Team Trouble
Writer’s Bio: Scot Ranslem
The encouragement and support of my family and friends is the reason this storybook of poems exists. I started writing poems after my marriage to Lydia in 1991. For more than 10 years, I would write a few poems each year: for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, her birthday, and our anniversary.
When I went back to school to work towards a business degree, one of the first assignments in a writing class was to write a poem. This took me away from the comfort and easiness I felt writing about my relationship with Lydia. At the time, we lived on a ranch in Agua Dulce, California, and we owned horses. So, I wrote about something I was familiar with and that made it a little easier … a wild horse.
In 2008, I wanted to have some fun and explore different topics, so I wrote a poem titled The Trouble with Bubbles. It wasn’t written for any special occasion—just for the love and fun of writing it. I put it in a card to Lydia and our daughter, Mik, and they liked it. This added confidence and pushed me to write more. I was so intrigued with the title of the poem, it became the perfect title for this book.
Lydia and I currently live in Santa Clarita, CA, a suburb in Los Angeles County. We look forward to expanding our network of artists and bringing you more books that find different ways to present poetry.
Writer’s bio: Pamela Struhs
I live in Fort Worth, Texas. Most of my career I spent working for Delta Airlines. After 35 years of “walking the skies,” it was time for me to retire. Well, maybe not fully as I decided to work part time at a bank. As far as my flying days, I was fortunate to have worked in the industry when flying was truly fun and layovers were long and enjoyable. (Before security … and when you could actually go to the gate to meet people getting off the airplane!) I was blessed with one child, Kyle, who is married and, literally, at the time this book was being completed, he and his wife had their first baby…Austin.
Geraldine Rios
I was born and raised in Southern California and live here today. My family is from Argentina and that has taken me to live there twice. Once when I was 15 and once with my daughter Celine when she was just 2. As a family, we love to travel and see new things as often as possible and our time together is what I enjoy the most. Working on the Trouble with Bubbles has been an inspiring experience and has allowed me to be a part of something I truly believe in. Scot Ranslem is a true friend and someone I admire for the work he has accomplished not only with this book but throughout the years.
Lydia Ranslem
As she has always been, in the background and supportive, I’m writing this for Lydia. In the background is where she prefers to be. However, she has supported everything that I’ve wanted to try or do, and continues to do that for this book.
However, it’s not uncommon for us to be simply lying around, me working on a poem and her doing some type of puzzle. I might look over and tell her what I’m writing about at the moment, and give her a little taste of what I’ve written, and then some small idea might come back from her. Something as simple as a comment about a walnut shell. You’ll have to read the poem Shells to see the significance, but part of the true story of this book and Team Trouble, is centered on the fact that everyone has made this a better book from where it began. And, Lydia shares in that pursuit.
Lydia loves to wander around the internet, still being the mom and looking for clothes or other things to dress her 20 year-old daughter, Mik. She also loves college baseball and pro football. I’m a lucky guy. I love you Lydia. Thank you for always being there.