Friday, April 08, 2005
MARCH....1990
We had been waiting to see if Becky was going to be selected for the vacant Driver’s Examiner spot and after her oral interview before the Board she felt pretty good about her chances. Just when the anticipation was at a high point, she was informed that a complaint was made since two of Troop G’s people were on the Board. The complaint, made by another applicant, felt there was too much favor for Becky who would work out of this Troop.
A second Board was arranged and the applicants again made their best pitch for the job. Again we all held our breath and waited. The next day our DE Sergeant called to let her know the job was hers. Needless to say it was a very big victory. Troop G had never had a female DE until they hired me in 1986. My intent was to prove that women could and would work within the traveling crews without causing problems. In fact, that was why the Captain hired me in 1979 as a 3-day-a-week clerk to go with the crews. He needed someone who would blend in, do the office work and relieve the guys for sick leave or vacation leave. Since I was older than all of them except one, I became ‘Granny’ and a good listener for the topic of the day.
When they hired Becky it made me very proud. It was, to me, a notification that I had done well enough in my job that the Troop was willing to hire on another female……and in particular, my daughter. It was cause for a family celebration and a high note after so much recent heartache. Good times always seem to follow bad times and if I interpret the Bible correctly, it is intended to help us become more mature in our faith and more grateful for those good times.
It was a wonderful boost for Becky who had been cleaning houses’ and working 3-days a week as clerk for the DE traveling crews. Now she would have a 40-hour week with week-ends and holidays off. Good sick leave benefits, vacation time and retirement were enough in themselves but to acquire free insurance was the crowning point of the package. She had been holding her breath without insurance for some time. Now Troop G had two female DE’s and I would probably be safe in saying…..the only mother-daughter team in a Troop anywhere……..
On March 26th it had been 10-years since Bear lost his leg. His recovery was amazing and he got around on his crutches like Gravelle…..his goal. When we were in Fitzsimmons shortly after his amputation there was a young man who whooshed past our room several times every day on crutches. His stride was amazing…….he thrust his arms out full length and swung his body even with the them……then another thrust…. He could make the full length of the hall in seconds. Every-time Bear heard the click-clack of his crutches coming he would wheel to the door and watch him. He would just shake his head and laugh….. “That’s how I want to go,” he’d say.
In no time, he was….and he devised ways to do every thing he could do before losing the leg. It delighted him to out-walk me and at times I thought it was folly to use the Handicapped Parking space. He was more capable than a lot of the folks who didn’t have the privilege. In late March he was having a round of problems with his blood pressure and his sinus’……enough to make him miserable. His doctor changed his medication in hopes it would correct the problem. He took Becky to Springfield for her false tooth/bridge fitting on her 36th birthday while I worked.
The month had been dreary with gray sky and soppy ground. The earth was saturated and vegetation was an ugly brown. But, as the calendar turned to April, the world began to change into a magical garden. It was “green up time” in Missouri…………….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
A second Board was arranged and the applicants again made their best pitch for the job. Again we all held our breath and waited. The next day our DE Sergeant called to let her know the job was hers. Needless to say it was a very big victory. Troop G had never had a female DE until they hired me in 1986. My intent was to prove that women could and would work within the traveling crews without causing problems. In fact, that was why the Captain hired me in 1979 as a 3-day-a-week clerk to go with the crews. He needed someone who would blend in, do the office work and relieve the guys for sick leave or vacation leave. Since I was older than all of them except one, I became ‘Granny’ and a good listener for the topic of the day.
When they hired Becky it made me very proud. It was, to me, a notification that I had done well enough in my job that the Troop was willing to hire on another female……and in particular, my daughter. It was cause for a family celebration and a high note after so much recent heartache. Good times always seem to follow bad times and if I interpret the Bible correctly, it is intended to help us become more mature in our faith and more grateful for those good times.
It was a wonderful boost for Becky who had been cleaning houses’ and working 3-days a week as clerk for the DE traveling crews. Now she would have a 40-hour week with week-ends and holidays off. Good sick leave benefits, vacation time and retirement were enough in themselves but to acquire free insurance was the crowning point of the package. She had been holding her breath without insurance for some time. Now Troop G had two female DE’s and I would probably be safe in saying…..the only mother-daughter team in a Troop anywhere……..
On March 26th it had been 10-years since Bear lost his leg. His recovery was amazing and he got around on his crutches like Gravelle…..his goal. When we were in Fitzsimmons shortly after his amputation there was a young man who whooshed past our room several times every day on crutches. His stride was amazing…….he thrust his arms out full length and swung his body even with the them……then another thrust…. He could make the full length of the hall in seconds. Every-time Bear heard the click-clack of his crutches coming he would wheel to the door and watch him. He would just shake his head and laugh….. “That’s how I want to go,” he’d say.
In no time, he was….and he devised ways to do every thing he could do before losing the leg. It delighted him to out-walk me and at times I thought it was folly to use the Handicapped Parking space. He was more capable than a lot of the folks who didn’t have the privilege. In late March he was having a round of problems with his blood pressure and his sinus’……enough to make him miserable. His doctor changed his medication in hopes it would correct the problem. He took Becky to Springfield for her false tooth/bridge fitting on her 36th birthday while I worked.
The month had been dreary with gray sky and soppy ground. The earth was saturated and vegetation was an ugly brown. But, as the calendar turned to April, the world began to change into a magical garden. It was “green up time” in Missouri…………….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
