Date: Fri 07-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: CURT

Quick Words:

snapshot-Laura-Lerman

Full Text:

SNAPSHOT: Laura Lerman

Occupation: I help run a family business that does software consulting, and I

am a homemaker. It's about 50-50.

Biggest Change in Town: When we first moved to Newtown 26 years ago, if you

saw a Toyota you'd say, "Look there's a foreign car." Now, just last week, I

saw two Mercedes station wagons meeting at the flagpole. That's how much

things have changed.

Family: We have two children. Alexander, who is called Sandy, is 20; he's a

junior at UConn studying computer science and engineering. He's also a black

belt in Aiki-Jitsu. Our daughter, Samantha, is 24, and she's working on her

second bachelor's degree, this one in nursing, at Fairliegh Dickinson in New

Jersey. She also got a degree in anthropology from the University of Colorado.

My husband, Kenneth, and I have been married for 27 years. He runs our family

company. He's a software consultant and a UNIX and C guru. He's an EMT with

the Newtown Ambulance Association, and he also has a black belt in Aiki-Jitsu.

Hobbies: I like to do research to help people understand laws pertaining to

public education, the Freedom of Information Act, and other areas. I am often

approached by people who feel they have been misused by the system. It is

gratifying to be able to help them. I also enjoy singing with the Newtown

Choral Society. Music is really a centerpiece of my philosophical life.

Books: I enjoy reading biographies of composers. I'm currently reading one on

Sondheim. I also like mysteries that are based on a theme; I find Quaker

mysteries to be very interesting. I also read The New York Times and the

Danbury News-Times every morning at My Place -- you can find me there every

day at 6:45 am -- and I read The Bee every single week.

Philosophy: I find this quote by Rabbi Hillel, who lived in the 12th Century,

to be a good description of my philosophy: "If I am not for myself, who will

be for me? If I am not for others, what am I? And if not now, when?"