| Biographical Non-Fiction posted May 17, 2020 | Chapters: |
...34 35 -36- 37... 
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Memories of the fall of 1967
A chapter in the book Remembering Yesterday
Up in the Air
by BethShelby
| Background Family life in the latter half of the sixties. My husband, Evan, pursues an interest he's had all his life. My oldest daughter is about to start to school. |
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Since there are those who haven’t read any of this book before, who might read a chapter from time to time, I feel that I need to explain that this isn’t written like a novel. You will find it to be a series of different incidents or memories from a particular time period. You may find the flow of the material may change every paragraph or so. Sometimes I use dialogue to move the story along, but not that often because the whole memoir is being written as though it is spoken aloud to my husband who is deceased.
New readers seem to feel that I’m moving around too much, and that the story should be one theme throughout. I have written stories about some of these things in more depth, but for this particular book, it is not my purpose to go deeply into any one thing.
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Mary was a good worker who got along well with our children, but she wasn’t dependable. I understood that being in college you can’t always anticipate what may come up to demand a change of plans. The problem was I needed a day's notice if there was some reason she would not be able to come to work. Many times she called in the morning to say she wouldn’t be able to work that day. I had to have an alternate plan. In the local paper ad section, I found a stay-at-home mom near me who wanted to keep a few other children. She had two young boys of her own. On mornings when Mary couldn’t work, we began taking our children there. This meant the children had to be dressed and ready to go early, in order for us to get to work on time.
On a different topic, I missed having a piano in our home. I had taken lessons on and off for years in school, but I'd never gotten really good. I don’t think my body is coordinated in such a way that my right hand can do one thing while the left is doing something else. I told you I wanted the children to learn to play piano. Since you liked to sing, you thought it wasn’t a bad idea. You went with me to the music store to look. Pianos were expensive. I decided to rent an accordion for a month to see how I’d like that. I did like the music, but it wasn’t as much fun to play as I had thought it would be. When the month was up, we returned it and bought a piano. I enjoyed playing it for a while, but I was a bit rusty. Our children weren’t interested in taking lessons until they were older, but the piano did look good in our living room. I was in the process of upholstering the couch which the twins had poured syrup and flour on. With the piano and the finished couch, we finally had enough furniture to fill our house.
What had once been farmland behind our house was now developed, and the new elementary school was finished. Carol would be in first grade in September, and this was the school she would attend. The idea of having a child start school was exciting. I started early, buying cute little dresses and school supplies. Girls back then always wore dresses to school. Now, unless a school has a dress code or requires uniforms, it is okay for girls to wear pants or even shorts.
You had started getting home an hour or so later than usual. I assumed you were having to work overtime and thought nothing of it. You were not the sort of person who would ever cause me to worry about you cheating. Many weeks would pass before I found out what you were up to. One day you said you had something to tell me, but you didn’t want me to get upset. Oh no, what am I in for now that might upset me, I thought.
“You know how I’ve always had this thing about airplanes, and I’m always wanting to go out to the airport and watch the planes take off and land?” you asked.
“Yeah, what about it?”
“I decided I wanted to learn to fly. That's where I’ve been when I don’t come home right away.”
“Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me? How much is that costing?” I was dumbfounded and full of questions.
“Well, it’s not cheap. But it’s something I've always wanted to do. I’ve been taking lessons and learning to fly a Piper Cherokee. Today, I’m going to fly solo. I want you and the kids to come and watch me,” you informed me proudly.
“You’re going up in a plane by yourself? I don’t want to watch you get killed. What if you crash?” I was half-way angry at you for not telling me and for spending money we needed for other things. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but admire the fact that you were learning a new skill that you’d always wanted to have.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve been landing the plane with the instructor. I know what I’m doing. He wouldn’t let me do it if I wasn’t ready. Come on. Get the kids ready and let's go” you told me.
I did as you asked, but I was so nervous, I was shaking watching you take off in the plane all by yourself. The kids were excited. You circled a few times and then came in for a landing. The landing was perfect. The plane touched down smoothly and taxied to a stop. When you got out you were grinning ear to ear. I was just thrilled to have you back on the ground in one piece. Your instructor took you into a room and cut a circular hunk out of your shirt. He hung it on the wall with your name beneath it. It was the custom to do that when someone soloed for the first time.
I was upset all over again. “If you knew they were going to do that, why did you have to wear your best shirt? I loved that shirt. It made you look better than any shirt you have. Why did you wear that one?"
“Oh Beth, It’s just a shirt. Get over it. You should be proud of me, and instead, all you can talk about is my shirt.”
“So now, you’re going to be doing this all the time?” I asked.
“No, I won’t be going up that often. I have books I have to study before I can get my pilot license. I’ll just go when I can get enough money together to afford it.”
After that you were forever taking us with you to airshows and to the municipal airport just to watch the big planes come in. I'd had no idea you were so fascinated with planes before. You should have gone into the Air Force instead of the Army.
By the time September rolled around, Mary had decided she couldn’t work any more. I let the mom who had been taking the kids when she didn’t come, take care of Don and Christi every weekday. Mary hadn't been gone long when I got a call from someone saying Mary had given my name as a reference for a job as a maid. I had to tell the lady, if she needed someone to be there every day, Mary might not be right for the job, but otherwise she was a good worker. I doubt if she got the job.
I enrolled Carol in first grade and made arrangements for a neighbor who lived on the other side of the Schultz family to watch Carol before and after school. Carol was eager to learn and enjoyed being in first grade. School hadn’t been in session long when the parents were invited to come in and meet the teachers. Carol’s teacher was a lovely person, and she assured us that Carol was doing well and was a pleasure to have as a student. The teachers had displayed the students' work around the room. We were impressed with Carol's art work.
You didn't care to go, but I went alone to a few of the PTA meetings. I don’t remember telling anyone I was an artist, but it seems we had to fill out something about our interests. I must have put down art because soon they put me to work helping them decorate. I was warned far in advance that they had a special project in mind for Christmas. They wanted me to paint an outdoor decoration on two sheets of 4' X 8' ft, plywood panels. This would be volunteer work, as if I had time to volunteer for anything. I agreed against my better judgement.
At my printing company job, the owner of one of the businesses for whom I'd designed a Christmas card, also wanted me to do some freelance work duplicating the Christmas Card onto a 4' X 8' panel of plywood for their yard. I realized Christmas was going to be hectic this year. I would need to start working on these projects before Thanksgiving.
You found a used truck you wanted. You said you needed it to haul your cattle to the market when you had steers to sell. This truck came with a cattle enclosure, but it also came with a metal camper shell with louvered windows, which you said we could use for trips. You promised when we both had some vacation time coming, we would put the shell on and take a trip out west for a week. This was enough of an incentive to make me agree that we should buy it.
New readers seem to feel that I’m moving around too much, and that the story should be one theme throughout. I have written stories about some of these things in more depth, but for this particular book, it is not my purpose to go deeply into any one thing.
-----------
Mary was a good worker who got along well with our children, but she wasn’t dependable. I understood that being in college you can’t always anticipate what may come up to demand a change of plans. The problem was I needed a day's notice if there was some reason she would not be able to come to work. Many times she called in the morning to say she wouldn’t be able to work that day. I had to have an alternate plan. In the local paper ad section, I found a stay-at-home mom near me who wanted to keep a few other children. She had two young boys of her own. On mornings when Mary couldn’t work, we began taking our children there. This meant the children had to be dressed and ready to go early, in order for us to get to work on time.
On a different topic, I missed having a piano in our home. I had taken lessons on and off for years in school, but I'd never gotten really good. I don’t think my body is coordinated in such a way that my right hand can do one thing while the left is doing something else. I told you I wanted the children to learn to play piano. Since you liked to sing, you thought it wasn’t a bad idea. You went with me to the music store to look. Pianos were expensive. I decided to rent an accordion for a month to see how I’d like that. I did like the music, but it wasn’t as much fun to play as I had thought it would be. When the month was up, we returned it and bought a piano. I enjoyed playing it for a while, but I was a bit rusty. Our children weren’t interested in taking lessons until they were older, but the piano did look good in our living room. I was in the process of upholstering the couch which the twins had poured syrup and flour on. With the piano and the finished couch, we finally had enough furniture to fill our house.
What had once been farmland behind our house was now developed, and the new elementary school was finished. Carol would be in first grade in September, and this was the school she would attend. The idea of having a child start school was exciting. I started early, buying cute little dresses and school supplies. Girls back then always wore dresses to school. Now, unless a school has a dress code or requires uniforms, it is okay for girls to wear pants or even shorts.
You had started getting home an hour or so later than usual. I assumed you were having to work overtime and thought nothing of it. You were not the sort of person who would ever cause me to worry about you cheating. Many weeks would pass before I found out what you were up to. One day you said you had something to tell me, but you didn’t want me to get upset. Oh no, what am I in for now that might upset me, I thought.
“You know how I’ve always had this thing about airplanes, and I’m always wanting to go out to the airport and watch the planes take off and land?” you asked.
“Yeah, what about it?”
“I decided I wanted to learn to fly. That's where I’ve been when I don’t come home right away.”
“Are you serious? Why didn’t you tell me? How much is that costing?” I was dumbfounded and full of questions.
“Well, it’s not cheap. But it’s something I've always wanted to do. I’ve been taking lessons and learning to fly a Piper Cherokee. Today, I’m going to fly solo. I want you and the kids to come and watch me,” you informed me proudly.
“You’re going up in a plane by yourself? I don’t want to watch you get killed. What if you crash?” I was half-way angry at you for not telling me and for spending money we needed for other things. On the other hand, I couldn’t help but admire the fact that you were learning a new skill that you’d always wanted to have.
“I’ll be fine. I’ve been landing the plane with the instructor. I know what I’m doing. He wouldn’t let me do it if I wasn’t ready. Come on. Get the kids ready and let's go” you told me.
I did as you asked, but I was so nervous, I was shaking watching you take off in the plane all by yourself. The kids were excited. You circled a few times and then came in for a landing. The landing was perfect. The plane touched down smoothly and taxied to a stop. When you got out you were grinning ear to ear. I was just thrilled to have you back on the ground in one piece. Your instructor took you into a room and cut a circular hunk out of your shirt. He hung it on the wall with your name beneath it. It was the custom to do that when someone soloed for the first time.
I was upset all over again. “If you knew they were going to do that, why did you have to wear your best shirt? I loved that shirt. It made you look better than any shirt you have. Why did you wear that one?"
“Oh Beth, It’s just a shirt. Get over it. You should be proud of me, and instead, all you can talk about is my shirt.”
“So now, you’re going to be doing this all the time?” I asked.
“No, I won’t be going up that often. I have books I have to study before I can get my pilot license. I’ll just go when I can get enough money together to afford it.”
After that you were forever taking us with you to airshows and to the municipal airport just to watch the big planes come in. I'd had no idea you were so fascinated with planes before. You should have gone into the Air Force instead of the Army.
By the time September rolled around, Mary had decided she couldn’t work any more. I let the mom who had been taking the kids when she didn’t come, take care of Don and Christi every weekday. Mary hadn't been gone long when I got a call from someone saying Mary had given my name as a reference for a job as a maid. I had to tell the lady, if she needed someone to be there every day, Mary might not be right for the job, but otherwise she was a good worker. I doubt if she got the job.
I enrolled Carol in first grade and made arrangements for a neighbor who lived on the other side of the Schultz family to watch Carol before and after school. Carol was eager to learn and enjoyed being in first grade. School hadn’t been in session long when the parents were invited to come in and meet the teachers. Carol’s teacher was a lovely person, and she assured us that Carol was doing well and was a pleasure to have as a student. The teachers had displayed the students' work around the room. We were impressed with Carol's art work.
You didn't care to go, but I went alone to a few of the PTA meetings. I don’t remember telling anyone I was an artist, but it seems we had to fill out something about our interests. I must have put down art because soon they put me to work helping them decorate. I was warned far in advance that they had a special project in mind for Christmas. They wanted me to paint an outdoor decoration on two sheets of 4' X 8' ft, plywood panels. This would be volunteer work, as if I had time to volunteer for anything. I agreed against my better judgement.
At my printing company job, the owner of one of the businesses for whom I'd designed a Christmas card, also wanted me to do some freelance work duplicating the Christmas Card onto a 4' X 8' panel of plywood for their yard. I realized Christmas was going to be hectic this year. I would need to start working on these projects before Thanksgiving.
You found a used truck you wanted. You said you needed it to haul your cattle to the market when you had steers to sell. This truck came with a cattle enclosure, but it also came with a metal camper shell with louvered windows, which you said we could use for trips. You promised when we both had some vacation time coming, we would put the shell on and take a trip out west for a week. This was enough of an incentive to make me agree that we should buy it.
 Recognized |
I'm continuing to recall memories of life with my deceased husband as if I am talking aloud to him. I'm doing this because I want my children to know us as we knew each other and not just as their parents;
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