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14 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | AUGUST 2025 By Karen Belcher I like to think I exhausted my 15 minutes of fame when I was eight. In 1962, I was selected to appear on a popular Los Angeles children's TV show called Chucko the Clown. Mom told me she submitted my name just a few months after I was born in 1954. My mother was very creative and resourceful. She LOVED music. I think that's where I get my passion for music. She taught herself how to play the organ and on Saturday nights the extended family would gather around with guitars and other percussion instruments and jam. Back in the day, kids could go to cocktail lounges if they served food, and my mom and I would go and listen to all kinds of music. At times, I would stand on the bar and belt out tunes like "What Is This Thing Called Love?" and "Basin Street Blues." Later I taught myself to play the organ, and also took violin, guitar, and clarinet lessons. By middle school, I made it to first chair clarinet in the All City Band and Orchestra, but tossed it aside in high school to be a cheerleader and play on the Varsity Tennis Team. To my mother's chagrin, I was a tomboy and tennis was the only sport she would let me play. That changed when my father died and I was able to attend college on his VA benefits. Arriving at Point Loma College in 1973, I was surprised to discover there were no competitive sports for women. As a Psychology and PE major, I wondered how I would ever get a teaching job if I didn't play competitive sports? Lucky for me Title IX had just become law and I sent for my free kit from Washington, D.C. to sue my college (I still have the materials)! I marched into the Dean of Women's office and threatened to sue if they didn't give us women's sports. Subsequently, I played on the inaugural women's volleyball team as a bench warmer, but was a starting guard on the basketball team. I chose #44 after my idol, Jerry West from the Lakers. Threatening to sue my university was just the beginning of my lifelong fight against inequality and justice. After my teaching career was derailed by Proposition 13 and massive education cuts, I found myself driving a city bus to pay the rent. I was only the fifth woman hired, and the lack of protection against harassment, pay, and job security was intolerable. I joined forces with other like-minded drivers and formed a labor union! Think Norma Rae! From that position I was able to become a voice for those who were unable to speak for themselves. Despite being a law school dropout, I found myself filing unfair labor practice claims in the Superior Court (we weren't covered by the National Labor Relations Board), negotiating contracts, representing workers in arbitration hearings, organizing unions for private and public transportation companies in Colorado, e Mu Me RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT

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