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Collected Item: “Linda Smith Oral History, 2022/05/27”

Title

Linda Smith

Who conducted the interview? List all names, separated by comma.

Kit Heintzman

Who was interviewed? List all names, separated by commas.

Linda Smith

Email Address(es) for all interviewers. Separated by comma.

kheintzman@gmail.com

Use one-word hashtags (separated by commas) to describe your oral history. For example: Where did it originate? How does this object make you feel? How does this object relate to the pandemic?

#abuse, #ADHD, #airplanes, #aliens, #allergies, #author, #Autism, #COVID+, #disability, #empath, #family, #Florida, #guns, #Hispanic, #IEP, #J&J, #loneliness, #marriage, #masking, #motherhood, #moving, #NativeAmerican, #neurodivergence, #NewMexico, #nursing, #peace, #queer, #race, #racism, #Roswell, #school, #sexism, #shooting, #therapy, #trauma, #UFO, #unemployment, #vaccination, #worry

What is the format of your recording?

Video

In what ZIP code is the primary residence of the interviewee? (enter 5-digit ZIP code; for example, 00544 or 94305)? In what city/town/village does the interviewee live? In what country does the interviewee live? All comma-separated.

Rio Rancho NM

What is the gender of the interviewee? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their gender in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a gender identity to interviewees.*

she/her

What is the age of the interviewee?

55 to 64

How does the interviewee describe their race or ethnicity? Be sure to allow interviewees to self-identify their race/ethnicity in the pre-interview or interview. *Do not assign a racial or ethnic identity to interviewees.*

Hispanic & Native American

Describe the oral history.

Some of the things we discussed include:
Lockdown, isolation, and feeling unproductive.
Working from home. Working in school transportation; jobs that didn’t do well remotely. Accommodations for special needs students with Individual Education Plans during the pandemic. Students masking.
USA government’s mismanagement of the pandemic, mass school shootings, Roe v. Wade.
Active shooter training for educators. Avoidable and foreseeable tragedies.
Having a supportive husband. Empty nesting: children and grandchildren living far-away in Florida.
Daughter graduating from nursing school. Daughter catching COVID early in the pandemic.
Living in an apartment with noisy neighbors. Moving during the pandemic. Cost of living. Taxes.
Catching COVID with husband in 2022; long COVID and memory issues.
Free at home testing.
Easy access to vaccination.
Increasing mainstream interest in UFOs. The Senate Committee’s hearing and government disclosure on UFOs.
Multigenerational personal experiences with UFOs and extraterrestrial life. Benevolent and malevolent extraterrestrials.
Founding The Human Origins Foundation. The New Mexico UFO Paranormal Forum shutting down during the pandemic. Plans to reopen. Virtual conferences.
Stigma and secrecy.
Moving to online shopping.
TV, movies, and escapism.
Growing up with an abusive father. Early childhood memories. Addressing childhood trauma as an adult. Worry. Shame. Self-blame.
Genetic testing.
Sexism and ageism in medical diagnosis.
Experiences as a highly sensitive person, undiagnosed ADHD, hypervigilance, changing awareness of Autism. The benefits of diagnosis and getting accommodations.
Therapy and mental health. Medical literacy.
Environmental destruction. Prejudice, bigotry, and colonialism.

Other Cultural References: Google, Safe Schools (public education training video database), Punk’d, Verizon, Instacart, Amazon, DoorDash, Netflix, Disney, Star Wars, The History Channel, Ancient Origins, Erich von Daniken, Roswell, Walgreens, 9/11, “Thoughts and Prayers”

See also:
https://myalienlife.podbean.com
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-kings-are-coming-linda-maria-smith/1127708066?ean=9781548661649
http://humanoriginsfoundation.org

On what date did you record this oral history?

2022-05-27T13
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