About Greyhound Mom

For those who are curious about me, my name is Sharon Toolan and I work at Space Telescope Science Institute. I am not an astronomer, but I find my work very interesting all the same. I spend the bulk of my working time typesetting astronomical research papers, proceedings books, coordinating the STScI Preprint Series, and copyediting and proofreading various Institute publications.

With the arrival of Amber in our household on St. Patrick's Day, 1989, the whole family (me, my husband Jack, and our son Chris) became immersed in the world of Greyhound adoption. We have volunteered for GPA/MD, both at ``Meet & Greet'' booths and doing home visits. When we think back to our pre-Greyhound days, we wonder how we ever managed without this amazing, wonderful breed. Also amazing is the fact that there are so many wonderful people who are owned by Greyhounds.

When I'm not working or doing Greyhound-related activities, I will often be found working on my African Violets or doing violet-related activities. If you've never been to an African Violet show, you've no idea just how beautiful these plants can be. I'm a member of the Baltimore African Violet Club, the Mid-Atlantic African Violet Society (MAAVS), and am a life member of the African Violet Society of America (AVSA), and at one time I was a Senior Judge. I enjoyed judging and I hope to get back into it at some point.

I also sing in the church choir and am the editor of Pilgrim's Progress, the church newsletter.

If there's any free time (free time, what's that?) I enjoy reading fantasy and science fiction. Along with my husband, Jack and son, Chris, I've become immersed in role-playing games with a Dungeons and Dragons group.