No More High School

I graduated in 1972 and got a job. It wasn’t my goal.

My mother wanted me to join the U S Army, like Mary did, but I really wasn’t interested. I knew if I did, it would have been a last resort – you know… can’t get a job, gotta do something, so why not join up.

My father wanted me to go to college. For some reason, he thought I would be a great student and make something of myself if I went to college. So I tested and got admitted to college. I was ready to work the summer, saving a little money and then getting a part time job while I was in school.

When I graduated, I started working at Taylor Electric in Mequon as a billing assistant. This began my office experience. I found that I loved the work and was quite good at it. I discovered that each desk had its own job description and the more desks I sat in, the more I would learn. It was better than college because I learned tons about accounting, billing, customer service, computers and much more while they paid me! It may not be the most sincere reason, but the money was the best part.

I started in June, 1972, and Duke got back from the service in February,1973. He had previously worked at Taylor and he stopped in to get his job back after his commitment ended. He walked through the office to visit his best friend Steve, who happened to work with me, 

I fell madly in love.

Duke was 6’4” tall, in his best shape ever, and had just spent his enlistment in Texas so was tan and beautiful. I did everything I could to get his attention and finally there was a company baseball team picnic in June and he got drunk enough to talk to me.

That was it! We were married the following April. It wasn’t even a year but like someone told my mom, “when it’s right, it’s right.”  We just celebrated our 45^th anniversary so all those who said it was too quick or we weren’t the right astrological signs or I was too young, I say… POOP ON YOU!

I worked at Taylor through December 1977. I left for two reasons. I had full vesting in the company profit sharing fund after 5 complete years and I was going to have a baby in February. 

Effective 1/1/78, I was a housewife, and after 2/14/78, I was a stay at home Mom.

High school was over and I was ready to move on.

some details from high school

Back to writing –

I believe I just left high school in my last ME post. OK – I notice I missed a few major things when talking about my years from Sept 1968 to graduation in 1972.

First – I did discover four loves that I still have today. One is English (poetry, literature, the classics and the modern) – one is Math – one is writing and the last is baseball.

Second – I also had a few dates in high school so was not a complete wallflower. I always had a date to dances and events because I had friends that were male and when we went out somewhere it was strictly platonic. Except for one…

Third point – I met a guy named John at Milwaukee County Stadium the summer between Soph and Jr years, and we became a couple my junior year of high school. I took him to my prom and then he took me to his school homecoming dance when I was a senior. It was that event that broke us up as he wanted to smoke marijuana at the dance and I was totally against any kind of drugs or artificial highs. I didn’t even drink…that came later.

BUT when he told me that by not smoking grass I was spoiling his good time I decided that we were done. I did give him one chance to apologize and repent, but he was rather weak and couldn’t see his life with no pot. So I turned my back on him. I dated many boys after that but until I met Duke, none was serious.  I can’t say if John was my first true love or if I was even in love or just infatuated, but I can say that my self-esteem and confidence shot through the roof once I stood up for what I believed in and let my “love” know that it was me first or he alone. I made a similar speech to Duke a few months after we started dating and he threw away the pot and kept me. Smart move, Duke! (yes I am laughing as I write that.)

I had to keep myself first because there was no guarantee that anyone else would. My father always told us to be proud of who we were and remember that we should be kind to everyone because it was our station to be nice to those less perfect. His answer to personal doubt was “you’re a Pearson – you’re better than that.”

A wonderful way to grow up, don’t you think? It probably explains a lot about my attitude to this day.