On a much more positive note, Patricia and I will have been married 39 years come 4:00 PM tomorrow. We had a busy day that Friday back in 1974. We graduated from GA Southern at 10:00 AM and got married at Pittman Park UMC at 4:00 PM. I had less than 250 bucks in my pocket and Patricia had 50. I paid the preacher 50 of our total sum. We began teaching school in Vidalia, GA the following Monday and our required physical exams were 200 bucks not to mention a 15 buck prescription I had to pay for due to a urinary tract infection I never believed I really had. Fortunately from working all that summer I had made our trailer and trailer park deposit and rent payments in advance as well as a utility deposit for electricity. We had no telephone. I had bought a 15 year old worn-out truck during the summer for 500 bucks and Patricia was driving my worn-out Pinto from college. We received no advanced paycheck like teachers do today (prorated over 12 months from their contracted salary). All I had to do was ask my dad for some money, right? Hell no! I would have never done that simply because I never saw my dad ask his dad for money. We survived for three weeks on about 50 bucks and a lot of love. Then, we found ourselves penniless with three weeks remaining before payday. I had to borrow $300 bucks from a loan shark, “Discount Loan Company” @ 24% APR for three months to get by. From there we buckled down and lived on what we earned that included paying on two school loans which we eventually paid off in full 7 years later. Thank you God for this experience and especially for giving me Patricia to share it with! There are a few lessons learned from this very real life experience. They include hard work, commitment, responsibility, perseverance and faith. Patricia, We’ve come a long way baby, thank you for traveling with me and let’s continue this journey with excitement all the way through the gates of heaven! I love you!!! Lynn
Posted on: Wed, 14 Aug 2013 19:13:41 +0000