SUMMER FUN... good times (Part 109a)

We didn’t need a calendar to tell us that Summer was upon us. After first reaching the 90’s the temperature didn’t retreat all that much. At work, the air conditioning decided to take it’s own vacation with the indoor temperatures hanging around 80 degrees. The problem was a bad compressor on one of the units and we were told that it would be about a week before it would be repaired. The bank didn’t have a formal dress code but it had been pretty much established that the ladies would wear stockings. After a day of the high temperatures Trish passed the “word” that the tellers were unhappy about wearing stockings. Over time I’d pretty much gotten her trust to the point that she’d run things by me when she felt they had merit. When she asked about the stockings I didn’t hesitate at all. Since I didn’t have to wear them I'd never given them a thought. All the men had taken their coats off because we were hot but we never thought about the women. After giving Trish the OK I watched as a parade of females head to the rest room. I did mention it to Hobie and he immediately passed the word on to the the mortgage and accounting departments upstairs. Even though I hadn’t thought of the idea I got credit for it so was a very popular person for at least a day.

The “busy” period, where we posted the interest earned on the savings accounts, coincided with the AC problems. The public seemed to accept the situation. A combination of the policy and procedures that I’d instituted during and after the previous one and by moving Corrine to the lobby teller line seemed to alleviate the long lines of people that had been the norm. The drive up window was now handling a steady stream of customers which also helped. Katie, the new girl (my first hire) took over as the drive up teller and I got permission to hire a part timer to come in from 11am to 2pm during that two week period. Being a high schooler she was very “hip” when it came to clothes and by then the mini skirt craze had finally caught up to our rural area. I’d like to take credit for her hire but she was the granddaughter of a Board member so didn’t have a choice. Blonde and cute, a dangerous combination for sure, she had tongues wagging (both male and female) right from her first day. Bret’s tongue was hanging out right from the moment he saw her. I’m not sure if her name was Mindy or Mandy but whenever she walked across the work floor her hips moved from side to side so that the hem (short) of her skirt swayed with the motion. I’m sitting here shaking my head as my mind conjures up her image.

The tellers, primarily the “Polish Mafia”, were aghast at how “brazen” (their term) she was. If I overheard the comment “... you wouldn't catch me dead wearing something like that!” once I heard it a half dozen or more times. Trish, at the urging of the “Mafia”, approached me much as she’d done with the stockings to ask if the bank was going to allow it. Without a formal dress code I told her there was nothing that could be done. When she pressed a little more I warned her that having a formal dress code could create more problems than it would solve. That was the last I heard about it.

I won’t prolong the agony... in the two weeks she worked there I never once got a peek. Bret claimed he did but I accused him of having a vivid imagination. She knew how to wear short skirts without compromising herself. A by product of her time at the bank started showing up a few weeks later. I remember seeing more dress and skirt above the knee.

Elle, having taught for the last two weeks of school, had reconnected with one of the teachers, Suzette, who she’d played tennis with two years prior. When I heard her mention the word “tennis” I had mixed feelings. By the time we’d stopped playing after she’d become pregnant I’d improved enough to not fully embarrass myself out on the courts. Even with that I still wasn’t comfortable. However, having said that, I did very much enjoy the opportunity to watch women playing tennis and the opportunity for many, many panty peeks. I even loved seeing peeks of Elle’s panties even though I got to see them every morning and night. One of the people who was in the group owned her own court and Elle (and I) were invited to play on it when it was free. Because it had been almost two years since either of us had played Elle wanted me to hit some balls with her before she actually had to play with her group.  I told her I would but I wanted to pick out what she would wear. If you’ve been reading this tome you’ve probably picked up on the fact that Elle and I “bartered” with each other to get some things that we each, individually, wanted. (ie; previous post, last paragraph) I’d found that the best peeks came when she (and other women) wore a dress so that was my choice. On that particular day she was wearing two pair of the Plymouth nylon satin panties. I told her to just leave them on hoping that, after we were done, I’d get a “squirt” (or more) from her. She gave me one of those “knowing” looks but didn’t change. That made me very happy and a bit "excited" as we headed out.

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108k)

I’d secretly hoped that someone would invite me to lunch but that didn’t happen. I ended up going to an old favorite, the Automat, to eat. By the time I was finished I still had three hours to kill. It was really hot and even with my tie and coat off I could feel the persperation running down the small of my back. I decided to walk uptown towards the park. I’d never been to any of the upscale department stores like Bergdorf's of Saks and thought I’d at least be cool while taking a look around. The most vivid memory I have of the experience was just how much more expensive things there were. I’d wasted about two hours when I decided to head for the train station. I decided to go over to 6th avenue for my return trip. Not having to rush I made a point of looking into various store windows. For some unknown reason I stopped in front of a store selling fine linens. I scanned the windows and saw lace enhanced table cloths, napkins,, hand towels and the like. But I saw something else. Alone, on some sort of a stand, was a single pair of white nylon panties.

The panties were enough to catch my attention but when I walked closer I became intrigued. The crotch wasn’t the typical “half moon” but had a diamond effect. Then, the leg opening treatment was totally different as well. Initially I was reminded of the cotton band leg panties made by both Carter’s and Lollipop that Elle had... except that I could clearly see leg elastic. A closer look showed that it was actually another piece of nylon sewn in to make it appear to be like a band leg. I couldn’t resist and went inside. All I could see was a lot of white and off white things displayed everywhere. Everything was for the home. After a short wait a matronly woman with her hair done up in a bun that reminded me of my grandmother approached. I was having a hard time reconciling the single pair of panties in the window and not seeing even one clothing item displayed. I was perspiring from the heat so my embarrassment as I spoke to her was hidden. I asked about the panties and she didn’t hesitate when she asked what size I wanted. She went into the back of the store returning with a flat box that read Sans Souci in script on the top. As she put it on the counter I noticed a rather exotic image of three women printed in gold. She opened the box and after pulling aside tissue paper with the Sans Souci logo imprinted all over it, I saw two small piles of panties with a paper band around each. She carefully pulled a pair from one of the piles and held it up, inviting me to touch the material. As soon as I did I recognized it as the same as the Plymouth nylon satin panties that I bought for Elle the last time I’d been in the city. I knew, immediately, that I had to have at least one pair. Actually, I wanted the whole box. However, I knew I didn't have much more money than to buy the train ticket home. I asked the price and when she said it was over two dollars I wasn’t all that surprised as the prices of some of the items on display were really eye opening.

As I was about to leave with my purchase my curiosity overwhelmed me so I turned and asked the lady about the disconnect between the fine linens and the panties. She smiled and hesitated before explaining that the lady who owned the shop had discovered then in New Orleans on a buying trip. After getting some and liking them she decided to offer them in her store. I would've liked to have known more about the owner and her love for the panties but I felt I'd gone a bit far when I asked the initial question.

On the trip home I kept thinking of ways to give the panties to Elle. They were so obviously different than anything she had that it wouldn’t be possible to sneak them into her panty drawer and then just pull them out. Arriving home I saw that the station wagon wasn't there. My immediate reaction was that something had happened to one of the kids but then it came to me that they were with Elle's mother as Elle was at a retirement dinner for the principal of the school she'd been teaching at. I'd gotten so excited about the new panties that it had slipped my mind.

It was around 9pm when I heard her pull in to the yard. She was dressed to the "nines" as all the other principals and big wigs of the school district were in attendance and she wanted to make a good impression. I'd laid the new panties on our bed and as she walked in to change she turned and looked at me with a knowing smile. I helped her undress and as I did I slipped the panties she was wearing off as well. I had the new ones ready and as I held them down for her to step into them she reminded me that she still had her stockings on. I told her that it didn't matter. All I wanted was to see her in the new panties. As soon as she did I edged her towards the patio room which had proved to be the coolest place inside.

Whenever we did retreat to the patio room Elle would end up in the chaise so the the air from the box fan would cross her body at an angle. While she was arranging it to her liking I went looking for the camera. It’d been a while since I’d last used it and I wasn’t sure if it was color or black and white film but at that moment I didn’t care. When I reappeared in the doorway and she saw the camera she protested. It had been a while since she’d allowed me a “personal” picture so I had that working for me when I was persuading her to relent. It took a bribe to do it (the promise of a new bathing suit she’d seen in the Sears catalog) and with the condition that it wouldn’t be frontal. Beggars can’t be choosey so I accepted the terms. What I wanted to do was to get a picture of the diamond treatment of the crotch. The only thing I could come up with without getting her upset was to have her on her hands and knees and to take it from behind. The result...

To be continued... 

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108j)

I’d no experience with handling benefits the year I spent as a Personnel Technician for the County. When I was hired Hobie spent very little time going over them with me saying that he’d go over them again, in detail, as my six months probation period neared an end. With everything else that I had going on I didn’t really want to tackle this project but had no choice. I took the folders home to try and figure out just what was involved. By the time I went to bed I knew I had to get help. Medical Insurance seemed to need the most attention so the next morning I called the contact person on the card that Hobie had given me. The ladies name was Rose. Have you ever made a phone call to someone you didn’t know and then conjured up an image of the person. To me Rose sounded like an old lady with a no nonsense bite to her voice. I figured her to be heavy set and gray haired. She was very short with me and said she didn’t have the time to answer my questions right them. But, she did suggest that I come in to the city where she could set some time aside to get me squared away. I remember holding the phone away from my head and staring at it wondering if I'd really just heard that. I waited for a few seconds and then told her I’d try to work it out from my end. As I hung up the phone I really was wondering what this woman looked like and was she really as hard nosed as she appeared to be.

The big news of the week was that Bret was now the proud father of a baby girl. I was happy for him. He’d gotten over his “snit” over my promotion so things were good again between us. The announcement of my promotion was due in the local paper that Thursday. I’d managed to avoid Amy after the initial contact about getting it done. However, seeing her did make me wonder how J J was making out in his new “digs” and just how much contact he actually had with her. I decided it was best not to ask though. I didn’t want to give J J the idea that there might be something up with Amy. The upcoming press release also prompted a conversation with Hobie. He got around to asking about how I’d made out with the benefits folders. I told him what I’d done and also told him what Rose had told me. He reminded me that month end was rapidly approaching and it was going to be up to me to get the reports filed and done correctly. I remember taking a deep breath when I asked if I should/could go in to the city. He had a funny look on his face but consented telling me to see if I could arrange it for the next day. Many phone calls later I’d arranged to meet not only Rose but the other two benefits coordinators as well. I figured I might as well cover all the bases while I was there.

I had to be at the train station just before 6am. Even at that hour it was warm and I knew I was in for a rough go once I made it to the city. There were 128 Mutual Savings Banks in the state and they’d all gotten together to create an association to assist the members. Included in those services was the administration of the health care, life insurance and retirement benefits for all of the member bank’s employees. The association occupied two full floors of an office building not far from Penn Station so it didn’t take long to walk there. However, by 9am it was downright hot out and by the time I walked into the reception area I needed a shower. Rose had left a message at the reception desk that I was due in so I was pointed in the right direction.  She’d given me her office number but I was a bit confused when I reached the door. There were two names painted on the door, both male and with long titles beneath them. I wondered if I was in the wrong place but opened the door anyway.

There was single desk with a thin faced red headed woman sitting at it. She had her head down but before I could speak I heard a guttural “YES?”. Taken back a bit I told her that I was looking for Rose. Without looking up I heard and saw her say “You’re looking at her, babe!”. I swear my jaw hit my chest. It was still that way when she finally looked up at me. “You looked surprised.” were the next words she spoke. I don’t think I’ve ever had a situation like that. I had this vision of a “battle axe” type person but here was a late thirty’s, not unattractive, woman looking at me like I had three heads.

That wasn’t the end of my surprises. I soon came to find out that her job as health care coordinator was only part time. She was actually the secretary for two of the association’s officers. She got up from her desk and motioned for me to follow her. We walked into a small conference room and on the table were numerous piles of paper and folders. Not wasting any time she handed me a folder and, still standing, went over the contents with me. The folder contained all the items from my bank that had to be corrected. She stated that she’d tried, repeatedly, to get Chuck, my predecessor, to get them squared away. I don’t remember the number but it just reinforced my image of the man as being almost totally inept as a manager. I was there with Rose for less than an hour. When I walked out I felt I had a good handle on what had to be done to both correct the noted items as well as how to go forward doing the monthly reports correctly. I also had a completely different attitude towards her.

Rose steered me towards where both the life insurance and retirement people were located. It was pretty much the same story with both... a list of errors to be corrected and instructions on how to properly do monthly reports. All three of them gave me a supply of the current forms that were in use and urged me to destroy any that were still at the bank. I remember Carl, the life insurance contact, being somewhat annoyed at the fact that he had personally sent off a supply of them to Chuck and yet reports were still being sent in on obsolete forms. I assured him that I would take care of it. When I left the building I had a good feeling and that the trip was well worth the effort.

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108i)

 There wasn’t time for a real "reaction” on my part as I had to push us off to get us out into the wind. There wasn’t much of it though. I could see wind ripples out towards the middle of the lake so we headed in that direction.

It was hardly worth the effort because what little wind there was barely moved the boat. I quickly got the idea that Peggy was happy that there wasn’t more wind. We did get a few puffs that started to tip the boat and she let out a bit of a squeal each time. I became worried that the wind would drop so much that Elle wouldn’t get a chance to get out so we headed for shore, paddling by hand the last little bit. Once there I jumped into the water to hold the boat so Peggy could get off. As she took the few steps to shore I couldn’t believe my eyes. The seat of her shorts was wet. Now, under normal sailing conditions on this type of boat it would be expected. We never saw a wave the whole time we were out. Other than where Peggy had been seated, the deck of the boat was dry and so was my butt.

Elle was ready and waiting to go. Of our two older girls, Anne was definitely the more adventurous and she insisted that she was going out with us. We’d brought the playpen and the baby appeared to still be happy in it. That left Peggy to occupy Jean while Elle, Anne and I were out on the water. As we pushed off I took a look back at them and wondered about Peggy’s wet bottom.

There was still very little wind but Anne enjoyed her ride anyway. She wanted to steer so I let her sit beside me and handle the tiller. I couldn’t believe how excited she was. Since we’d gotten a late start we didn’t have much time on the water. Arriving back at the shore I paid special attention to Peggy’s rear. It was obvious that the wetness had started to dry in back but, it had wicked up in the front which was quite “exciting”, at least to me. Because of the trouble we’d had getting the Sailfish into the station wagon I made the decision to leave it there taking the sails, dagger board and rudder with us. With Elle’s unfamiliarity with a manual transmission I told her that I’d take Peggy home in my car.

As Peggy started to get she hesitated. I asked her what was wrong and it took a few seconds for her to ask if I had something to put on the seat. As always, I had towels stuffed under my seat and as I handed one to her I could see she was sort of embarrassed. I didn’t say anything and, in fact, nothing was said until we were on the street where she lived. I broke the silence by asking if she thought she might like to try sailing again. That brought her to life. She turned and looked right at me and let out an emphatic “Yes!”. In her driveway as she was getting out of the car she took the towel with her. I asked what she was doing and she answered something like “You don’t want this like this. I’ll get it washed  and give it back”. I remember telling her that it wasn’t necessary and that Elle could do it. She was standing outside the car and looking in at me with what I believed to be an embarrassed look but with a bit of a smile, shaking her head from side to side. Then she walked up the steps.

At home, Elle was putting the baby to bed and asked if I’d help get the other girls washed up and read them a story. Jean, the older, was a bit of a tattle tale. When I was finishing up with her she let me know that she had gone tinkle in her bathing suit out at the lake. It caught me by surprise and I asked her why. In a very matter of fact way she told me that Elle had done it so she thought it was OK. The situation told me that it was time for Elle and I to explain Elle’s condition. She was now six and I felt that she was old enough to know but I wanted Elle to be there as well.

When I told Elle she wasn’t happy about it but agreed with me. However, she felt that Anne should be included. She was coming up on five years of age but she had shown that she was as mature as her sister. Basically, we explained that their mommy had a problem and sometimes she couldn’t help wetting her pants. The point Elle wanted to make was that they were to keep it a secret and not say anything about it to their friends. I remember adding that if they saw their mommy had an accident that it didn’t mean that it was OK for them to tinkle in their pants. I remember them having blank stares as we talked with them. All we could do was hope that they understood.

When Hobie had told me about my promotion he indicated that I would be assuming additional responsibilities. I found out some of them the week after. He called me over to his desk and handed me three folders and told me they were now under my control. I took a quick look at them and saw “Life Insurance”, “Medical Insurance”, and “Retirement” printed on the tabs. I know he saw the puzzled look on my face as he then gave me a card with three names and telephone numbers on it and told me that they would be my “contacts”. I had no idea what any of it meant. I got the distinct impression he was getting a little annoyed so he told me to just look through the folders and ask Trish about them. When I did I remember her rolling her eyes. That sent a bit of a shudder up my spine. It was like these items were a problem and no one wanted to face up to them.

Long story short... they made up the core of the benefits for the bank’s employees. Chuck, the man who had died and I’d replaced, had been the contact person for the bank and responsible for filing monthly reports. Trish told me that Chuck hadn’t been that diligent in keeping things up to date and when he died Hobie, reluctantly, had assumed the responsibility. When he did he discovered problems but didn’t have the time to research them and make the corrections. Now it was my problem. I asked Trish what she knew about the reports and she told me that all she did was type them. I was not very happy!

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108h)

Actually, things were pretty much a blur after the promotion. Too many things happening all at once. On the following Monday Amy showed up with a photographer. I’ve always been a bit reticent when it came to giving out personal information so this whole process was uncomfortable when she began asking all kinds of questions. I’d wanted her father to do this. At the same time I was troubled by the fact that Bret seemed to be avoiding me. His reaction upon finding out about my promotion was pretty much as I’d feared. I didn’t really know how to handle it but I knew that I had to. Hobie had told me a few of the new responsibilities that came with the title and now I had to go through the process of getting involved with them. By Wednesday I was wondering if it had been worth it.

The weather had turned really warm. If there was one thing that you could count on for the month of June was that there would be one very hot week to endure. In some years it turned out to be the hottest week of the Summer. I don’t remember what night it was but when I got home Peggy was there. Elle had suggested that it would be a good night to take the Sailfish out to the lake. I had a million thoughts from work going through my mind and sailing wasn’t even on the horizon when I pulled up. Elle seldom asked for much and I could see from the look on her face that this was something that she really wanted to do. It was one of the nights that Elle was to drive Peggy home so she asked if she wanted to stay and to go for a sail. Of course Peggy said ”yes“.

Elle had made sandwiches and lemonade and she and the girls already had their bathing suits on. I didn’t have a chance. I did notice that Peggy was wearing her almost always present white shirt/blouse tied just above the waist of a pair of red shorts. As we started to carry the boat and sails to the station wagon Elle asked Peggy if she was sure she didn’t want to borrow one of her bathing suits. Hearing that I began chanting ”Yes! Yes! Yes!“ to myself knowing that if she did it would give me a chance to see her panties up close and personal. Unfortunately, she declined.

As I’d feared, getting the boat into the station wagon was a problem. Once we got most of it in the second problem was in securing it. It took up so much room that there was barely enough room for me to get in and to drive the vehicle. It meant that Elle had to drive my car and that didn’t make me very happy. Once I’d changed it over to a stick shift, and on the floor too boot, she’d not driven it. It had easily been seven or eight years since she’d driven a stick and that one was on the column. In my mind this wasn’t turning out all that well.

The clutch on my car took a bit of a beating but we eventually made it out to the lake. The next problem was that we weren’t the only ones who’d thought that a trip to the lake was a good idea on a hot night. The lake was privately owned by the community that pretty much surrounded it. That is, except for where the road was on the North side. That was where the public would go for access and on this night I couldn’t find a place to park even one vehicle. I did remember that the same thing had happened one night when our old neighbors, Andy and Lil, had come out with us. Both of them were bowlers and knew the owner of the alleys which was located on the West end of the lake. They got permission for us to access the water from the alley property. I knew there was no way to get the boat to the water from that location but Andy had introduced me to the owner. On a whim I went inside and asked him if he knew of any place where we could get the boat to the water. Fortunately, he remembered me. He told me I could use his property. He explained that he’d bought a lakefront lot when the alley’s were first built but hadn’t done anything except to clear the trees where he’d planned to build a house. He drew me a map and we were off. The bad thing was that it was getting close to 7pm.

It was a beautiful location with plenty of trees. As soon as Elle saw it she wanted to know if the owner might sell. I reminded her that we were there to sail. It took a bit of effort to get the boat to the water as there was no cleared trail for us to follow. After getting the sails up Elle suggested that I take Peggy out first so she could get the girls and the baby set. Even though I’d been standing in the water for only a few minutes I was already beginning to lose the feeling in my toes. It was a spring fed lake meaning that even in the middle of the Summer the water never got really warm. It was only June so the water was really cold. As I rigged the boat I’d been telling Peggy about the concept of wind, sail and water and how they all had to work together. The Sailfish was anything but comfortable to sail. Somewhat like a a large surfboard with a sail, you had to sit on it with your legs out in front of you ((NOT like a windsurfer where the person stands) I waved Peggy into the water and told her that the best way to get on board was to turn her back to the sail and then sit down. Once her bottom was on the boat I told her she had to pull her legs and feet out of the water and then turn around so she was facing the front (bow). Only three or four steps into the water she was sort of squealing about how cold it was. She initially did as I’d told but I’d fully expected her to immediately spin and turn towards the bow. She didn’t and when she pulled her legs out of the water she had them tucked up towards her chest and just sat there. I looked down at her and she seemed to be shivering. I told her that she had to turn and face forward and when she did I saw two things... a quick glance of white from between her legs and a suspicious dark spot in the same place.

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108g)

Later that day Bret stopped in to bring everybody up to date about his new baby. Seeing him, I actually felt bad about my promotion. When he’d been hired he thought he was going to be Chuck’s assistant and when Chuck died thought he’d get the position... and then I was hired. When it was quitting time I went over to Hobie to ask if anything was “in the works” for Bret. His immediate answer was “no” but asked why I was interested. I explained and put in a good word for Bret at the same time. When Hobie walked away I felt that at least I’d planted a seed in his mind. However, I was still worried about how Bret would take my promotion when he returned.

J J seemed really happy for me as the news traveled throughout the building. He told me that he’d like to buy me lunch the next day but, at the same time reminded me that I promised to introduce him to Artie, the mortgage officer from the first bank I’d worked at. I’d forgotten about it so right after he walked away I called Artie. He was somewhat surprised to hear from me but said that his schedule for the next day was light. Long story short... J J and I made arrangements to take an extended lunch the next day.

Driving through the town I noticed that Judith (the lady who owned the drug store) had a sign up for her new boutique. It made me wonder how Stasia, the young girl who had worked at the bank, was making out with her new life. Artie was waiting for us and with J J being a mortgage officer the two of them hit it off right away. I was pretty much out of it since I had no mortgage background and some of what they were talking about sounded almost like a foreign language. After a while I reminded J J that one of the reasons we were there was to look at the map of the property that Artie’s bank had just made a loan on.

Artie took us up to their Board room where the map of the proposed subdivision was spread out on the table. With Elle and I now working on floor plans for a house, I’d been interested to see just what Artie had for us to see. Seeing it, I knew exactly where it was located. It was part of a farm and had no trees on it at all. Elle had one very basic requirement and that was that we had to have trees. This was certainly not for us. J J, on the other hand, wanted at least a half acre to build on. The subdivision had three different lot sizes starting at a quarter acre going on up to a half acre. Artie told us that the bank had nothing to do with the sale of the land and that a real estate agency located back in the town where my parents lived was the one to talk to. J J, obviously excited about what he’d seen on the map, wanted to stop on our way back to work. He thanked Artie and we were back on the road.

Having worked in the town when I was still in high school I was very familiar with the agency. One of the ladies who worked there would come into the grocery store where I worked a couple of times a week. I hadn’t seen Jennie in about eight years but she recognized me as soon as we walked in the door. She got one of the agents to talk with J J and she and I got caught up a bit. One interesting piece of information was that one of Elle’s high school teachers had retired and was now working there as an agent. He wasn’t there at that time but I told her to say hello to him for Elle. While there J J set the wheels in motion to buy the biggest lot. I almost didn’t believe it because, up to then, he’d seemed to take a long time to make decisions. By the time we left the agency we’d been gone from work for two hours... and we hadn’t eaten.

When I walked back into the bank Trish told me that Edgar, the President, wanted to see me. In my mind, that wasn’t good. Right from the time I’d first met him I had the feeling that he didn’t really like me. As I climbed the stairs it came to me that taking a two plus hour lunch right after getting promoted probably wasn’t such a good idea. Even the prospect of getting an upskirt from the switchboard operator didn’t make me feel any better. I knocked on Edgar’s door and he called me right in. He always seemed to be uptight and this day was no different. He only had a few words to say and it was to tell me to get my picture taken and to get a publicity piece in the local paper. That was it. I was shaking my head as I returned to my desk.

His orders meant that I had to get in touch with the ad agency. I called and Amy answered. I asked for her father and was told that being a Friday afternoon he’d taken off early. Before I could say anything else she informed me that her grandfather was also gone. That left me with no one to talk to but her. I can’t deny that seeing her panties was a turn on but the “baggage” that she carried as far as her reputation was concerned was upsetting. I’d deliberately not asked J J if he’d had any contact with her since moving in to their family guest cottage. I took a deep breath and told her my needs. She was very cheerful, as always, and said that she’d take care of getting a photographer. At that point I took a deep breath and wished her a nice weekend.

While on the phone with Amy a call had come in for me. Trish handed me a note and at first I didn’t recognize the name. It read “call Vic”. Off the top of my head I couldn’t think of anyone that I knew named Vic. When I dialed the number I didn’t recognize the voice. It took a minute for the two of us to get on the same page. It was Elle’s former teacher who was now working at the real estate firm. I knew him from “afar” as I’d not attended the same high school as Elle. But, having lived and worked in the town as a teen I knew who he was and he knew who I was. After we got through the “pleasantries“ he asked if there wasn’t something he could do for me. He knew that J J had put money down on a lot in the new development and wanted to know if Elle and I had any interest. I told him where Elle and I were as far as housing and that we’d decided to build but weren’t actively looking for property. I told him we’d looked at a few houses but hadn’t seen anything that was big enough. I then told him I had to get back to work and he asked that if he came up with something could he call me. He was a nice man so I told him ”OK“.

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108f)

The 16th was the third Wednesday, Board of Trustees meeting day. Hobie was the corporate Secretary and had to attend all formal meetings to record the minutes. As 5:30pm approached I started clearing my desk. As I did I saw Hobie approaching me though the work area. He waved for me to approach him which I did. Then he motioned for me to follow him up the back stairs. Once there I saw the Board room door open and a few of the Trustees talking. He motioned for me to enter the room ahead of him. From the time I’d seen him approach me downstairs he hadn’t uttered a word which seemed strange to me. Just a few steps into the room I could hear and see the men clapping their hands. I didn’t know what to make of it so just stood there. At the head of the table this little old man stood up and in a barely audible voice called out as best he could “Congratulations!”. I was dumbfounded. It wasn’t my birthday or even my anniversary. Then the President took over and announced to the other Board members that I was the newest officer of the bank. I would love to see a picture of the expression on my face at that moment. Never once, from the day I started, had I thought about the possibility of becoming an officer. I didn’t know what to make of it and it showed.

Hobie took me around and introduced me to each an every one. When we were done I couldn’t have told you the names of more than two or three of them. Then he excused me and I want out in the hall to contemplate the whole situation. I really didn’t know what my title was to be nor what being an officer meant. After a minute or so, as my mind started to clear, I began wondering if it meant a raise in pay. The anticipation of that meant more than the title did. I never went back to my desk and headed home, immediately.

Peggy was there and the kids had her fully involved in playing with them. As I drove up I could see them out around the playhouse. That gave me the freedom to tell Elle the good news without interruption. The only thing was... I really didn’t have much to tell her. I couldn’t answer most of her questions which, in thinking about it now, is pretty funny. I had to tell her she would have to wait for the next day.

For dinner I’d decided to go to the restaurant that Cliff, the driver of my first race car had opened with his wife. In a very short time they’d garnered a very good reputation. They only offered T-bone steaks and lobster tails. They didn’t take reservations so we had a time to wait before eating. I did get a chance to talk with Cliff and told him of my racing adventures. He told me he hadn’t been to the races since he’d quit driving, nine years prior. That surprised me as he was a very talented driver. The meal was excellent and I promised that we’d be back again.

We were home just after dark. Because the kids got so excited when Peggy was there and the fact that there was no school the next day we had told Peggy they could stay up until we got home. She was reading to them on the floor when we walked in. They both looked up and that was it. There was no excitement about seeing us. Peggy had their complete attention... and mine as well. Positioned as she was I had a bit of a DP, the white of her panty elastic showing above the waistband of her pants. However, she did acknowledge us and told me that I’d had a phone call from a man named Bret and it was something about a baby. Elle and I knew that his wife, Jan, was due around this time but he’d not mentioned it in a while. It meant that this 16th day of June was meaningful to both of us.

Both Jean and Anne wanted Peggy to stay overnight but that wasn’t going to happen. As I walked her to the car she reminded me that I’d promised to take her sailing. It was also a reminder to me that I’d had the boat at home for about two weeks and hadn’t done anything with it. It was something else to think about as was the race car. Peggy also told me that she’d started her job with the lady up the street and told me that the lady told her to call her “Memaw” as that’s what her grandchildren called her. She said that it would be less confusing if everybody called her by that name. It was obviously another name for a grandmother as my kids called Elle’s mother “Nana”. But, the most interesting thing about this conversation was that on three days a week she didn’t have a ride home and that Elle had told her that one or the other of us would get her there. I looked over at her and thought that was a very good idea.

The next day was very exciting. I was waiting for Hobie wanting to know all about the promotion I’d gotten. The first thing I learned was that he’d been the one who’d presented the idea. He’d kept a list of the things I’d accomplished in just the few months that I’d been there and felt that I was worthy of the promotion. He added that it hadn't been a hard sell. That made me feel really good. The next thing was that, technically speaking, I was now his assistant and if he was sick or on vacation and there was a formal meeting I would attend to take the official minutes. Another was that I would have signatory approval on checks that the tellers issued that were over $1,000. This was all very nice but I was waiting for the money subject to come up. I don’t know if he was playing games with me but he went over a few more responsibilities before getting to it. As shocked as I was to learn that I’d been made an officer, my new salary just about did the same. Basically, it was a $20 a week increase. It took my breath away.

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108e)

I’d mentioned in an earlier post that my mother had started a campaign to have my father clean up the boxes and junk in their garage.  When I discovered that I went into a panic when I thought that he might've trashed my “stash” of panties. Luckily, he hadn’t. I’d had it in mind to get them and to find another place to hide them but hadn’t been back to do it. It turned out that there were no family ties but when J J and my mother were in the process of discussing it I excused myself with the intention to go fetch the panties from the garage. When I told them where I was headed my father (at my mother’s urging) asked what I was going to do with the Sailfish sailboat that he’d bought for me at the end of the previous Summer. The truth of the matter was that I didn’t really know. Since I was no longer a member of the sailing club I couldn’t leave it there. Put on the spot I suggested that I could leave it on their beach and then it would be ready and available when I brought the family for a visit. That idea was greeted with a very loud “NO!” from my mother. That left only one choice... take it home with me.

Actually, I’d thought of that but didn’t know how to get the boat home. The new station wagon didn’t have roof racks and I wasn’t sure I could get it inside. Standing there I saw roof racks on J J’s VW van. The solution! It certainly pleased my mother. I gave a thought to calling Elle to explain why I wasn’t back home yet but didn’t follow through. Busy with strapping the boat on the van I wasn’t able to act on retrieving my stash of panties. I didn't want to have to explain what was in the box so decided to leave them for another day. 

As I drove up at home Elle was just finishing planting her flowers along the pathway. I saw her look up at me and then, with a disgusted look on her face, turn away. However, with J J right behind me with the Sailfish on the roof of his van, the look changed. I’ve told you that J J was Irish and also had a way with words (and females). The “blarney” he put forth to Elle to explain the lateness of my return was unbelievable. I knew if I’d used the same words that he did that Elle would’ve flat out called me a liar. The only place to put the boat was along side the unit in the kid’s play area. One of the things I remember J J saying before he left was that once he got settled in he wanted me to teach him how to sail. I doubted that it would ever happen.

Elle was excited to see the boat but wasn’t sure how we’d get to use it. Trying to stay on her “good side” I made it seem like it would be easy to take it to the nearby lake. She took some of the pressure off by saying that we’d have to wait until we had a spate of hot weather. That gave me a chance to come up with some way to move it easily.

The next day was Elle’s first day of her two week teaching assignment. Her mother was to care for the kids on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the lady up the street, Etta, would have them on the others. On the first day she had the kids she asked Elle if she’d come up with a suggestion for a helper for her for her proposed expanded child care service. Elle had forgotten about it and that night called Peggy. After some “telephone tag” Peggy agreed to come over to meet the woman. When she arrived I almost didn’t recognize her. She looked like she was going to a semi formal affair with her hair down, a frilly blouse and a grey sheath like skirt. She explained that her mother made her do it. I kept it to myself but she sure didn’t look like a teenager.

As expected, Peggy was nervous as she and Elle walked on up the street to meet the lady. The kids, always excited when they saw her, wanted to know why she wasn’t staying to “play”. It was hard to explain but told them that when they came back that Peggy might read a story to them. We were out by the playhouse when Elle and Peggy returned. She was clearly excited and kept thanking Elle for finding the job for her. I remember thinking to myself that it had been my suggestion but kept my mouth closed.

The girls pleaded with Peggy to play with them but, because of how she was dressed, she explained that she couldn’t. While we were standing there Peggy saw the Sailfish and wanted to know what it was. It was laying on it’s side so I lay it down and showed her the sail and explained how it worked. I was somewhat surprised at her interest and she had a number of good questions. Then she had “the big one”... and asked if we’d take her sailing sometime. I probably reacted a bit too fast and told her “anytime”. No date was set but, inwardly, was excited about the prospect of it.

At work I managed to get not only the job description project finished but also a preliminary salary range for each position. Hobie seemed impressed, especially with the the salary ranges. In creating it I made note of some, to me, obvious unfairness with the salaries of a couple of the women in the mortgage area. For example, the young girl, Lynne, who was recently hired as a file clerk, was making more than two women who had two years experience with the bank. He seemed somewhat surprised but I didn’t feel comfortable in asking how individual salaries were set. He told me that  I’d done a good job and that he’d make the information available to the president and Bert, the other vice president. I felt pretty good about what I’d done but wished I had a better idea of what was going to happen to it.

Elle’s last teaching day was the 16th of the month. It had gone well for her but she wanted to celebrate and to go out for dinner. The kids asked if we could get Peggy and she was more than willing, seeing that we’d gotten her a Summer job. I hadn’t foreseen any problem with being home by 5:30pm so was looking forward to seeing Peggy as well as having a night out. What I hadn’t expected was what happened at work.

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108d)

Memorial Day was on Sunday but it was celebrated on Monday. Not having to work was nice except that Elle had a full day planned for me. Her mother had given us three small bushes to plant in front of our unit. She thought the front looked “tacky” and that we needed to hide the hitch that was used to tow it from the factory. On top of that Elle wanted me to till the vegetable garden so she could plant her seeds. Right before lunch I heard Jean, my oldest, yelling at me that I had a phone call. One of her birthday presents was that she was now allowed to answer the telephone and this was the first call. I wasn’t expecting any calls so no matter who it was it was going to be a surprise. When I heard J J’s voice I just knew it wouldn’t be good.

He was to move into his new “digs” the next day and had decided that he’d get a head start so brought some of his things from his home in the city. He had the key but had expected that Art would be there to help him bring a desk inside. Of course he didn’t bother to call and ask first and when he got there no one was at the main house. He was calling me from a gas station just down the road and wanted me to come and help him.

I don’t really know how to explain J J. Charismatic is a word that comes to mind. In the short time I’d known him I’d come to like him (it was incredibly hard not to) even though I felt some of his thought processes were off kilter. Even though I'd only met his wife once I'd decided that I didn't like her at all. I asked if she was with him because if she was I wouldn’t have agreed to go but I told him I’d be there in a half hour. Elle thought that this was some sort of “deal” that I’d worked out to avoid working in the yard. In spite of her obvious displeasure I told her I’d be back within two hours.

J J was waiting at the gas station. Ironically, my brother had just started working there. He’d finally graduated from college (six years, fully matriculated, to get a four year degree) and was now pumping gas. It was the first time I’d seen him since Christmas. I introduced him to J J and then we were on our way. I basically knew the location of the main house although I’d never paid much attention to it. It was on one of the roads that the county had made modifications to eliminate two dangerous curves. I hadn’t been on it since the by-pass was opened about eight years prior. I followed J J and when he made the left turn into the driveway I couldn’t see the house. There was a line of trees that blocked a view of it from the road. As we drove past the house I didn’t see the guest house. What I did see was one of those fold up clothes lines that I hated and I saw a couple of bras and slips hanging from it. But we kept on going. There was another line of trees and when we drove in behind them I saw a small, square cottage. I stopped the car and looked at the size of it knowing there was no way that two adults and four (soon to be five) kids could live in it. I thought it must be a joke.

In a way it was. J J admitted that he’d gotten tired of commuting five hours a day. His wife had told him that if he really expected her to move out to “the sticks” he was going to have to build her a house that she wanted. He told me he was embarrassed and that he was sorry he’d “fibbed”. That led him to ask if I knew any property that was for sale. I didn’t but I remembered that Artie, the mortgage officer from the bank where I used to work, had told me that his bank had made a loan on some nice property where a new development was planned. He’d told me that when I was ready to build that he’d be able to help me out on the land. After passing that on to J J we unloaded his desk and his other belongings.

We ended up talking about the main house. Even though I’d lived in the town as a boy I knew nothing of the history of it. As we were driving out J J suddenly stopped. He walked back to my car and encouraged me to go for a walk with him around the house. Where we’d stopped put me in view of the clothes line. Even though I knew I’d get home late I willingly got out and followed him to the prominent bow window facing the gardens. To get there we walked right past the clothes and, much to my great glee, on the side that I’d not seen were four pair of panties... three pastel bikini’s and one pair of full briefs. Those of you who've been reading this blog for a while know that one of the things I relished was in seeing (and knowing) what kind of panties females that I knew, wore. Even though I'd consciously been avoiding Amy the sight of her panties was "stimulating". I found the combination a bit interesting... and wished that J J wasn’t with me at that time so I could inspect the labels. It was still a good sighting.

By the time we made it around the whole house and peered through as many windows as we could reach I was definitely going to be late getting home. Somewhere along the line I’d mentioned that my parents lived in the area and on the water. He asked if I’d show him and although I knew I was in for “hot tongue and cold shoulder” when I got home said I’d take him there. The main reason was that there was slight chance that he could be related to my mother as his surname was the same as one of those in my mother’s family tree. They were all Irish and both families were rooted in the city. I figured “why not?” and we headed off.

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108c)

I decided to take my time as far as the motor was concerned. I wanted to pick a time that was what I considered “favorable” to let Elle know about it. To get out without grief I would tell her I was helping a fellow racer. Darren had set Wednesday nights aside for us to get together at James’ shop. The first night we were there we were curious to find out if the motor had been set up for racing. The fact that it came out of a race car didn’t mean anything because when I started racing all I had was a motor out of a wrecked street car. Things weren’t looking good as we began the disassembly process. It appeared that everything was stock with no modifications. That id until we got to a part called a “camshaft”. The motor was siting on the floor and when we took the plate that covered the front of the cam we had to get on our knees to look at it. We were looking for a brand name stamped into the face of it along with an identifying part number. We were startled by a female voice behind us and when we looked up we saw Peggy, James daughter, standing there. We’d left the door open and Peggy, when driving by the shop, saw the lights on and stopped to see who was there. She didn’t stay long but when she was walking out I made a statement about what a good looking girl she was. Darren agreed but immediately stated that the blonde we’d seen when we went to get the motor was better looking.That, of course, started a friendly debate. I couldn’t disagree but my position was that it took more than good looks to be beautiful. The only thing that was determined was that Darren reaffirmed his desire to get to know more about the blonde.

When we got back to the motor we found that there was a racing camshaft in it. By then it was getting late and we agreed to meet the following week. As we were leaving I reminded Darren about finding more out about the blonde. He laughed but said he’d work on it.

As the calendar approached the end of the month Elle was asked to finish out the last weeks of school like she’d done two years before. That was great news because, with the increase in the daily pay, it meant we’d see a nice paycheck as we headed into Summer. Because she’d mostly taught one or maybe two days a week, baby sitting hadn’t been a problem. If it was a Tuesday or Thursday, her mother would cover it. For any other day Elle had made arrangements with an older lady who lived just down the street. She regularly babysat her grandchildren and had agreed to take on our kids but she wasn’t willing to do it every day. When Elle approached her this time she was more receptive and actually mentioned that she’d been asked to look after quite a few kids once school was out. She told Elle that she’d approached the owners of the park and asked to be allowed to use the meeting hall and thought that they’d say yes. Her concern was that she would need help and, knowing that Elle had the Summer off as a teacher, asked if she would be willing to help her. She wasn’t but said she’d see if she could find someone who would.

It was right after that conversation took place that Elle mentioned it to me. I’d been impressed with Peggy’s ability to get along with our kids right from the first time she came to baby sit for us. I’d just seen Peggy a few nights prior and immediately mentioned her name. Elle thought it was a great idea. It was still a few weeks until school was out so Elle didn’t act on the suggestion right away.

The end of May was almost upon us. On a personal level, our oldest daughter, Jean, was going to be six on the 29th. Her birthday was going to be different because it was the first one where she could invite friends. There had always been a dearth of girls around her age living in the park but, having spent a year in kindergarten, she had made friends that she wanted to come to her party. It was a Saturday so everyone who was invited came. The weather in our area could be fickle and it was on that day... sunshine but cold and very windy. We ended up using the meeting hall. If the motor in the racecar hadn’t blown up I wouldn’t have been involved but... I was. I’d never met any of the mothers of the kids that had been invited and the first few that arrived were... let’s just say were nothing special. However, there was one who definitely got my attention. I think her name was Eva and she had curves... everywhere... and she knew it. She was also wearing a mini skirt and I remember Elle’s reaction when she saw her walk in the door. She looked at the woman and then immediately looked at me to catch my reaction. When I saw Elle looking at me I knew I’d hear about it later that night. I honestly tried not to be obvious when looking (staring) at her. It was hard! I really hadn’t seen anything but the clothed shape of her body the whole time she was there. One of my duties at the party was to clean up and I was out at the trash barrels when she and her daughter were leaving. Her car was parked right across the street and when she was helping her daughter into the car she leaned in and I know I let out a gasp. I didn’t really know what I was looking at but later on in my life I found out it was called a g-string. I don’t know if she saw me string or not but it didn’t matter. I never saw her again.

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108b)

Arriving home that night I found Elle was awake having just visited the bathroom. In bed and in the dark I told her that the motor in the race car had ”blown up”. I swear the room lit up a bit from the smile on her face. She didn’t say anything and I just slipped into bed. It took a while to fall asleep and I was awake when it got light in the morning. I just wasn’t into church that day as I wanted to find out just what had happened to the motor. Of course that didn’t please Elle as she had to  take all three of the kids. Even though my grandfather wasn’t going to the hospital as much I would still try to stop by after church. However, that wasn’t in my plans for that morning either. Seeg had told me to get to his farm before 11am or after 2pm so as not to interfere with his Sunday dinner. I counted on Elle expecting me to still visit my grandfather so was going to see Seeg during that time period.

The farm wasn’t all that big but the barns and house were neatly painted which wasn’t the “norm”. Most of the farmers let their barns and houses get to looking a bit shabby so that the tax assessors would keep their valuations low. One thing I’d learned about farm houses was that in spite of all of them having front doors, it was the back door that handled about 95% of the traffic, in and out. It was no different at Seeg’s. There was a small back porch and as I approached I saw two short clothes lines with each running from the house to the posts that held the roof up. On one were a few small towels and on the other was a single pair of pale yellow panties. I couldn’t help but see the word “Saturday” embroidered above one of the leg openings. Upon seeing them I remembered the blonde girl from the night before.

A tall woman with a weathered face answered my knock. If any of you remember the comic character Popeye you’ll remember his chin and how it stuck out below his mouth. My first impression was that she was the female Popeye. As I stepped into the kitchen I was almost overwhelmed by the smell of the meal she was preparing. It smelled so good! Seeg soon appeared and out the door we went. He was a man of few words so all I did was follow him down the driveway and up the road about 150 feet. When he stopped he pointed into the woods. I peered in and I thought I saw the back of a car. After I walked in a few feet I saw what appeared to be the number 22 painted in silver on the trunk. The first words Seeg spoke were “If you want the motor you can have it.” Of course I said “Yes” and he told me all I had to do was come and get it out of the woods and take the motor... no money needed.

I was very curious as to how the car got there and who owned it. I just about pleaded with Seeg to tell me the story. Reluctantly, he told me that his son, Chet, drove his first race on opening night the previous year. When they returned to the farm after the races they found three young men standing in their driveway. They said they’d come from near the city and brought, supposedly, their race car to the track but weren’t allowed to race it. When they headed for home they’d gotten lost and ended up on the road next to Seeg’s farm. They’d flat towed the race car using a rope. The rope had broken and the car ran off into the woods and they had no way to get it out. Seeg told them how to get back to where they’d come from and they told him they’d be back in a few days to get the car. It had stayed in the woods for exactly one year and Seeg had decided that was long enough. He’d given the car to a neighbor’s son but the kid didn’t want the motor... so it was now mine.

Seeg was telling me the story out by one of the barns and just as he was finishing up the blonde girl appeared again. She’d been sent out to get Seeg as dinner was ready. I thought she was beautiful the night before and the pit area was pretty dark. In broad daylight... WHEW! Her hair, shoulder length, was the color of corn silk and she had on a fairly short flower print dress. I didn’t have the nerve to ask who she was as Seeg headed right for the house. Getting into my car I headed for home with my thoughts consumed by how beautiful the girl was. Reality returned as I drove past the area where the car was embedded into the trees and I realized I had to come up with a plan on just how I was going to get the motor.

I decided that I’d keep the new motor a secret from Elle and look for a better opportunity to tell her about it. Even though I knew that I had to take it apart and rebuild it since it had been out in the weather for a year, I didn’t mind. At least I had a motor... and it hadn’t cost me anything. Later that afternoon Elle took a walk with the baby which gave me a chance to call Darren to give him the news. As soon as I told him he had a solution for retrieving the motor. James, his boss, was real good friends with the guy who owned the automatic transmission repair shop and he had a wrecker. He said he’d work on James to ask the guy about borrowing his wrecker. He even volunteered that Eddie, his fellow worker at James’ shop, was friendly with the guy as well. I hung up having a real good feeling.

I won’t bore you with the trials and tribulations of getting the motor. The best part of it was that Seeg and the blonde girl came over to watch us thrash about. It was hard for Darren, Eddie and I to concentrate with her around. Eddie seemed to think she was related in some way to Seeg’s wife but wasn’t sure. In any case she was the topic of conversation on our way back to James shop where we'd been given permission to work on the motor. Even as we dropped the motor off at the shop the girl still had our attention, especially Darren. As we headed for home he told us he was going to make a point of finding out more about her.

To be continued...

WAITING FOR SUMMER... with high hopes (Part 108a)

Ever since I’d bought the new (to me, at least) race car I’d been anxious for the new racing season to begin. Eight months is a long time and, as far as racing was concerned, it seemed like forever. After the pre-season practice I was even more excited as the car performed even better than I expected. Bret, my co-worker, was a part of one of my rivals pit crew and I’d had to put up with a lot of what we now call “trash talk” from him right from the time I’d started at the bank. I’d heard how Bags had improved his car and motor and was going to “whip my butt”. I was usually able to negate his “crap” by reminding him that I’d beaten his friend in the standings the year before while driving a piece of junk and with the motor that he didn’t think was good enough for him. It was pretty fun.

Opening night always brought out a lot of cars and part of the excitement was getting a “read“ on the new competition. That Saturday was perfect as far the weather was concerned... warmer than normal and no chance of rain. J J had chosen that Saturday to bring his wife out to show her the area and to meet Elle and I. Thankfully, they hadn’t stayed long. It wasn’t so much that I had a lot to do to prepare the car but I wanted to be to the track early to get a preferred pit stall.

I’d contacted my old co-worker, Jay, and he promised he’d be there. Darren, who’d helped me get the car ready, had recruited a neighbor of his, a former racer that I remembered seeing race against my first car. Don was a ”character“. He was very familiar with the type of equipment I had and I looked forward to his participation. Jim, my neighbor, had told me he’d be there but not until later as he had to work. Having a group of people helping me that actually knew something about racing was a calming effect, for sure.

Handicapping the cars (determining starting positions) at the beginning of the season was pretty much a rote process. Cars that had raced the previous season were given preference in that they would line up based upon their year end standings. I’d finished eighth and won the rookie of the year trophy which meant I’d be in with the faster cars for my qualifying heat. Bags was starting one position ahead of me on the outside of row one. During pre-race practice I’d had a chance to size up some of my competition and one of them was the car starting on the pole (1st place) and I knew he’d be a handful especially with all of the supposedly faster cars staring behind the three of us. I was nervous waiting to go onto the track but once I did I was really pretty calm. It had been the same way each night the year before.

As the green flag waved to start the race I floored the accelerator and was actually pushing the car in front of me. As we exited turn two and headed down the backstretch for the first time I could see I was already up to Bags’ door. Through turns three and four I could see him dropping back even more. By the time we came out of turn two I could see (in my rear view mirror) that Bags was now right behind me. That allowed me to drift up towards the guard rail as I prepared for turn three. It’s an advantage in that the driver can start his entry into the turn at a better angle. I was just about to start turning the steering wheel when I heard a lot of noise from up in the motor area and the car slowed as if I’d hit my brakes. I expected to feel a hit from behind so I steered the car up against the guard rail all the way though the turn to where cars would enter the track from the pits. I had no idea what had happened and just sat there for a few seconds. Then I looked up towards the start /finish line and saw the starter waving a red flag, indicating the race had been halted. Then it came to me that I’d not seen any cars go past as I slowed down. Looking in my mirror I could see Bags' car and a few others almost head on into the guard rail. As I climbed out I saw a few more cars, helter skelter, in the infield. Standing there looking at the carnage I saw liquid running across the track and down past my shoes. By then the reality of what had just taken place was becoming clear to me. I peered into the motor area and could see a large hole in the oil pan and that told me the whole story... the motor had, literally, blown up... and after just one lap of competition my season was over.

By then Darren, Jay, Don and Jim had run onto the track and up to me. I pointed to the motor and a few seconds later I heard Don call out that there were two holes in the oil pan. I’d seen a few blown motors over the years but this was the first one that came apart in the same way. I walked over to where Bags and Bret were standing. Bags wanted no part of me and just walked away. I could see there was a lot of damage to his car as well as to the others that were somewhat impaled into the guard rail and, even though it wasn’t really my fault, felt badly for them.

The car got pushed to the pits and to my space and as it did there were quite a few people who stopped by to find out what had happened. Among them was the father of one of the drivers in the faster division called Modifieds. Trailing behind him was an absolutely beautiful blonde girl. I immediately thought that she was his daughter because of the age difference. I knew that people called the man ”Seeg“, which was a take off on the fact that he always had the stub of a cigar in his mouth. This season was the second that his son was racing. During the previous season the man had made a point of coming over to say ”hello“ at some point each race night. He asked what had happened and I kind of blew him off, my disappointment showing through. He persisted and I basically told him I didn’t have another motor and, on top of that, no money. After a few seconds he asked what I was doing the next day. I wasn’t so crass as to ask him why but didn't answer. Sensing my reluctance he threw out a ”teaser“ and said it would be ”worth my while“ to make a trip up to his farm. He then walked off with the blonde girl following.

To be continued...

SETTLING IN... at work (Part 107i)  

When Art called I told him that when the draft of the ad was done that he should discuss it with Bert and JJ. He said he’d arrange for a photographer to take J J’s picture in the morning and as soon as he had them he’d bring all the material over and finalize the ad with them. I breathed a sigh of relief when I heard that since it took me out of the loop... and relieved me of having to deal with Amy.

J J had continued to talk about finding a place to rent as soon as school was out for the Summer. I’d tried to explain that because the area was considered a Summer tourist area he wasn’t going to find anything close to reasonable and the longer he waited the higher the cost would be. But he was undeterred. I didn’t want to get into his personal life, especially after having met his wife, but I was getting the idea he’d had a fairly insulated existence up to now and hadn’t made many critical decisions on his own. He’d ask a question, would seem to pay attention to the answer and then go off in a completely opposite direction. This was one of those situations.

About mid morning, the next day, I saw Amy come through the front door and make an immediate left turn. That meant she was headed upstairs with the ad. For a number of reasons I was glad I was no longer involved in this project... or so I thought. I heard Hobie’s phone ring and then found him standing next to my desk motioning for me to follow him. As I’ve mentioned, the elevator was agonizingly slow so I told Hobie I’d take the stairs. Just like when I’d raced Bret, I beat Hobie without rushing. We headed into Bert’s office and J J was standing there behind him with a big smile on his face. On the desk were about six pictures of J J. Bert asked which one we thought was the best. They were all good as J J was very photogenic. I suggested that we pick one that would fit the copy that was in the body of the ad. While Bert, Hobie and I were doing that I saw J J talking with Amy and I was curious as to what the subject was. Their conversation continued even after the picture decision was made and I already was back at my desk before I saw Amy leave.

Later that day J J stopped by my desk and  told me that Amy had come up with a suggestion for a place for him to rent... a guest house out behind her family’s house. I asked how much the rent was and when he told me I immediately had the feeling that he was one lucky SOB. I don’t remember the exact amount but it was considerably less than the going rate at the time. He was giddy with excitement and I couldn’t resist giving him a “dig” by asking if he thought his wife would like it. I remember the look on his face changed immediately.

What also changed was the subject. He’d spoken with Bert and been given permission to take over the little conference room as his office. J J wanted me to get some people to move the table and his desk. I immediately wanted to know why he was asking me to do it and was surprised by his answer... supposedly, Bert had told him to do it. That puzzled me. I was already doing far more than had been discussed with me at my hiring and had a couple of projects going and now I was asked to be a furniture mover. However, not wanting to “make waves“ I went and found Hank, the custodian/handy man, and recruited Bret telling J J that the four of us could do it. Again, the look on his face changed. It was as if I’d asked him to disrobe but he did follow the rest of us upstairs As we moved the furniture around he mentioned that he’d also gotten permission to have Lynne, young girl that had been hired right before me, to be his secretary. Hearing that I began to wonder just how much influence he had since the President didn’t even have his own secretary.

The ad ran in the Thursday local paper and it had been designed so we’d be able to track responses to it and by the next day there were well over a dozen. That doesn’t seem like a lot but the mortgage loan business was never a high volume one. It was a very good return and J J actually took in a number of applications. When we were leaving that night J J told me that he was bringing his wife out the next day to look at the place Amy had told him about. Truthfully, I don’t remember what I said to him but I’m fairly sure it was a snide comment alluding to my impression of his inability to make a decision on his own. I do remember wishing him ”Good luck“ and that he gave me a puzzled look when I did.

It was probably a bit perverse of me but I couldn’t wait to find out what J J’s wife thought of the house when I saw him the following Monday. I didn’t know him well enough to get a read on his response to know if he was telling me the truth or not. He said it went well and it was a ”go”. He followed that with a bit of a hedge when he said that his wife wanted to have her baby in the city. I asked him what that meant and he kind of danced around without giving me a direct answer. It turned out that he was going to move in as of the first of June but would be going back to the city for the weekends. The baby was due in early July and the plan was he’d move his wife and kids at that time. I didn’t say anything but I wanted to. However, my mind went immediately to the thought of J J living alone in a house right behind where Amy lived for over two months. I couldn’t help but smile... but to myself.

To be continued...