lives has always fascinated me. But when I was growing up a Black archeologist was not something seen in society. So, I majored in sociology and took my talents developing after school programs. But a few years back, on a five-week trip through Italy, we visited Pompeii and I was brought to tears in seeing the amazing artifacts and the lives of the people covered in ash. I was so jealous to see young students digging at a site in the middle of Rome. When I got older, I wanted to be an astronaut. To the moon and beyond. O.F.M. – the Original Martian. My family is afraid that if the aliens land, I might volunteer to go with them. I’m thinking about it!

I’m inspired by…

Millennials and younger. I feel there might be hope for our country and the world through their activism and focus.

The one person who motivates me is…

my daughter, Jennifer. In fact, she inspires and motivates me with her determination, creativity and that she never lets anything stop her. She always looks for alternate ways to overcome any issues in business or her personal life.

If I could change anything in the world, it would be…

the issues we face because of our impact on the climate and environment and how we treat each other as human beings.

The perfect day would be…

lying on the beach, with a pitcher of margaritas, a trashy novel and a tropical lunch brought to me by a cabana boy.

My first job was…

working in Hearn’s department, as a cashier, over the summer before starting college.

My favorite escape…

I do have a couple: an afternoon visiting thrift and consignment stores. Even if I am not looking for anything or buy anything, it relaxes me to see the oddities and unusual items. The other escape is cooking. I used to write a column for a town paper back east on cooking. My grandmother and great-grandmother taught me to love cooking and take the joy of seeing the family enjoying the results to our hearts. But I am a strong believer in eating out!

My life…

I have a good life and, in some ways, I feel it is just getting started. I have started a second career with AboutRuby.com and to work with my daughter is a joy. I have a great husband, James, who is a pharmaceutical consultant. We met in the U.S. Air Force. We have traveled, gone on white water rafting trips; and have had the enriching experience of living in different areas of the country.

I met Eleanor Roosevelt when I about two, my mother had taken me to a rally in NYC and somehow in the back of the arena we ran into Mrs. Roosevelt. It was just my mother, the former first lady, two of her guards and myself. It really is my first memory and my mother verified it. She said she was tongue tied while Mrs. Roosevelt spoke to me. Hey, I was a very cute kid.

I was named after Jackie Robinson; my folks were big baseball fans. I grew up with a brother who kept dead things in jars in his room to practice his lab skills. He is an ER doctor, so I guess that practice payed off. My sister started out as a middle school teacher but became a state parole officer; she said that was easier than teaching 13-year old kids.

I have a great family, which is extended by wonderful friends who are like family. Our grandsons are the joys of our lives and are focus on going to inspiring careers and lives.

I’m currently working on…

AboutRuby.com. We are also considering the possibility of attaining sponsors for our website and expanded marketing plans.

Always…

keep going and looking ahead. If you run into “walls” always find a way to over come them.

Never…

stop learning and dreaming of the possibilities; no matter your AGE. Oh, yes, if you have young children, NEVER spend a lot on furniture. Splurge after they leave home. Advice I always give couples.

Favorite Quote…

my daughter found this on a tee shirt: “My kids accuse me of having a favorite child which is ridiculous because I don’t like any of them. My grandbabies are my favorite.”

Biggest Dream…

happy, productive and enriching lives for all our family, while leaving a legacy.

My Pet Peeve(s)…

giving up when things seem too hard or when running into problems. Disregarding issues will not make them change or go away.

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