Janet Needham

Janet Needham

Bakersfield, California

Hobbies and Passions

I love working in my garden and watching it grow. Working in the soil; planting, weeding, nuturing is something close to worshipping for me. I have a large strawberry patch, an orange tree, asparagus and my seasonal plants are carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, jalapenos and green beans. Crops I have tried were corn, brussel sprouts, potatoes, cantaloupe and watermelon.

Some people may think me snoopy but I love research. Through research I have been able to help others to claim funds they didn't know they had coming to them. Part of that research is searching through "Unclaimed Funds" databases, then finding the person or business they belong to. It is amazing how much money is just waiting to be claimed.

My favorite pastime is reading. On average I read two novels a month, I read the newspaper with my husband everynight, and I browse the various news sites on the web everyday.

I love creative work ~ anything that makes me think. I guess that is why I have so many websites; they give me an avenue to express myself.

If I had the financial resources I would help others more to achieve their dreams. There is nothing more satisfying than making a difference.

Janet's Websites

Safety and Spy Products

The Secret Sister Society

Bakersfield's Bug Zoo

Kern County Business Portal

Joseph Caporali and Caporali Productions

Married Life

I am so blessed to be married to Bill Needham. I first met Bill on an internet dating site; since I really didn't enjoy going out to bars (besides who can you find worthwhile in a bar), there were no perfect men (who were available) at the church I attended, so I turned to the internet to find a perfect man. Bill is as close to perfect as any man could get. We met in May 2002 after a couple of weeks of email correspondence we finally met in person. Then after just three months of dating we merged households. Bill asked me to marry him while were were in the Bahamas during our cruise there in 2005. We married on our next cruise, in July 2006, while in Alaska. The rainforest where we married at was a picture perfect paradise. In the years since we have been together we have never had a fight nor has he ever raised his voice to me; Bill is kind and loving. He likes all the same things that I do, we have so much of the same past experiences, we enjoy talking to each other and just spending time together.

Family

I love my family even though I grew up in a disfunctional family, as most americans do these days. My parents divorced when I was around 10 years old.

My dad was a very evil man; people use to call him The Godfather of Bakersfield. He was a drug dealer as well as a trader in just about anything. He is dead now, the lifestyle he chose was not a healthy one; he daily abused his body with drugs and alcohol. When I was a teenager I thought he was "cool" because I got to do just about whatever I wanted; he allowed me to stay out late, drink (he provided me with alcohol) and he even encouraged me from about the age of 13 to smoke. My dad and I loved to do things together and one of our favorite pastimes was hunting. When I was about 11 my dad gave me a shotgun and made me shoot it. It knocked me on my butt so I went to the truck and cried. He got mad and made me go back and shoot until I got the gun under control. As I grew up he never liked for me to cry; I was always expected to be strong. Another thing was that I was not allowed to "pick" a fight, on the other hand if I got into a fight I was expected to win. He always told me that if I didn't win the fight he would kick my a**; so I never lost a fight. I grew to resent my father for the way that he raised me and shortly after my daughter was born I turned my back on that way of life and after that I rarely saw or spoke to my father. Not because I didn't love him, I did, but I refused to allow my daughter to be exposed to his vulgar lifestyle.

My mother never liked me from the time I was old enough to sit up and watch TV with my dad. She always felt that I had stolen his love from her. I have had to endure her sarcasim and resentfulness all of my life; there have been long stretches of years where she wouldn't even talk to me starting at about the age of 13 when I went to live with my dad. My own mother will not even tell me she loves me. The last time my mom got angry with me was in Sept. 2006 because I bought my daughter a car; she hasn't spoken to me since.

Nevertheless; my life is blessed with many other family members who do love me. My grandparents, Robert and Cathron Collins, have always been my saving grace. Never once have they turned their love away from me. As I was growing up every summer I would spend weeks at a time with them either at Pismo Coast Village or Shaver Lake. They taught me to waterski at the age of 5 and my grandmother always took me to church every week.

I also have a beautiful daughter, Stephanie Bongratz, who recently graduated from beauty college in February. And there is my step-daughter Erica and my Aunt Julie, an administrator for a hospital in Phoenix Arizona and her family, my uncle Bob, a retired school teacher in Lander Wyoming and his family along with my great-aunt Babe and many other extended family members.