Updated June 8, 2023

Still Adventuring After All These Years!

Vocalist/guitarist/songwriter/ etc., etc., etc:
B. Marie Jarreau
Began her adventures as a U.S. Air Force Air Traffic Controller shortly after graduating from high school in her native New Orleans, ‘a few decades ago.’ She was among the first of the nation's female Air Traffic Controllers in those early decades.

A pioneer in the ATC field, she was later selected and served three years as an Air Traffic Control Instructor at Keesler AFB, ATC Technical School.

Among the notable military experiences she once provided ATC service to "Air Force One" - though then-President Ronald Reagan was not on board at the time.

More details of her rich military career, which included service in both the Air Force and Navy, will be shared in future blog posts.

Since those exciting days, she has seized opportunities to be involved in a myriad of unusual and fascinating experiences. Among them: she served as radar operator on a shrimp trawler that traveled from Fort Myers, Florida across the Gulf of Mexico to harvest the shrimp in deep water off the Yucatan Peninsula - quite an adventure for a non-swimmer!. She later served as tour guide on a tiny Pacific island in the Channel Islands. Country music radio DJ, student pilot, newspaper journalist, freelance writer/photographer are but a few of the occupations that fill Marie’s history and from which she draws her musical and creative-writing inspiration.

The once painfully shy little girl grew up to be quite the adventuress who has crisscrossed the U.S. just to see what she could see. A bronco-busting, bull-riding petite lady, she has always had an insatiable curiosity about life and what makes things ‘tic.’

After spending decades as mother and housewife and hospital administrative worker; after rearing her two children and finally divorce; Marie returned to that same curious, adventurous spirit that carried her down roads less traveled by women in those earlier times.

Serenade at CopperDog Studio, Winnipeg, Canada / August 2013

Marriage brought a more family oriented focus to Marie's life and when the children entered school she began work as writer/photographer for a weekly newspaper while living in southeastern Ohio in 1996. She continued in journalism with another weekly newspaper after relocating to Oregon but she has been observing life and its mysteries since her childhood in the South. With that insatiable curiosity, especially for all things wild and natural, Marie has lived and worked and visited areas throughout the continental U.S., Canada and the Yucatan Peninsula. Her travels, hobbies and personal interests often provide subjects for a varied range of written, photographic, illustrative and even musical works.

As a journalist/freelance writer, subjects of her work included feature stories, politics, sports, community affairs, art, science, landscape and land-use, wildlife and special interest issues. She has photographed, interviewed and published stories about high level political figures as well as humble hobbyists and other interesting, average private folk for a variety of periodicals. She created, developed, self-published and personally distributed a small local periodical called "Good News" for which she also produced the written and photographic content. "Good News" focused primarily on art and artists in and around southeastern Oregon's high desert.

With a life-long love of learning and sharing information, Marie's numerous interests and occupations have also included, but are not limited to

- Fulltime writer/photographer for regional and statewide publications in Ohio and Oregon

- Admin. assistant for a local network television station in Florida,

- Admin assist for a county hospital radiology/imaging department in SE Oregon

- Choir member and much later, solo vocalist and participant with other musicians / groups

Marie and 'friend' 1974

Since retiring in 2011 she has returned to her deep love of music as vocalist and guitarist with a fancy for writing her own songs as well as performing well-known standards from blues to jazz, folk, pop, country and even bluegrass, Celtic tunes and more!
Her first CD ‘Listen To The Noise’ was produced by a good friend at CopperDog Studio of Winnipeg, Canada, and released in Arizona, August 2013. Two other completed CDs followed: "Music Without Borders" and later "SideTracked."

Other interests and hobbies include: Family (two grown daughters living their own adventurous lives away from home), vocalist, guitarist, pen and ink artist, woodworking artist, gardener, amateur astronomer, seashell collector; photographer, story-teller, writing a series of children’s books, fiber arts, watercolor, friendships and conversation, maintaining an active, healthy lifestyle and likely others not yet discovered!

After retirement, Marie spent several years exploring new adventures having relocated to the fascinating landscape of Arizona. Writing songs, performing, recording, and starting her own writer’s blog (TheCobbleStoneMuse) ensured opportunities to continue to share her literary skills, and a return to her love of music.

Then, returning to the "call of duty" in 2014, Marie was hired as a Customer Service Representative for the US Forest Service and the Prescott National Forest, based in Verde Station in Northern Arizona. Had she not enlisted in the Air Force, with a deep interest in the outdoors as a youngster, her alternate choice had long been to work for the Forest Service. During that five year employment, her penchant for exploring, learning and adventure was well served and expecially topped of when she became involved with the Wildland Fire Fighter environment as Public Information Officer trainee. Standing in the dark of night, surrounded by walls of burning trees had never been on her "bucket-list" but the experience was exhiliratioin and the proffessionals with whom she worked helped to diminish the fear and made her proud to serve with them. Future blog posts will showcase some of these adventures.

Hiring on with the Forest Service those many years later in life was like icing on that proverbial cake!

Marie Jarreau, checking out a bareback bronc at the 1975 California State Fair Rodeo!

Just as the world wide events of 2020 redirected the lives of so many people, Marie retired once again and relocated to Deep East Texas to be closer to family in those uncertain times. With one of her two daughters in the NW and the other in Texas, a return to Texas won out. Since then her focus has been on those family connections as much as possible both near and far, also on forging and maintaining deep friendships, maintaining a healthy lifestyle and enjoying each day that comes along.

Finally slowing down to 'get back to the blog' is also a the top of the list of important things. With so many exciting, and some unique experiences this blog will now be the repository to archive bits and pieces of a life "well- lived" thru prose, poetry, photos and even a link or two of musical works.

Here's hoping you'll come back for those bits and pieces . . .