The Next Move.
A Story About Having to Move32 total reviews
Comment from Debi Pick Marquette
Hi Harry, the day you finished your freshman year was the day after I got married.
I guess I just aged myself, but the truth it I got married really young and this isn't about me, so sorry.
I know about that move. We were so poor that my mother, a school teacher stayed up every night from October on to make gifts for us seven kids and then she would color paper bags for wrapping paper.
Anyway, just telling that I know about the poor and moving thing, we moved five times.
You maybe had a chip on your shoulder, but for a good reason. Some people could be judgmental even though I think some of it could have been in our head.
At least in my case.
I am glad you were in sports anyway. That at least gave you some social time along with the sports. Your story is very relatable and told very well. I believe you are a lot better for it now, as you are now one of us. We are thankful for that.
Thanks for the great story and for opening up to us.
Love, Debi
reply by the author on 24-Feb-2025
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Hi Harry, the day you finished your freshman year was the day after I got married.
I guess I just aged myself, but the truth it I got married really young and this isn't about me, so sorry.
I know about that move. We were so poor that my mother, a school teacher stayed up every night from October on to make gifts for us seven kids and then she would color paper bags for wrapping paper.
Anyway, just telling that I know about the poor and moving thing, we moved five times.
You maybe had a chip on your shoulder, but for a good reason. Some people could be judgmental even though I think some of it could have been in our head.
At least in my case.
I am glad you were in sports anyway. That at least gave you some social time along with the sports. Your story is very relatable and told very well. I believe you are a lot better for it now, as you are now one of us. We are thankful for that.
Thanks for the great story and for opening up to us.
Love, Debi
Comment Written 22-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 24-Feb-2025
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Well, thank you so much Debi. And you are so right about moving too. Your mother sounds like she worked really hard to take care of her children. Kudos to her!!! Thank you for the great review. I truly appreciate you!
Comment from evilynne
It is sad that your high school experience was so bad. And poverty is difficult, as well. It is to your credit that you have done well with your life thereafter. I had to move and go to a different high school a few months before graduation (1968). We were also quite poor. I was asked to the prom, but declined because we did not have the funds for a formal dress. Evi
reply by the author on 24-Feb-2025
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It is sad that your high school experience was so bad. And poverty is difficult, as well. It is to your credit that you have done well with your life thereafter. I had to move and go to a different high school a few months before graduation (1968). We were also quite poor. I was asked to the prom, but declined because we did not have the funds for a formal dress. Evi
Comment Written 21-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 24-Feb-2025
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Oh Evilynne. That is so sad for a young woman to have to go through. It's tougher for women than men - I believe. Thank you so much for the great review! I truly appreciate you!
Comment from Amelie Johns
Thank you for sharing your story, Harry. I enjoyed reading it. That was a tough time for you. It seemed like you were not just financially poor but also poor in another sense. I got the feeling that your feelings didn't matter and that you didn't receive the emotional support you needed to deal with the move and losing your friends etc. Perhaps another reason for withdrawing social was to protect yourself. Before the move you made friends and you liked the school. You were happy. And then it all got taken away. So why get close and let people in if it can be all taken away again.
I've never been rich or poor so I cannot ever truly know what it is like to be poor but I can certainly empathise based on what I imagine and see. I try to help people where I can and I teach my kids to do the same. When I was 10 my family moved from a small town in Ireland where I grew up and moved to Milan, Italy so I can relate to a big move and a school you dislike. When we moved back a few years later, I assumed I'd go to the local school where the kids I grew up with went but I was sent off to another city and I knew nobody. I had a two hour commute home every evening. I did that for six years. It was exhausting. I got home at 6.30pm every day. Nobody had a commute like that.
Thanks again for sharing your story. I hope you have a lovely week.
Best wishes,
Amelie
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Thank you for sharing your story, Harry. I enjoyed reading it. That was a tough time for you. It seemed like you were not just financially poor but also poor in another sense. I got the feeling that your feelings didn't matter and that you didn't receive the emotional support you needed to deal with the move and losing your friends etc. Perhaps another reason for withdrawing social was to protect yourself. Before the move you made friends and you liked the school. You were happy. And then it all got taken away. So why get close and let people in if it can be all taken away again.
I've never been rich or poor so I cannot ever truly know what it is like to be poor but I can certainly empathise based on what I imagine and see. I try to help people where I can and I teach my kids to do the same. When I was 10 my family moved from a small town in Ireland where I grew up and moved to Milan, Italy so I can relate to a big move and a school you dislike. When we moved back a few years later, I assumed I'd go to the local school where the kids I grew up with went but I was sent off to another city and I knew nobody. I had a two hour commute home every evening. I did that for six years. It was exhausting. I got home at 6.30pm every day. Nobody had a commute like that.
Thanks again for sharing your story. I hope you have a lovely week.
Best wishes,
Amelie
Comment Written 19-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Wow, Amelie. That is a commute! Thank you so much for the kind words and great review. I truly appreciate you!
Comment from samandlancelot
Hi Harry,
I enjoyed your reminiscences about your move and what life was like for you as a poor boy. Being poor didn't affect me as much as it did my husband. He was social, but he wouldn't go to events because he didn't have the money. He graduated in 1960, and it still bothers him that he had to grow up poor.
I did not realize how important that was going to be in my life at that time (You use 'that' twice in one sentence. Check out the blog post on BrookeWarner titled "the-that-cure." Suggested rewrite: I did not realize how the move would impact my life, but I soon found out.
She fought back and told me not to do that. (Did she fight back simply by telling you, or did she do more to persuade you?
However, I decided at that moment that I was going to hate every day until I graduated. (Again, you have 'that' twice in one sentence. At what moment? The moment you boarded the bus for school? The moment you entered the school? In your first class? Was the moment when you gave in to your Mom and you rebelled her with your attitude?)
They knew they were wrong, and I called them on it. (Hooray for you!)
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Hi Harry,
I enjoyed your reminiscences about your move and what life was like for you as a poor boy. Being poor didn't affect me as much as it did my husband. He was social, but he wouldn't go to events because he didn't have the money. He graduated in 1960, and it still bothers him that he had to grow up poor.
I did not realize how important that was going to be in my life at that time (You use 'that' twice in one sentence. Check out the blog post on BrookeWarner titled "the-that-cure." Suggested rewrite: I did not realize how the move would impact my life, but I soon found out.
She fought back and told me not to do that. (Did she fight back simply by telling you, or did she do more to persuade you?
However, I decided at that moment that I was going to hate every day until I graduated. (Again, you have 'that' twice in one sentence. At what moment? The moment you boarded the bus for school? The moment you entered the school? In your first class? Was the moment when you gave in to your Mom and you rebelled her with your attitude?)
They knew they were wrong, and I called them on it. (Hooray for you!)
Comment Written 18-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Thank you so much for the great review and thanks for catching my oooppsss...I truly appreciate you!
Comment from Mrs Anna Howard
Thank you so much for sharing your story. I really like the pace of the story. I was engaged all the way through. I admired your courage of standing up against the bullies. Also, thank you for your service!
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Thank you so much for sharing your story. I really like the pace of the story. I was engaged all the way through. I admired your courage of standing up against the bullies. Also, thank you for your service!
Comment Written 18-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Thank you so much Anna. I truly appreciate the kind words and great review!
Comment from Arabellesmom
Hi there I'm new to this but I wanted to take the time and acknowledge your writing. The picture grabbed my attention and I enjoyed reading your writing as well. Thanks for sharing your a good writer!!
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Hi there I'm new to this but I wanted to take the time and acknowledge your writing. The picture grabbed my attention and I enjoyed reading your writing as well. Thanks for sharing your a good writer!!
Comment Written 18-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Well, thank you so much. I truly appreciate the kind words and great review!
Comment from Marilyn Hamilton
Even as kids we were taught to treat poor people like they were less than. I actually never fell into that way of thinking. Church probably helped with that. Great story. Thanks for sharing
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Even as kids we were taught to treat poor people like they were less than. I actually never fell into that way of thinking. Church probably helped with that. Great story. Thanks for sharing
Comment Written 18-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 19-Feb-2025
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Thank you so much Marilyn. I truly appreciate the review!
Comment from judiverse
Very compelling. I know how hard it is to move. When I was in fifth grade my parents moved and I had to switch to a different school. I didn't go through what you did, though, because all the other kids in the small school I went to were poor, too. Kudos to you for your successful career in the Coast Guard. I know how it is. You never forget growing up poor. Excellent work in describing your school experiences. It was good that you went on to participate in sports. judi
reply by the author on 18-Feb-2025
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Very compelling. I know how hard it is to move. When I was in fifth grade my parents moved and I had to switch to a different school. I didn't go through what you did, though, because all the other kids in the small school I went to were poor, too. Kudos to you for your successful career in the Coast Guard. I know how it is. You never forget growing up poor. Excellent work in describing your school experiences. It was good that you went on to participate in sports. judi
Comment Written 18-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 18-Feb-2025
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Well, thank you so much Judi. I truly appreciate the kind words and great review!
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You're welcome. My husband and I moved a few times because of his work, and I hated the moves. judi
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I know right? As a public affairs officer, we studied what are the 10 most stressors in life. And moving is the #1.
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Well, that's interesting. I wouldn't have thought of moving as being the number one stressor, though. judi
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Moving #1, Getting a new job #2.
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.I've been through Stressors i and 2 four times in my life. How did I survive? judi
Comment from Sanku
many schools will have the same type of student mix.. My father was in Forest department and he used to get transferred often .and we had to change schools which was heart-breaking.This is a frank write up about your growing up years.. I enjoy reading personal stories and I enjoyed reading this .
reply by the author on 18-Feb-2025
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many schools will have the same type of student mix.. My father was in Forest department and he used to get transferred often .and we had to change schools which was heart-breaking.This is a frank write up about your growing up years.. I enjoy reading personal stories and I enjoyed reading this .
Comment Written 16-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 18-Feb-2025
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Thank you so much Sanku. I truly appreciate you and the great review!
Comment from Tom Horonzy
We share many parallels in life. I transferred schools mid-freshman year, and where you were a stud, I was a eighty pound weakling. I would have been the kids footballers picked on, but upon arriving in the new h.s. I told a fib and said I transferred from a military academy, and I knew judo.
I was called out, lost the bout, but was left alone thereafter.
I too went the service route, ten years prior, the USN. I graduated June 12 and on the 14th I was on my way to boot camp.
I spent three tdy assignments on the Cutter WHEC-725 Jarvis.
I also grew tall and strong, and made several All-Navy teams which led me to leave to play college ball.
The service helped me become successful
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2025
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We share many parallels in life. I transferred schools mid-freshman year, and where you were a stud, I was a eighty pound weakling. I would have been the kids footballers picked on, but upon arriving in the new h.s. I told a fib and said I transferred from a military academy, and I knew judo.
I was called out, lost the bout, but was left alone thereafter.
I too went the service route, ten years prior, the USN. I graduated June 12 and on the 14th I was on my way to boot camp.
I spent three tdy assignments on the Cutter WHEC-725 Jarvis.
I also grew tall and strong, and made several All-Navy teams which led me to leave to play college ball.
The service helped me become successful
Comment Written 14-Feb-2025
reply by the author on 14-Feb-2025
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Wow! Tom, it sounds like you did alright for yourself. The Jarvis huh? Thanks so much for the great review. I truly appreciate you!
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Yep. You might recall from lore, Jarvis ran aground outside Dutch Harbor and many of the crew I got to know the year after saved her from going down. Her home port was Sand Island, Honolulu.
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Yes, I remember reading something about that.
