I got carried away with my so-called "career" endeavors and failed to include the most significant event in my life. Significant, not only because of the woman that I married, but the fact that we became the parents of four lovely children.
I think I have already told you but I was drinking too much, thinking more about the "Me" in my life rather than the importance of considering the fact that actions beget circumstances. That was true in my life and I had begun to recognize the downward spiral. That is where I came mind-to-mind and heart-to-heart with a man and his thoughts as compiled in his book, Think and Grow Rich. Napolean Hill was his name and if you ask most American men over 50 years of age, you are almost certain to discover that if they have not read his book, they have heard him lionized among motivational speakers. I ate up his words, I began to dream his dreams.
So it was, I decided to change my ways and headed for the most safe haven I had ever experienced in my life to date. I went to church and specifically to the First United Methodist Church in Hollywood, CA. True to form, the people I met, noticing the fact I was nicely dressed, appeared to be younger than I was actually and single - at least there was no wedding band, they headed me to the Young Singles class, led by two of the nicest people you would ever care to meet.
I could see the eyes and noticed the smiles on the young ladies I met and recognized the hesitancy of the younger guys. It was obvious, they were seeking relationships and I was one of them.
The gal I met - and would eventually marry, Janice, was cute as could be, had dancing eyes and it wasn't long before we were dating. And dating led to thoughts of marriage and those thoughts led to the obvious. We had determined that we could do better as a married couple and then there was the obvious. Since we were going to be married, there was no reason to wait for sex. There was a very good reason, she became pregnant before the wedding plans were developed and from that moment until our wedding date, everything else took a back seat.
She told me that she was working at an aircraft facility that happened to be one of my clients. I knew the Personnel Manager well and when I tried to call my beloved on the phone, I would learn that she did not work there, had never worked there. My friend confirmed this. She had applied for a job there, but she was not accepted as the interviewer believed she was not serious about working. That really jolted me, but I was in love, that was for certain, and I knew very well about the little "lies" we all seem to share too often. I was even more guilty than she was.
The wedding went off well, her mother was very good at such things and we were happy in our new "home", a rented apartment across the street from the NBC studios and when we could afford it, we moved to a nicer place nearby. I was doing well in my job even though I was not happy, so when a better offer - or so I thought, came along, I jumped at the opportunity.
Our first child, Mary Kathryn, was patient with us and delayed her arrival until it almost matched the typical nine months waiting period. She was a big girl, ten pounds, eight ounces and beautiful beyond any words I could find to describe her. Talk about "proud Poppa's" - those words fit me perfectly.
Janice was relieved - to be sure, and we were well on our way to successful life, when the tragedy I spoke of earlier came upon us. I was devastated, there was no better description. Janice was disappointed, but she was the one who reached out and uncovered a solution. More on this, later on.
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