PORT ST. LUCIE PEOPLE
moved to Park City, Utah; the culture shock was extreme.
Other 14-year-old girls were into feathered hair, a la Charlie’s
Angels. “I’d been running amok in the aggressive punk rock
scene in London, all concerts and piercings. I couldn’t relate.”
Laffont dropped out of school at 16, taking a Greyhound to
Fort Lauderdale where she crewed with friends in the marine
delivery business. Training with a former captain of the
famous Pride of Baltimore, a replica clipper, her sailing education
increased exponentially. “He was phenomenal; he taught
me everything.” In uncertain situations, Laffont says he’d
answer, “Let’s try it,” a phrase that became the philosophy of
her life.
Laffont sailed across the Atlantic at age 17, then taught sailing
in Spain and the Caribbean before moving to California.
“Mum worked hard for my green card, and I was in the States
so seldom, I risked losing it. I’d promised to get my GED. I
wanted my sister’s children to know their aunt. It was time.”
She also got married. Things started well: sailing, college,
acting as camping hosts at a park, editing a weekly magazine.
After divorcing, however, Laffont wanted year-round
ocean access. Hawaii or Florida? In 2002, she returned to Fort
Lauderdale. Three years later, she met her future husband on
Valentine’s Day; they married in November.
Laffont’s business degrees landed her a job, marketing for
the University of Miami’s medical school – until the recession
hit. When social media skyrocketed, the PR business virtually
changed overnight. She lost two jobs, then her house. Her
dog died. “I was in a black hole.”
As a Buddhist, Laffont tries to approach life with compassion,
but acknowledges she is still deeply entrenched in her
hardened London attitude. She and Julian withdrew their
Laffont’s subject choices reflect her deep concern for the environment. In
this quilt, you can see the intricate free-form quilting lines that accentuate
the flower applique and mimic the fern pattern of the fabric.
savings and invested in properties. “We decided we’d never
again be at the whim of the economy.”
Juggling teaching jobs and remodeling homes was a
problem. Laffont eventually took a position teaching English
in Port St. Lucie. When her job ended this year and another
black hole threatened, quilting kept it at bay. Incorporating
nature, beauty, and discipline, becoming a quilt artist at 55
has another personal connection. “Mum always wanted to
be an artist, but her wealthy family disapproved. She started
painting at 55.” E
44 Port St. Lucie Magazine
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