Tuesday, September 27, 2011

HEADED FOR SPRING... more changes (Part 79b)

These changes were somewhat mild in comparison to what was about to happen in the trailer (Ooops... mobile home) park. Even though I’d been told of the upcoming changes that Dick and Ben were planning I was not prepared for the breadth and scope of them. I don’t have any memory of the specific date but it was in early March. When I got home from work Elle asked what the big meeting was about that had been called for that night at the meeting hall. She’d been asked by a few people she’d seen while picking up our mail. We hadn’t been invited so I had no idea. I called Jim and Andy they didn’t know anything either.

We were just about to go to bed when the phone rang. It was one of our original neighbors asking for more information about what had taken place at the meeting. They hadn’t gone but had heard a rumor that all the “Golden Agers” (those over 59) were going to be kicked out of the park. Common sense told me that wasn’t going to happen but I did remember what Dick had told me about building a new facility that would be limited to those over 50 years old. I tried to assure him that he and his wife would not be “kicked out” and also promised to find out just what was going on. It bothered me that he and his wife were that concerned so, in spite of the hour (probably after 11pm) I called Dick.

I sat and listened for about 15 to 20 minutes as he explained what he and his brother had explained earlier. It was an “eye opener“, for sure. The ”boys“ had held what Dick called a ”pre announcement“ about their plans for the new facility. They had renderings of what the new place would look like and explained that all the ”pads“ would be bigger than in the existing park and all would have off street parking. An added amenity was that there would be trees on all the pads. Where the confusion came in with my former neighbor was that the ”golden agers“ were offered a chance to move to the new facility with the current rent guaranteed for a year plus the ”boys“ would move their units for free. It was enough to arm me with with facts to ward off the rumors that were sure to abound the next day. I think what really surprised me was that they were going to try to get phase one of the new park done by July 1. I remember thinking that was pretty ambitious. After explaining it all to Elle I remember wondering if they were going to go ahead with the travel trailer part that I’d agreed to work on for them.

Not long after that I got to meet the ”mystery woman“ who lived across the street from us. It was on a Sunday and Elle, I and the kids had just gotten back from church when I saw her headed our way. She introduced herself as Denise. She handed us a flyer announcing the grand opening of the new discount store up on the by-pass. Elle took a look at that while I took a look at her. I remember asking her what her hours of work were as I hardly ever saw her car when I left for work or when I returned home. She laughed and said she wouldn’t have set hours until the store was up and running. As she was talking I was taking a good look at her. I’d noticed her at the Christmas party at the meeting hall and thought she was good looking at the time. But up close and in casual clothes she wasn’t as interesting. However, she was in her thirties and had what looked to be a nice body. When she left us I knew I’d continue looking at her wash line especially after the store was up and running.

The flier that Denise had given Elle had some real bargains. The store was going to carry just about everything. Looking back on it now, it was a forerunner of the WalMart type store. The opening was scheduled for the first of April, a few weeks before Easter. I remember Elle writing down a whole bunch of stuff on our ”want“ list.
On that Monday all the women in the park were talking about the new store and the fabulous prices. Denise had handed out fliers to all the residents and it seemed like she got the desired result.

As far as work... without Linda we were able to get by but Jo had to step back to her keypunching duties, at least part time. Jay had gotten a lead on a woman who was interested but was only interested in working for a few months. Of course he had to get the ”OK“ from Leo and he sat on the request for quite a while which just added to the dislike we all felt for him. The woman was a forty something who, in her youth, had probably been very cute. Her name escapes me but she fit right in, probably because Jay wasn’t that choosy knowing that she’d only be there for a few months. By the time she started we had adapted to the new tape drive and other than an occasional ”crunch“ things were going well.

As I’d mentioned in earlier posts it was very difficult to do much of anything on the race car being that it was stored outside. With my agreeing to help the ”boys“ with the creation of the new travel trailer section I was given access to all their work areas much like when I was working full time for them. I got permission to create a lean-to against one of the storage areas and Eric and I got it done in one afternoon. It didn’t have heat but it did protect us from the elements, especially the wind. It was a very big change and got me really excited about the upcoming racing season.

To be continued...

Monday, September 19, 2011

HEADED FOR SPRING... more changes (Part 79a)

Almost every Winter I can remember getting a few unseasonable days. It was always a welcome happening, getting people out and about. I’d not done much on the racecar because it was stored outside. Eric, my racecar friend in the park, had already re-welded the roll bars and bumpers and was anxious to do more. Since the only place I had to work on it was outside, with the break in the weather he came around to tell me that we needed to do the whole brake system over. I still had race car money stashed away and even though reluctant to spend it, I did. I had no experience with brakes and told him he was on his own. He looked like a kid about to go into a candy store. To buy the parts I had to go up to the new by-pass to the auto parts store that the “boys” used so I could get their discount. On my way back I remembered Cammy, my grandmother’s nurse, lived in the area. I decided to take a ride by her house hoping that with the good weather there would be wash on the line. There was and I was able to see two pair on the line closest to the road. Of course there was no way to know if they belonged to her or her mother but it was a nice side trip anyway.

It was in and around that same time that the first change took place in the Data processing department since the hiring of Andre. Linda, the heavy set keypunch operator who only worked the minimum time required, had always been a target for practical jokes by Jay. Jay had always been annoyed that she made little or no effort to be a part of the group and the jokes were his way of getting her attention. All the ones I’d seen had been harmless but enough to annoy her. Jay came up to me and motioned for me to follow him into the hall. Once there, without saying a word, he motioned for me to follow him down the stairs. Outside, we went right to his truck and he pulled four milk crates out along with a small bottle jack. Carrying two of them I followed him to the front parking lot. As soon as we made the turn I knew exactly where we were going. Linda had a VW Beetle and Jay made a straight line for it. He got down on his knees and slid the bottle jack under a wheel and called for me to slide a crate to him. He did the same thing on all four wheels. He never said a word the whole time we were out there.

When 5pm came, Linda, as always, was out the door. Jay waited for a minute and then called all the rest of us to follow him. We hid at the corner of the building and waited for Linda to appear. We heard her start the car and then heard the engine rev up a bit. Then we all slipped a little further out to get a better view. We watched her put it into another gear and nothing happened. After a few more tries a guy went up to her window and pointed to her wheels. We watched her get out to take a look... and then scream. We were all holding our sides, laughing, when she saw us. She came running, (or trying to) screaming at Jay. We all ran but Jay turned back and told her he’d fix it. The rest of us went back upstairs, laughing all the way.

The next morning there was no Linda. Around mid afternoon, our least favorite supervisor showed up in the person of Leo, the Deputy Controller. He motioned for Jay to follow him into Jay’s little used office. Because of the windows we could see that neither sat down. Leo’s arms were flying all around and Jay just stood there. The confrontation lasted for about ten minutes and then Leo left. Jay stayed in the office for a few minutes and when he came out he told us that Linda had quit. She’d driven in that morning and handed Leo her resignation. Basically, Leo was not happy.

Jay then walked down the hall to the Civil Service office to see if there were any names on the keypunch position list. There were only two and Jay had interviewed both and wasn’t interested in either. The rules stated that if there were three names one had to be chosen. If there were less than three then a temporary could be hired subject to taking and passing the test. At one time around the end of the year I knew that Rena had asked Jay if there was any way she could get a job in the department. When Jay came back with his findings I immediately thought of her.

As much as I hate to admit it I hadn’t been in touch with Rena in quite a while. I’d taken some action that I thought would help her and, in my heart, I knew that in some ways it did, but those actions also created another bad situation for her. When I heard what had eventually happened I felt really bad and decided to “lay low”. With the new vacancy I couldn’t help but wonder if she was healed enough to work but wondered even more weather she would be willing. In any case there was going to be a change.

Another semi-shock was when Elle told me that Alvin, our next door neighbor, was definitely being transferred to Texas as of April first. He’d complained to me that he thought the company he worked for was going to do it way back around the first of the year. He’d felt that it was to get him to resign so they wouldn’t have to fund his retirement. Both he and his wife were local and both their families were local so this was a form of “legal harassment”, as he called it. There wasn’t much I could say or do.

To be continued...

Saturday, September 17, 2011

THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78k)

The trip through Macy's reminded me that when I was there the last time I'd been introduced to one of the lingerie buyers for the store and had been given the address of a place in the city that might have the Plymouth nylon satin panties that I really liked. The problem for me was that I didn't know enough about the city to know just where it was. I'd had a thought that we might try to find the place but decided against it as Elle was tired from not sleeping all that well what with all the walking and then the skating. However, the thought was still high on my priority list.

It was approaching 3pm and we were very near the train station. Elle stopped me and asked if we could go home. I was somewhat taken aback because it had seemed like she was having a good time. I asked her why and she said it had been almost two whole days since she’d see the kids. I missed them too but not that much. However, for her it was different as she’d never been more than 24 hours without being with them. I knew the train back home left somewhere around 3:45pm. I also knew that even if I persuaded her to stay she’d not be in a good mood for the rest of the time there. So, I told her to stay at the station and I’d run (literally) back to Willy’s apartment and get our things. She didn’t really like the idea of being all alone but also didn’t want to go all the way back to the apartment.

During my semi sleepless night I kept thinking about Willy’s wife’s panties in the next bedroom. At one point I thought I’d get a chance when Elle took her shower. But, we ended up taking a shower together thus eliminating any chance to sneak a peek at her panty drawer. However, on my jog back to the apartment the thought was revived. It took less time than I’d expected so my first stop was the master bedroom. It was the third drawer I tried. As I peered in I saw a waist elastic that seemed somewhat familiar. I took the top pair and peered inside. The label was small but embroidered and I knew I’d seen it before. Evette. I read the size and it said 5. I held the panties up in front of me and saw a nice applique but, having a lot of size 5 panties for Elle, they seemed a bit large. I knew I didn’t have much time as I had to get all our things, including Elle’s soiled panties, together and get back to the train station. I folded the panties back up and as I put them back flipped through the pile they came from and saw the same waist elastic on all of them.

As I stuffed our things into our suitcase something my mother had done when we’d visited friends came to mind. She’d always strip the sheets off the bed and put them in the laundry area. I was like a whirling dervish as I ran from one side of the bed to the other. I’d not taken my coat off so by the time I’d pulled the bedspread back onto the bed I was sweating. Already quite warm, I decided to run the first few blocks back. By the time I found Elle the perspiration was beaded up on my face. There wasn’t time to buy a ticket in the station so we boarded without. Just as we found a seat for two Elle whispered in my ear that she was still wet from when she’d gone at the top of the Empire State Building. I hadn’t given that subject a thought. I asked if she’d at least used a toilet while waiting for me. I couldn’t believe it when she said she hadn’t.

There was nothing I could do for her at that point. The train from the city didn’t have toilets and it was at least a 45 minute trip until we changed trains. I wasn’t sure there were working toilets on that train either but it was all we could hope for. When we stood up to change trains it was all over as I could see the look of resignation on Elle’s face. By the time we got back to our town the wetness had worked its way through Elle’s wool slacks. Because it was dark and there were few passengers on the train by that time I tried to comfort her telling her that no one would know. It didn’t work and I listened to her complain about her condition all the way home. It wasn’t all that far but she, for sure, was upset.

As we made the turn towards our trailer (Oops... mobile home!) I saw something that caught my eye. There was something on the “mystery woman’s” clothes line that, even in the dark, looked a lot like panties. She’d been there for about two months and all I’d ever seen was small towels hanging there. I remember thinking that maybe there was hope there after all.

After getting cleaned up and changing we headed to Elle’s parents house to get the kids. We called ahead so they knew we were coming. The kids were all wound up. I’ll admit I was glad to see them as well even though my plans for the whole weekend didn’t work out. That night I lay awake thinking of the panties I'd peeked at in the apartment. I knew I'd seen that elastic before and it was driving me crazy trying to remember just where.

We’d been going to church on Sunday’s. My preference was for the early service but the church only provided a nursery at the later service. By the time we’d get home it was almost noon. I was still taking my grandfather to the hospital and the only thing that made it somewhat tolerable was in seeing Cammy. There had been a number of times that I’d had an opportunity to drive by her home to see if there were panties on the line but hadn’t. On this day it appeared that when she’d last used the toilet her slip had not come all the way down in back. My grandmother had been fussing when we arrived and Cammy was attempting to get her positioned more comfortably. In so doing she ended up leaning way over the bed to grab my grandmother by the shoulders and the resulting VPL was incredible. The fact that her dress was tight to begin with and with one less layer of material between her panties and me made for a wonderful view. It made me make a strong pledge to do a drive by her house as soon as possible.

To be continued...

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78j)

Because we were both in a strange bed and the sounds of the city were foreign to us, neither of us slept much. I remember Elle getting out of bed and it being light out. The next thing I knew I found her climbing, from the end of the bed, up and over me. Before my eyes could focus I could feel my groin was warm and wet. I put my hands up and around her hips and, instead of the cotton panties that I knew she’d put on for her ”package“ when we went to bed, it was the sensuous feel of nylon satin. It only took a minute before were were side to side and I was ”plugged in“. But that wasn’t what she wanted. I have to say I was very surprised based on her mood when we turned out the lights. It didn’t last too long but, as always, very pleasurable. I had just rolled off of her when the phone rang. I told her to let it ring but she said that Willy’s wife had told her she was going to call. Since we were in the second bedroom there was no phone. Elle jumped out of bed and started out the door but quickly stopped and grabbed the dry cotton panties she’d taken off to put on the nylon pair for me.


I followed a minute or two later and I saw Elle standing at the end of the kitchen counter. She was in profile and I wish I had a camera... nice firm breasts, flat tummy and in panties. As soon as she hung up the phone I had a hand right between her legs. I wasn’t expecting to feel the wetness. It took a few seconds for me to realize it was my cum. I was amazed at just how much there was. IAt first I thought that she’d wet herself while standing there. I was also amazed that she allowed me to ”play“ inside the panties for a while.


It was while we were showering when I found out just what it was that changed her mood. Not being able to sleep she got to thinking about skating. But she knew she wouldn’t do it in a skirt so she decided to work on me to buy her a pair of slacks. Smart woman!


Willy’s wife had encouraged Elle to use what was in the refrigerator for our breakfast but Elle would have none of it. As we left the building we asked the doorman for a good place to eat. He steered us to a coffee shop a few blocks away. It didn’t look like much but I know I’ll never forget the place as they had cinnamon buns baked on the premesis. As we ate I was trying to place just where were in relation to Macy’s. After my last trip to the city I’d told Elle just how big it was and how I’d actually gotten lost in the building. I figured it would be fun to show her and to get a pair of slacks while we were there. Thankfully, the weather was reasonable for late February as it took some walking to find it.


I remember the look on Elle’s face as we walked through just the first floor. I still smile when thinking about it. I made her ride the escalators up to the eighth floor and back and I know she was shaking her head in disbelief most of the way. We stopped on the ladies clothing floor and she was overwhelmed. She really didn’t have any idea what she wanted and the total amount of choices didn’t help. When I saw a pair of camel colored slacks on display I suggested them. Not wanting to take a chance of not finding a bathroom on our travels she had insisted on wearing a total “package”. I knew that would create a problem as far a size was concerned. I didn’t want to pay for a pair of slacks that she might only wear a few times and suggested that she take off the package. I tried to convince her that there would be toilets in and around the skating rink. She finally agreed to take two pair in the changing room to try. The first pair were with the package on and they were a bit baggy. When she took the package off and tried them on they were really baggy. I convinced her to get the smaller pair and I was thinking that since they were wool they would be a bit stretchy and could possibly handle a “package”. Her coat came down to just about her butt cheeks so it would be hard for anyone to notice. We had a “winner”.


We grabbed a bite to eat on the way to Rockefeller center. I could see Elle was really looking forward to the skate as I would describe our walk as “brisk”. I paid for her skates and took a place along the lower terrace to watch. She took to the ice as if she skated every day. I was truly envious. I was always a klutz on skates and there was no way I was going to embarrass myself out there with all those people watching.


She had an hour but waived for me to come to the entryway with about 15 minutes or so to go. As she skated towards me a young boy went barreling into her causing her to fall. She was laughing by the time she got to me. I asked if she was OK and why she was laughing. When she fell it was on her butt and her “package” had buffered the fall. I thought it was pretty funny as well.


She didn’t finish her hour as the skates didn’t fit her that well and her ankles weren’t used to the rigors of skating. She’d slipped the slacks on under her skirt and then took it and her slip off. She decided to stay in the slacks as they were definitely warmer than wearing a skirt. We’d talked about going to the Empire State Building and even though her legs and ankles were tired she wanted to do it. When I lived in the city I’d never been to the top. She wasn’t too keen about the long elevator trip but once we were outside and could look down upon the city she was pretty excited. As she peered over I noticed that she was holding onto the railing with both hands even though there was a protective screen there as well. I remember wishing I had a camera just to memorialize the visit. It had been a sort of hazy day but it was now after 2pm and the haze was burning off. As it did I could feel a little warmth from the sun. I also remember Elle suddenly grabbing my hand and my asking if she was OK. She didn’t answer nor did she look at me. After a few seconds I felt her squeeze a bit harder. I was puzzled. Then I felt her shudder a bit and then she let go. I moved around to look at her square in the face and she had this guilty look in her eyes. It took a bit for me to comprehend but she’d just peed. Later, back on the ground, I told her she was probably one of the very few people who’d ever peed themselves at the very top of the Empire State Building. (Note: We were there at the top about two years ago and she remembered it.)


To be continued...


Sunday, September 11, 2011

THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78i)

When we had last seen her brother all he could do was to brag about what a great place he’d found to live. We had to walk quite a distance from the closest subway and the further we walked the more concerned Elle and I became. It was clearly a part of the city that had seen better days. When we reached our destination I wasn’t sure I wanted to enter. There were run down stores on both sides of the street and garbage laying in the gutters. Her brother led us to a doorway between two stores and we climbed a pair of rickety stairs to the second floor. It appeared that there were two more levels to the building as we waited for him to open the door. Walking in I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was incredibly dark to begin with. All the walls were dark wood and there were only two windows that we could see. What would have been a living room had but two straight backed chairs and a wooden crate with a small lamp on it. I was shaking my head as we were led into the back part. The kitchen had a refrigerator like the one I remember being in my grandparents house when I lived with them during WWII. The stove was on legs and the sink was stained almost orange. By the time we got to the bedroom I was ready to leave. There was one window and all I could see out of it was a fire escape. The only thing that I saw that was somewhat normal was the bed. It was a double bed and was made up. There was a single bulb hanging from the ceiling and other than his Army chest the room was bare. As he was Elle’s brother I kept my mouth shut. Elle was getting very anxious to change so asked about the bathroom. I am not exaggerating when I say that it was disgusting. The sink and toilet bowls were stained to a dark orange. Elle let out a bit of a shriek when she saw it. The toilet seat was cracked and stained. As I looked at it my thought was to leave and get a hotel room even if it took the bulk of the money I had.

Elle got some ”supplies“ and closed the door. As I stood there with her brother he asked what I thought about his ”digs“. He seemed to be clueless. Possibly it seemed like ”heaven“ to him after spending over a year in a tent in Korea. I don’t remember saying anything to him at all. When Elle reappeared her brother said he had some things he needed to do and headed for the door. As soon as he did I told her there was no way we were staying there that night or any other night. She gave me one of those ”...but it is my brother...“ looks but I was adamant.

I had a list of phone numbers of people who lived or worked in the city. Even though it was a holiday I decided to give some of them a try. One was the fellow (Willy) who had sailed with me in the tune up race the previous Summer. He was one who actually lived there and I got lucky and caught him at home. He was just about to leave for Vermont to go skiing. I told him our plight and he told me to come right over. Elle was upset but at that point I didn’t care.

Talk about contrasts... from a ”dump“ we found ourselves in front of an apartment building complete with a doorman. It wasn’t that big but I was impressed with the fact that there was an elevator operator. I have to say that Willy and his wife were quite cordial especially since we hardly knew them... Elle not at all. We were shown around and told to make ourselves at home. The apartment wasn’t all that big but bigger than the one I’d lived in when my parents lived in the city. I was happy I’d made the decision. All I had to do was get Elle in concert with me about why we were there.

Going to Radio City Music Hall calmed her down and since her secret fantasy was to be a ”Rockette“ she was all caught up in the dancing. There was also a movie and I have no memory, at all, of what it was or was about. In an effort to put myself in Elle’s good graces I suggested that we walk over to Rockefeller Center to watch the ice skaters. That was another fantasy she held, to be a figure skater. It didn’t take long for that ”dreamy look“ to come into her eyes as she watched. It had been five years since she’d last skated so when I asked if she wanted to give it a try she slowly shook her head ”no“. I remembered when she’d skated there when we were still in school and how much fun she'd had so was disappointed. I asked why and she whispered that because she was wearing a skirt she was afraid that if she fell people would see her ”package“. I pointed out that there were other women in skirts out on the ice but she just shook her head. She said that if she had a pair of slacks she would.

We watched for a while and then I took her to the automat to get something to eat. I’d told her about it after my last trip to the city and she thought it was something she wanted to see. The food was nothing special but putting coins into the slot and then opening the door to take the food out was something different.

By then I was looking forward to getting back to Willy’s apartment and some time, alone, with Elle. However, I could see Elle’s mood change as we approached the building. Once in the apartment she started in about how we’d said we’d stay at her brother’s place. I didn’t want to argue so kept my mouth shut. At that point I knew there wasn’t going to be much ”snuggling“ that night. However, the next morning it was all OK... Elle was smiling and anxious to go exploring the city.

To be continued...

Friday, September 09, 2011


THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78h)

It didn’t take long for Eric (the former racer) to step in and fill Lance’s roll as the ”go to“ guy for airmen at the base who either wanted to buy or sell a car. The difference was that Eric had the money to fix up the cars that he bought and I was no longer needed. Not that I made all that much money but it did serve to provide me with ”pocket change“. Eric had been after me to get started on the race car but with no garage to get in out of the weather I didn’t have a lot of enthusiasm for it in January. The first thing that needed to be done was to reweld the roll cage and bumpers. On this one night Elle was being especially amourous and after putting the kids to bed she came into the living room in just her bra and panties. She would tease me that way but made me wait until she was sure the kids were asleep before she’d let me ”play“. You can imagine the shock when there was a knock on the door. She jumped up and ran down the hall while I answered the door. It was Eric. I knew better than to ask him in even though Elle was down in the bedroom. I stood on the top step as he told me he had found a place where he could use the welder. I didn’t have a coat and hadn’t intended to stay out for long but Eric had something in his car he wanted to show me. I’m guessing but it was probably a good half hour that we sat in his car talking about the upcoming season. He had the motor running and the heat on so I wasn’t cold. When I walked back inside I found Elle asleep on the couch. It was one of those positions that begged for a picture. All I had to do was get the camera without waking her up... and I did. I actually got two and she never knew it. One thing I’d learned was that when Elle was in a good mood it was best to take advantage of it before she fell asleep. Unfortunately for me on that night I missed out on the ”pay off“.

By the time President’s Day weekend came up we were both excited about the trip to the city. Elle’s brother had finished his time in the Army and had gotten a job in the city along with a small apartment. He invited us to stay there while he went home to visit his parents but had agreed to meet us at the train station and to take us to it. There were only two trains into the city with the early one leaving shortly after 6:30am. President’s Day was on a Friday and we had taken the kids to Elle’s parents the night before. Our plan was to return on the early train out of the city on Sunday leaving around 9:45am. That meant we had three nights to ourselves and I had plans for all of them. Because of Elle’s ”problem“ we packed extra panties and pads or ”supplies“ but I took the extra step of packing some of the nylon satin panties and a couple of fancy panties. I would’ve loved to have had Elle wear some of them for the trip in but knew it would be well over three hours for the trip so settled on a ”package“.(x)

It was a very wise choice. Elle’s brother was there at the station waiting for us but since none of us had any real food he insisted that he treat us for breakfast. Even though it was a national holiday and a lot of workers were off, every place we went was crowded. The little shop we ended up eating at was not an option for Elle to change her ”package“ so by the time we reached her brother’s apartment it had reached capacity.

When we had last seen her brother all he could do was to brag about what a great place he’d found to live. We had to walk quite a distance from the closest subway and the further we walked the more concerned Elle and I became. It was clearly a part of the city that had seen better days. When we reached our destination I wasn’t sure I wanted to enter. There were run down stores on both sides of the street and garbage laying in the gutters. Her brother led us to a doorway between two stores and we climbed a pair of rickety stairs to the second floor. It appeared that there were two more levels to the building as we waited for him to open the door. Walking in I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was incredibly dark to begin with. All the walls were dark wood and there were only two windows that we could see. What would have been a living room had but two straight backed chairs and a wooden crate with a small lamp on it. I was shaking my head as we were led into the back part. The kitchen had a refrigerator like the one I remember being in my grandparents house when I lived with them during WWII. The stove was on legs and the sink was stained almost orange. By the time we got to the bedroom I was ready to leave. There was one window and all I could see out of it was a fire escape. The first thing I saw that was somewhat normal was the bed. It was a double bed and was made up. There was a single bulb hanging from the ceiling and other than his Army chest the room was bare. As he was Elle’s brother I kept my mouth shut.(xx)

It was a very wise choice. Elle’s brother was there at the station waiting for us but since none of us had any real food he insisted that he treat us for breakfast. Even though it was a national holiday and a lot of workers were off, every place we went was crowded. The little shop we ended up eating at was not an option for Elle to change her ”package“ so by the time we reached her brother’s apartment it had reached capacity.

To be continued...

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78g)

I can truthfully say that I was shocked by what Corrine had told me. At no time did I ever see Rena as anything but a bright, ambitious girl with a bubbly personality. No where did the darkness of her life show through, at least in my presence. I asked Corrine if she or anybody else in the department had done anything to help her out. Corrine gave me a blank stare as much as to say ”No. Was I expected to?“ I knew I wanted to do something but I had no idea what or how. The news left me very upset, almost depressed. To me it seemed like nothing ever went right for her.

As I said at the beginning of my previous post, I wish I hadn’t written the information about Rena... but I did. I could write at least one whole post on what happened but I won’t. Suffice it to say that I did get involved. The results were something I have mixed feelings about almost 50 years later. It got very complicated and was a case of seeing good intentions go wrong.

Even though getting the new tape drive up and running at work meant more work for all of us we were excited about it. Other than a daily visit from Leo things were going well. At home I was living a blissful life as Elle’s desire to become pregnant was paying big dividends for me. When we received notice that Ruthie (of Jimbo and Ruthie) had a son right after the first of the year it even got better. Just about every wish (fantasy) of mine was being fulfilled. It was like “no” had been removed from her vocabulary. I was really looking forward to President’s day weekend where we would be going to the city taking advantage of the tickets to Radio City Music Hall my mother had given Elle for Christmas. It would be a few days for just the two of us.

It took a few weeks for me to catch up with Dick at the park office and his “news”. He had gone on vacation and as I really didn’t see eye to eye with his brother, Ben, decided to wait. I hadn’t put up a patio room for them since before Christmas and knew I still owed about $400 on my room. I was hoping he was going to offer me another way to help pay it off.

I knew the park was filled up as all the new pads that I helped them build were taken and I knew that adding the patio room business was to help keep the cash flowing. But when I was told that he, his brother and father were going to build a brand new park up on the by-pass I was surprised. Their idea was to limit it to “golden agers” (50 and older) and to move those in that age group to the new park. Dick showed me a rendering of the site and compared to the existing park it looked like “paradise”. One of the biggest things was that they were going to do was keep trees rather than bulldoze them down as had been done in the existing park. It all looked very nice and I felt somewhat honored to be told of the plan before it was announced to the public.

That wasn’t the only news. The plan was to revamp the existing park as well. They were going to take on a new line of trailers (yes, trailers). Starting in the mid 50’s travel trailers had started to become popular. They had missed the trend and the chance to get the franchise for the Airstream trailer, the “Cadillac” for the genre. However, they had just gotten a franchise to sell the Avion trailer, a “knock off” of the Airstream. To that end they were going to expand the “transient” (their name) area of the park and make it a featured part rather than an afterthought as it stood in it’s present state. The goal was to have that done by mid Spring. It was an ambitious project and Dick asked if I’d be interested in working on it. As I still owed him money and was no longer working it off by building patio rooms I said “yes”.

While I was with Dick I took the time to ask what he knew about the “mystery woman” who was now living right across from me. He laughed when I called her that. As you know, rumors, or the “skinny” are often wrong. The only part of what Elle had been told that was right was that the woman was the daughter of the owners of the trailer. She was not an “engineer” and was not part of the new electronics company. She worked for a brand new company with a brand new concept and was the assistant to the manager. The company was actually a local precursor to big box stores like WalMart. The company was going to offer just about anything and everything and at discount prices. They had built a 30,000 square foot building out on the by-pass and the target for opening was April 1st to take advantage of the Easter selling market. After giving me the “real scoop” he commented on the fact that she was a “looker” and gave me a wink. I decided that I would have to make an effort to, "by chance" run into her. I'd already been scoping out her wash line but with no results.

With the departure of Elle’s friend Alice and her daughter Julie, our oldest daughter, Jean, didn’t have a best friend to play with. Elle and I had been happy that Julie had come along when she did as she replaced Dina, Jim’s daughter, who we were concerned about. She appeared to be “slow“ and used questionable judgment. Another thing was that she tended to be ”bossy“ and Jean was very reticent. But, with so few female children in the park around Jean’s age there wasn’t much choice. I’d continued to be friends with Jim but Elle had not spent much time with Dora, his wife. We decided that Dina was better than not having any friends at all so Elle set out to re-connect with Dora. However, I still had some concerns.

To be continued...

Saturday, September 03, 2011

THE NEW YEAR... changes ahead (Part 78f)
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An apology... With an earthquake and a hurricane all in one week things got a little hectic around here. To write this I use a number of “memory joggers” which consist primarily of family pictures, my wife’s scrapbook, a very poor diary (in the sense that it sometimes has large gaps in it) and most of the time, a good memory. Don’t ask me what happened last week! I often write a base outline and then, as rememberances occur, fill it in. I had written my latest one up into March of 1963. It was made up of slips of paper with a paper clip to attach them to the outline. Somehow I managed to misplace some of my “fill ins” and, in an effort to get some posts up, left out some important material. I’m going to write what‘s missing in a special post as some of it is necessary for future posts. I really wish I hadn’t posted the last two paragraphs of my last post. Although Rena is an important part of my story I didn’t really need to put all that in. I’m not exactly sure how to move on from there but I’ll think about it over the weekend.
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My grandfather was always generous to people who did work for him during the course of the year. That included the nurses who looked after my grandmother in the hospital. He had a way of eliciting information about their families as well as their needs and tried to get something that was wanted or needed. Although in many cases he gave cash but he always enjoyed seeing the response when it was something of a material nature. The mother of the nurse who had caught my eye because of the tight uniform she wore (Cammy) would sometimes sit in for her when she wanted time off. My grandfather found out that Cammy wanted a stereo radio, something brand new on the market at the time. He tried to get one from the local appliance store but they hadn’t started stocking them. Right before Christmas he saw an add in one of the city newspapers and ordered it for Cammy. Unfortunately, it didn’t arrive in time. It came right after and he received a notice that it was at the post office and had to be picked up. Not able to drive any longer he asked that I pick it up for him and then to to drive him to Cammy’s house to deliver it. The timing of his request wasn’t good but I knew I had to. Plus, I’d wanted to actually see just where she lived so managed to squeeze in the time for the delivery.

I knew pretty much the area that she lived in but driving up to the house I saw something that caught my attention. The house was on a corner lot and there was a clothes line that ran parallel to the side street. There were no clothes on the line but, now knowing this information, I vowed to ride past it from time to time, hoping to get a ”reward“ for my effort.

My grandfather stayed in the car while I went up to the house to get Cammy. She was surprised and, without putting on a coat, ran out to the car. She wasn’t wearing anything memorable but I vividly remember her reaction to the radio. She reached in and gave my grandfather a hug and I guess because I was standing there, I got one too. I’ve mentioned that she had a nice full ”bottom“... well, her top wasn’t bad either. I was almost ready to check my chest for indentations. In my fixation on her rear and her panties I’d pretty much ignored the top half. My mistake!

As I looked out of my front window I had a side view of the first of the longer trailers (Oops... mobile homes) that were placed in the park. When the park was originally laid out the longest units were forty feet long. To accommodate the unit mentioned above the ”boys“ had to use two pads and had give up the pad directly behind it. At the time I remember thinking that I had the absolute best view of a clothes line possible. The only place to put it was right out along side the fence right out by the road. There was no way to hide it like the majority of the others were. The only negative was that it was one of the four arm, fold up type where a lot of clothes are hidden in the middle. However, it turned out the residents, a middle aged couple, never lived there permanently using it only on weekends. Seldom was there anything on the clothesline but towels and bathing suits. That had been disappointing.

I had mentioned that at the impromptu Christmas party at the park meeting hall I had noticed an unfamiliar female face. I had noticed her because not only was she good looking but also because the clothes she had worn were pretty revealing (at least from the panty perspective). The people she was with were not part of the group that I knew so I really didn’t know much, if anything, about her. Right after that I had noticed the outside light was on and had figured that the owners were spending the weekend there. However, the next day, when on my way to work, I saw a strange car parked out in front. I didn’t dwell on it and it wasn’t until a few days later that Elle saw lights on inside the unit. Milly, our neighbor, usually had the latest information but in this case knew nothing.

It wasn’t until after Christmas that we got the ”skinny“. The woman was the daughter of the owners of the unit. An electronics company had established an assembly plant out on the ”by-pass“ located to the North of town during the Fall and she was some sort of engineer assigned to the operation. No one Elle had talked to had actually seen or talked to her so she was the ”mystery“ woman as we approached the new year. All I could do was hope that my casual, but positive, observation of her at the party held up and that she would fill up that clothes line for me.

Driving into the trailer park on New Year’s eve I noticed a brand new sign. It was almost twice as big as what had been there before. What had my attention was that there was a name change. No longer did it read “TRAILER PARK”. It now stated, in big bold letters, “MOBILE HOME PARK“. If there was one thing I’d learned about the ”boys“ (Dick and Ben) was that they didn’t spend any more money than they needed to. I saw a light on in the office so stopped to ask about the change. Dick was just about to leave but he explained that the industry was changing. The park owners association that they belonged to had requested that the members now use the words Mobile Home in place of trailer. He went on to say that the association now used ”trailer“ to describe one that could be towed by a car or pick up truck. He pointed to the ”transient“ area just in back of the office that held a few of the smaller, towable units. He also told me to come see him sometime as there was more news and that I might be interested in. I do remember wondering what was up.
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Now I'll go back to the story... sorry about the interruption.
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To be continued....