People are surprised to discover that Leslie is Puerto Rican. The surprise, I guess, is because she speaks impeccable English and her name is Thompson. Yes, she was born, bred, educated, and married in Puerto Rico.

The story began in the 1950’s when her parents, a young married couple of German ancestry, moved from Missouri to Puerto Rico where dad taught English at the University. In 1956 Chris was born and Leslie followed two years later. It’s important to the story that you remember her older brother, Chris. Dad moved the family to Austria and then later to Iowa to complete his doctorate in Music. Returning to San Juan, he started and led the university’s first Music Department. This allowed Leslie to grow up in a university setting, living in faculty housing until she married. Even though the university is in San Juan, Puerto Rico’s capitol and largest city, she often talks about those years as if she were living in a small friendly town. Speaking only English at home and only Spanish with friends in school is the reason she speaks both languages without accents. Only those of us that lunch with her occasionally at the local Puerto Rican restaurant get to hear her speak Spanish.

Having done well in school and a positive relationship with her female dentist, Leslie entered dental school to become a doctor in pediatric dentistry. It was during these years that she met and married Guillermo, who was also a student in medical school. Although they divorced several years later, Leslie and their son, Javi, have remained close with her in-laws. Javi’s dad, a gynecologist, is now living in St. Pete.

In 1993 Leslie left her dental practice in Puerto Rico and moved with Javi to Miami to be close to her brother, Chris, who had moved there a few years earlier. Sadly, he was now fighting lung cancer. Leslie joined a pediatric dental practice, put Javi in school, and joined Chris’ wife in nursing him through his last six months.

A year and a half after Chris’ death, Leslie started a search for a slower paced, quieter environment; that search ended in Bradenton. A local pediatric dentist was looking for an associate that would eventually buy his practice. Colleagues in Miami told her not to move as Bradenton had no children. Knowing her concern, the Bradenton dentist drove her by G.T. Bray and many elementary schools. To shorten the story, she and Javi moved to Bradenton in 1995. Javi enrolled at St. Stephens, graduating last May, and is now a freshman at Stetson University. Buying the practice and inheriting the office manager, Jill Gulash (BRC member), was a bold decision, but I think she would tell us it was a good one.

Speaking of Jill, she and Leslie share a passion. No, it’s not Larry Larson! The two of them have turned antique hunting into a sport. Their houses are uniquely decorated with some of the most bizarre objects, objects that when made had no idea they would later be found hanging on our gals’ walls. As a matter of fact if you have out of town guests, in addition to the beach, DeSoto Monument, Ringling Museum, and Mote Marine, you must include a tour of both of their houses. The only thing in Leslie’s schedule that can’t be negotiated are bi-yearly antiquing trips to Mt. Dora.

Leslie’s beautiful home on Palma Sola Bay has for years been a teenage hangout. Javi’s friends have been using it as a home away from home. You could drive by almost any night and think that there’s a party going on. As a matter of fact, now that I think about it, once while out of town with Leslie on a running trip, Javi did have a party; but let’s not go into that. As mentioned before, Javi is now gone and studying and partying in Deland. Except for his unexpected trips home, everyone thinks Leslie has been suffering the empty nest syndrome. She says, “No!” Now after a day of stress dealing with kids and their parents at the office, she is enjoying the peace and quiet.

Leslie’s first love has always been swimming. As an age-group competitive swimmer she held the Puerto Rican National record for the 100 meter freestyle. Between 1973 and 1976 she represented her country in 3 Central American, 1 Pan-American and 1 World Championship in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. She is still competitive in local swim meets and open water races. On the 4th of July you’ll find her at the swim across the Peace River. Although she is anxious to swim it with the competitive swimmers, she has been forced to help much slower first timers across to make sure they don’t drown. I was one of those people this year, and if Leslie had not begged a can of beer from a passing boater, I’m not sure I would have made it.

How did Leslie discover the BRC? This is getting a bit scary as almost every bio I write Tom Richardson plays some role. Well, Les, a competitive swimmer in Puerto Rico, joined our local Y to get back into the sport. TR was a regular lap swimmer there and soon was boring Les with the value of running with the BRC. You can only say no to Tom for so long before it’s easier to succumb. She joined us for the BRC’s weekly Tuesday night library run in 2004. She started jogging and soon paired off with coach Tom, who after a few weeks volunteered to run her through her first 5K. This she followed up with the Ringling Bridge 5K and other races. Since then she has added half marathons in both San Francisco and Phoenix, a 20K in Naples, and a 15K in Ormond Beach and all this in less than two years. BRC’s Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday runs have become an integral part of Dr. Thompson’s schedule. If she’s not there, people always wonder why, and if no one knows, we’ll often delay the start knowing she will be there in a few minutes. Coach Tom will tell you that if she is not running a race, he can count on her as a club volunteer. We hope Leslie receives something from the BRC, but the BRC knows that it gets a lot from her.