It is amazing to wake up one morning and find that you have reached an age that you always considered to be "old"! That recently happened to me, which for some would be a sad moment but much to my amazement I spent my birthday recollecting things that I had experienced often times smiling or even having a laugh!
My birth, at Overlook Hospital in Summit, New Jersey, on June 22,1949, was the first fact of my life that made me smile on my sixtieth birthday. Not that I was aware at the time but later found out that Myrl Streep was also born on June 22, 1949, and was also born at Overlook Hospital! I've taken much pleasure over the years telling that story, always adding at the end that I slept with the beautiful Myrl Streep! This year I got my comeuppance after relating the story to my favorite Barista at Starbucks who said, "Who's that?".
After graduation from the University of Denver in 1971, with my B.A. in Political Science and a minor in Education, I took a position teaching History in a suburban Junior High School outside of St. Louis, MO. During my eight year tenure I earned my Master's in Secondary School Administration. I loved teaching, it was hard work but with wonderful rewards. There are few professions where a person can stand in front of thirty-two fifteen year olds' and realize that you have captured their imaginations and challenged their minds. Unfortunately, even after eight years experience,, a Master's Degree and three merit raises I was only earning $15,000 a year. My wife earned another $10,000, and we were making ends meet. Then Jane said, over a glass of wine, that she was concerned about her biological clock, being 29, she thought it was time to start a family. I agreed and we were both looking forward to the next chapter in our seven year marriage. As the conversation continued she explained that she thought it would be best if we raised our family as our parents did. Dad went to work and Mom stayed home to care for the children! It didn't take long for me to do the math and figure something had to give!
After much soul searching we decided to sell our little house, take the profits and relocate to Denver, where a good friend from college had a condominium we could live in until I found a better paying job. Our little girl Maggie was born on August 8, 1978, and soon thereafter I resigned my position and put the house on the market. We had purchased the house four years earlier in Richmond Heights outside St. Louis. It was an old place and not in good shape, but at a price tag of $13,000 Jane could borrow enough from the Credit Union, under the guise of purchasing furniture, to make the down payment! Neither of us are handy types but we were young and worked hard cleaning the place up and painting everywhere. It was intersting to watch the other neighbors, all seniors, start to take a new interest in their own homes. Things improved and as a result we made a profit of $48,000!
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