Hello! My name is Lane McMurray Saunders. I’m 66 years old and live in Roanoke, Alabama. My beloved husband Tom, who I called Chief, died January 2, 2021, from Covid. I miss him every second of every day but take heart that’s he’s in heaven with our daughter Rosalyn, who died in a car wreck at age 17. My oldest son, Thomas, an engineer, is married to Ashley Roberts, who is a pharmacist. They have three beautiful children, Alexander, Emerson, and Handley. My son, Stewart, is home with me and working on a series of science fiction novels.

I have a degree in English from Wesleyan College. The summer of my senior year in high school I began employment with The Roanoke Leader and continued there during summer and holiday breaks from college and then for a year after I graduated college in 1978.

In the summer of 1979, I had interviews in Alexander City at The Alexander Outlook for the position of society page editor, and an interview at Russell Corporation for an assistant editor position with the company’s in-house newspaper, The Russell Record. I instantly had a connection with the editor, Tom Saunders, and chose to take the Russell position. I packed up and moved to Alexander City. Needless to say I married the boss two years later and had 40 years of happiness as his wife.

Tom and I were editors of Russell Corporations in-house publications and worked together for almost 30 years. We worked so well together that I was grandfathered in to revoke the company rule of spouses not working together in the same office. 

When Fruit of the Loom took over Russell, the publications were phased out. Chief, my nickname for Tom, was 71 years old so he retired. He always said he didn’t retire but was phased out. I was 50 years old and needed to seek employment elsewhere. I had volunteered 13 years on my lunch hour at Jim Pearson Elementary School, reading to several classrooms, so that was the first place I searched for employment. I served a year as the library aide and loved being in the library with the children! When Fruit of the Loom started closing down more plants, my job in the library was eliminated. I managed to hang on there for 4 more years in different capacities.

Leaving Jim Pearson led me to the world of freelance writing and then to the world of day care, in a position as a toddler teacher at The Harbor Learning Academy. I worked at Harbor Learning for ten years years.  Several months after Tom died I decided to move back to my ancestral home in Roanoke.

Here I find my church and refuge, sitting on the porch swing, enjoying a yard full of song birds. Here my thoughts and stories and wonderings pour out. Hope you enjoy reading my rambles!