Thursday - The Notebooks

To clear up some confusion, the Notebook passages posted on Throwback Thursday were written by my father and found by me after he passed away. They were his attempt to tell the family history. He was in his late 80s or early 90s when he wrote them. Today's chapter:

The other thing was that now the camping was mine and one morning I ran into Jim White who chatted with me. He ran the camp ground for a religious not for profit organization. The exact name slips my mind. He said that he liked the way I worked and handled things and looked after the boys, etc. He also said that he had an opening for a secretary, that was what they called their executives. The salary was $2500.00 [ed: a year] That was a lot of money in those days. I could afford an apartment, wife, child, and save money.

But he couldn't hire me because I was Catholic. Like Doris, he said they would have to make changes  to their attitude. I didn't feel good about the requirements for those people.

My Monday morning attendance at college with three courses was going well for me. My grades were right up there and I had two young ladies looking at me with eyes that indicated that they would like to be with me. But I had Betty. And we were getting to be a twosome. She loved me and I loved her. We became lovebirds.

Doris had doubts about my sleeping in the bed. All the other beds were messed mine looked like it had not been slept in.

She also saw me come in from the camp nights, dragged in I would shave shower and have lunch and she said food seems to spark you up. I said I guess so. Because I would show that I wasn't tired..

I kept a pretty pace up and was doing well with my studies and also added courses during the summer into fall and winter.

One night I was early and went up to my room. to find gifts I gave Betty on my bed. I went downstairs and Doris said I'm sorry about that but you shot right upstairs before I could say anything to you.

I felt heartbroken. I wondered what I did and why I was treated like that.

A couple of weeks went by and I was still upset. And Charlie told me that Betty's parents had spoken to him. They wanted to know how long it would take me to graduate from college etc. Because Betty evidently was  all set to marry or wait she had friends that were married and the parents were worried that in the end the same thing would happen to her that happened to their older daughter. So they decided she should break up and not see me anymore. He said that that is Charlie, only if she kept away. But if she did come to me they should stay out of our life.

One night I was closing the Club down and I heard a knocking on the cellar door. I was down there at the time and I went to the door and saw Betty. I opened the door and she threw her arms around me and kissed. This kept up for a while. She would work nights and come to meet me at the Club. She was close by up a side street. And I would walk with her up a block away from her house. And go home.

In Feb. we had a good snowstorm. And the next night she called and I waited for her. She did not show up and I figured that since the streets were still some bad shape that her parents picked her up. i did not see her again after that. Except years later after WWII, in the rapid transit in East Boston area. She sat across from me and your mother as I was married. She was with some girlfriends and they got out to get the Orient Heights trolley. She smiled at me but I did not acknowledge. We went our separate ways.