Thumb Suckers Come In All Colors

About the Book

Thumb Suckers Come in All Colors is about the struggles of just plain folks and their children growing up in a world full of adversities and what can happen to those, no matter the color of their skin, who are weighed down by the guilt put upon them by the world in which they live in. Thumb Suckers Come in All Colors describes how family dysfunction can affect children. As they reach adulthood, they may not be able to overcome the demons of their childhood.

About the Author

I was born on May 7, 1939, given the name Dorris Ann Dutch, raised and attended public schools, in Washington, the District of Columbia. Early on, I knew that my life would be full of challenges and I prepared myself for those that surely would come my way. I graduated from Dunbar High in 1957, which was then a college preparatory school. While at Dunbar, I became a member of the Alpha Omega Delta Sorority, consisting of ten teen-age girls at the Baker’s Dozen Youth Center. Not fortunate to attend a higher learning institution, I worked at many odd jobs but always kept what the teachers at Dunbar taught me in the forefront of my abilities to acquire more learning with hands on approaches. In 1962, after doing volunteer work at Children’s Hospital, I landed a job processing charts in the medical records department. I then attended the Manpower Development Training School where I became proficient in typing. Thereafter, I took the civil service written examination and past with a score of 86.5. This training and my being able to past the test opened the door to a career for me in December 1964, in the Federal Government starting as a GS-3. Within two years of working for the U.S. Coast Guard, I received an adopted suggestion monetary award and certificate. In 1971, I received a monetary award from the Secretary of Transportation for my diligent work in transforming the DOT and GSA telephone directory system into a more workable product. In 1974 as a parent participant in Workshops for Careers in the Arts, George Washington University, run of the “The Lion and the Jewel” I received a letter of appreciation from the Administrative Director, Michaele C. Christian. I was President, Vice President and chairperson of the Trinity College Upward Bound Parent Advisory Committee (1973- 1975). I received a certificate of achievement from the Association of Government Accountants for satisfactory completion of the Accounting and Financial Management Course in 1977. My biographical data is in Marquis “Who’s Who of American Women Fourteenth edition 1985 – 1986. My practical understanding of business lead me to become a businessperson and I was Director of Small world Productions (1978- 1984). I received a monetary award from the Mayor’s Committee to Promote Washington for my efforts in arranging a founder’s day picnic for the community. In 1988, I successfully completed the Secretary of the Department Transportation (Elizabeth Doyle) Seminar for Prospective Women Managers in Austin Texas. I received the District of Columbia Council Resolution Recognition of 1993 (number 10-148) for outstanding services in working with the Orange Hat Patrol in an effort to deter illegal drug trafficking throughout the local neighborhoods. In addition, in 1993, I received a monetary award for my design of the logo for the Office of Information Technology at the Federal Aviation Administration and presented, with a plaque of the design upon my retirement effective May 3, 1994. I retired from the Federal government after nearly thirty years of service. Throughout the years of my career as a civil servant, being able to catch hold of the system, I maintained my ability to “keep A Pluggin Away” as the great poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar wrote. I was able to climb the ladder of adversity and happily retired at the GS-13 grade level. In 1996, I received a letter of congratulations for a job well done from the Office of the Director of Public Works for my efforts in organizing the neighborhood cleanup. In my life time and since retirement I have traveled to London England (United States International University) and stayed at the facility where the movie “Goodbye Mr. Chips” was filmed, Paris, Nice, Venice, Italy, Rome, Brussels, Barbados, Cancun, Mexico, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, Acapulco, Mexico, Antigua, the Caribbean islands, and various cities and states throughout the United States. I have one daughter, Doretha Johnson, who assists with my pleasure trips.