Lorraine Rominger spent her childhood on a farm in Yolo County, California. She can milk cows, ride horses, drive a tractor, harvest tomatoes, and water ski behind a truck in a ditch. I’ve known Lorraine since the early 1990’s but only learned about her upbringing through her recently released memoir, . The friend I call Lorrae, deputy director for the Goldman Environmental Prize, the former model, television, movie producer and entertainment executive, is also a fifth generation California farmer.
Lorrae and her friend Peter Coyote shared stories about their youth and their newly released memoirs at The Battery in San Francisco:
The anecdotal stories Lorrae shares of life on the farm surrounded by her loving, hard-working family make me want to be a part of it. Unfortunately, that way of life is rapidly disappearing, which is just one of a few reasons I recommend reading Lorrae’s book. The Rangity Tango Kids takes place in the 1950s and 1960s in rural California. The Rominger family rules are strict, and the family sticks together — no matter what.
Lorrae’s not so simple life on the farm combined with the dramas of coming of age are entertaining. I read every page with interest and I learned something new — about farming, morals and family values — in each chapter. I am not alone in my appreciation for The Rangity Tango Kids. Robert Redford said:
“The cadence of Rominger’s narrative style is soundly evocative of the world she brings to life in The Rangity Tango Kids. Growing up on a California farm riding horses and motorcycles, Rominger figured out where her heart was. The rich story of how to be a great family, to overcome challenges together, and to win in the end is one you won’t want to miss.”
Peter Coyote put it this way:
“From the ground it looks like a falcon flies in circles. It actually rises flying over the same territory to a new, higher level. Rominger’s life and charming book are like this. She was born to a traditional, religious, farm family with the kind of old-fashioned values and principles politicians rant about and rarely practice. Lorraine’s story melds the best of true conservatism, neither Right nor Left, with a huge human heart. I loved this book.”
Lorrae surrounded by friends at a book signing at Book Passage in San Francisco’s Ferry Building:
The Rangity Tango Kids:
