10-4 Magazine February 2024

10-4 Magazine / February 2024 21 It is with a heavy heart that we have to say goodbye to SharLeigh after writing for 10-4 Magazine since 1997. With her health on the decline, she is retiring from this part-time gig, which she has enjoyed doing for the past 27 years. For all of those almost three decades, for the most part, she has been a “ghost” and kept her name and face out of the public – sort of like that neighbor on Tim Allen’s “Home Improvement” TV show, who never showed his entire face (it was always partially covered by the fence between their yards). We thought, with her impending exit, we might remove the veil a bit and tell you a little about our longtime friend and contributor. Growing up in Upland, CA, Sharin came from a military family. In the 1990s, she took a job at a place called ENSR, an environmental consulting company in Costa Mesa, CA, where our own Jean Osugi (Jean Sieben at that time) also worked. Jean was married to Erik “Big E” Sieben, and together, they owned 10-4 Magazine. Befriending Sharin while working together at ENSR, Jean left the company in 1996 to start working at 10-4 Magazine full time, but she stayed in contact with Sharin. Knowing how much Sharin liked to write, we eventually hit her up to write a fun monthly column called “Words of Wisdom” (WOW) about anything she wanted to research and write about. At that time (1997), the internet was just getting going, and Sharin loved to look up various things, learn about them, and write about them. Not wanting to use her real name, which at the time was Sharin Wadleigh, she chose to call herself SharLeigh, and the name just stuck. Even after she later remarried and became Sharin Vincent, she stuck with the name SharLeigh – and so did we. Over the years she wrote about politics, family, religion, holidays, current events, and fun facts about anything and everything. Nothing was off limits! Having been lucky enough to edit her writing and produce her pages for the entire 27 years, I can honestly say I learned so much from her fun little article, because every month I would end up doing a “deep dive” into whatever it was she wrote about, making sure all the facts were right. And, in doing so, I learned a little about a lot of things! If you haven’t read her stories, I encourage you to go back on our website and do so. There are lots of “words of wisdom” there, for sure. So, as Sharin exits the fast lane and gets in what she calls the “granny lane” (LOL), help us celebrate her and congratulate her on 27 amazing years. It just won’t be the same without you, SharLeigh. We love you and will miss you! 10-4, good buddy. Over and out!! n Words of Wisdom: By Daniel J. Linss MOVING INTO THE GRANNY LANE