Read Books Free.net

My life, on the other hand, was so different, so controlled, so lacking the prospect of personal growth and the satisfaction of achievement. My parents refused to trust in my ability to make personal decisions regarding a career or dating. The laundry list seemed endless. Before I graduated, they had accepted a job for me that paid $17.00 a week. At that salary, I could never further my education, buy a car, or rent an apartment. Classmates were moving to the city where they earned at least $75.00 a week in defense plants. I envied them and wished my parents had trusted me to use my abilities and grow in a career. Instead, I remained in our small community and worked at a job that offered no future.

           I’ll never forget the first day I walked into the office and met my employer. “Disappointment” must have been written all over my face. I had hoped for a private area with my boss across the hall in a carpeted, mahogany paneled room, just like the offices you see in the movies.  Instead, I shared a 9’x12’ office with the employer, three desks, two filing cabinets, a large safe and a corner sink.

       I wanted to thank him, decline the job offer, leave and never come back. Unfortunately, I knew if I did, there would be big trouble when I got home; -; I was trapped by small town social correctness. My boss was the wealthiest man in town; for me to refuse his offer would have been considered rude and disrespectful.

       As Bob and I became close friends, I felt a surge of energy that inspired me to put one foot in front of the other and create my own destiny. I began to save a few dollars every week for the sole purpose of accumulating enough money to buy a home when he returned from the war.

Chapter 4 starts tomorrow!