Irma from Dallas, Texas

Irma Meyers-Donihoo and I play tennis together in Dallas, Texas. She graciously agreed to answer a few questions about herself and her daily life. Thanks, Irma!

Tell us something about yourself. Where do you live? Were you born there?

I was born in Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire, England.  My father was English and my mother from Dallas, Texas.  They met in Dallas.  For a time they backpacked through Europe.  I was conceived in Spain, gestated in Amsterdam and Copenhagen and born in England.  We moved to California and my parents divorced a couple of years later.

My mother brought my brother and me back to Dallas to raise us.  I graduated in a suburb of Dallas, Farmers Branch, and worked in Dallas.  For a time I worked for Arista Records in the promotions and marketing dept. That was an remarkable time.  Met many famous people and travelled a great deal.  My husband and I moved to Chicago in the mid-90’s and then back to Texas and finally settled in Plano, Texas.

What languages do you speak? Do you ever use a language which is not your mother tongue? (If so, how often?)

I speak English (and try to stick with the Queen’s English rather than Americanisms when I can).  I took French in high school, which living in Texas is a fairly futile thing to do.  I can read French better than speak it.  And through the years I’ve picked up a smattering of Mexican Spanish.

If you could travel abroad, where would you go and why?

My top travel spot would be Australia, New Zealand.  I think to swim in the Great Barrier Reef and climb Ayer’s Rock and see Alice Springs and then to travel in NZ would be an marvelous memory to have.  Next, I want to see the Scandinavian countries.  I admire their countries so much and would love to see the architecture and enjoy the food.  And then back to the UK, where I would live if I could.

Would you like to live abroad? If so, what stops you?

Yes, I would.  My family is not of the same mind set.  Also, the economy isn’t the greatest and there’s the comfort of the familiar.

What do you love about your country?

I’m very critical of my country.  There are many imperfections about America that I dislike and feel embarrassed about.  And that’s really the greatest thing about my country; that I can feel like that and can disagree with my politicians and not feel fearful of repercussions (although that has been changing of late unfortunately).

I also love the many different cities and environments you can find here, from beaches and deserts to prairies and Great Lakes to mountains and swamps, plus great cities like New York, San Francisco, New Orleans and Chicago.

What is a typical day for you? (eg what time do you get up, what hours do you work, what do you do in the evening, what do you eat for lunch etc)

I’m up early, around 6:30.  After getting my daughter off to school, I’ll either stay home to do chores and run errands or go play tennis.  I love to see first run movies in a theater.  I meet with friends for lunch at various local spots.  I also volunteer weekly at my daughter’s school.  My husband works out of town every other week, so evenings when he’s gone are more loose…usually just dinner for my daughter while I snack.  Weekends are times when we see friends and family, go out to dinner and theater, and maybe take in a special event that’s happening in town.

 

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