I shot this picture of Jilda a million Years Ago. It was not long after we married. We lived in a single-wide trailer without air conditioning. It didn't have much insulation either, which meant that winter winds blew in through our living room around the windows.
Both of us Worked. She worked at a dress shop, and I worked as a reporter for a weekly newspaper. I'm sure that we probably qualified for food stamps, but it never occurred to us to check in to it. The poverty, we thought, was for those who were less fortunate.
We scrimped and saved. She's always been a great cook. A bag of butterbeans, a pone of cornbread, and some chicken or fish would feed us for days.
Things went south on my 25th birthday. I was fired. For the next year, I pumped gas for my cousin and drew unemployment.
A gentleman that visited us often in the newspaper office worked for the phone company. He visited me at the gas station and asked if I would be interested in a job. I almost hugged his neck.
On January 3, 1977, I started a new job with MaBell. It wasn't always easy, but the job made it possible to build the home in which we now live. The company also paid for my bachelor's and master's degrees.
I know I've written about bits and pieces of this story before. But tonight, as I was looking for a picture to post, I came across the one below, and it triggered the thoughts for this post.
Happy Wednesday.
