Mary E Webster, translator/editor The Federalist Papers: In Modern Language         Studying the Federalist Papers was the last thing Mary E Webster expected to do; she had not even heard of them until 1988 and thought she hated history.  However, she'd always enjoyed political discussions.  She started watching  C-SPAN in 1994, which led to a desire to know the original meaning of the provisions in the United States Constitution.  She picked up the Federalist Papers. Strictly for her own information, she spent one month, using her interpreting, studying, and writing skills, rewriting Paper Number 1 until she fully understood it.  She found the discussion so riveting that she began studying Number 2 25-Years of Life Experiences       Over the years, Mary has had some unusual jobs.  Several helped hone the specific skills she used to "translate" the Federalist Papers.  In the 1970s, she wrote several novels, three of which were published by Thomas Bourgey (1980, 1982, 1984).  In 1980, she began studying American Sign Language (ASL), which led to her entering the ASL interpreting program at St. Paul College in 1988 and graduating with honors in 1989.  Interpreting was an essential skill for translating the Federalist Papers.           After a 20-year break, Mary returned to the University of Iowa, Collage of Business, finishing her senior year on the dean's list.  As she continued at the UI, studying for her MBA in finance, she worked as a freelance ASL interpreter and a writer for Media Research. At Media Research, she summarized the three daily major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) newscasts and emailed them to Washington, D.C., before the following morning. The Federalist Papers           On that day in 1994 when she picked up the Federalist Papers, Mary had no thoughts of publishing a translation.  She was already working on a fourth novel and a nonfiction book about clinical depression.  But the authors' keen insight into human nature made the discussions timeless.  She suspected that if the Papers were more accessible, many people would find them as fascinating as she.  After nearly five years of study, her translation, The Federalist Papers: In Modern Language was published in 1999.  She added new Paper titles and paragraph subtitles, an index referencing Paper and paragraph numbers, and a copy of the United States Constitution indexed to the Papers. "Spiritual" and Actual Descendent of Founding Fathers          Mary is available for interviews and speaking engagements.  She offers a unique view of the Constitution because the Federalist Papers are the only opinions of the Constitution that she has read or studied.  During a radio interview, author Glen Gordon, What Would They Say?, was also a guest.  (They had never met before.)  After listening to Mary's opinion of a constitutional issue, he called her "the spiritual descendent of the Founding Fathers."            Studying her country's roots made Mary curious about her own roots, especially when she learned that Noah Webster probably wrote his dictionary so that people could understand the United States Constitution.  Noah and Daniel Webster's 3rd great-grandfather is Mary's 8th great-grandfather (John Webster, the 5th governor of Connecticut), making them 4th cousins 5 times removed.  Through her 3rd great-grandmother, Mary is also the 8th great-granddaughter of Dr. Samuel Fuller and 9th great-granddaughter of John Alden and Myles Standish (all signers of the Mayflower Compact). Iowa City Native at Home in Oregon        As a counterpoint to her continued study of the Federalist Papers, which captivate her as much in 2005 as they did when she began her study in 1994, in 2000 Mary moved to the Oregon countryside.  She is refurbishing her 19th century home and gardens, creating patchwork and quilted wall hangings, painting and crafting.  Mary is available for interviews and as a speaker, tailoring her remarks to Constitutional issues the audience is curious about. Contact information:         Mary E Webster         Mary@Webster.org         The Federalist Papers: In Modern Language Indexed for Today's Political Issues  Copyright 1999 by Mary E Webster July 2005                 Reno, Nevada, March 23, 2005 with Dennis Grover