I was born October
11, 1941 in Victoria Hospital, Miami, Florida. My father was a native of Key
West, and came to Miami by train at the age of 14. My mother is a 4th
generation native Floridian, born in Dade City, Florida. I have one sister who
lives in Lexington, Georgia. I live (for the moment) in Durham, North Carolina.
My growing up years were spent in Allapattah, a community in the northwest
section of Miami. I spent 21 years of my life in the same house, something not
done much any more. I went to Melrose Elementary, Robert E. Lee Jr. High, and
Miami Senior High. I attended one semester at Brewton Parker Jr. College in Mt.
Vernon, Georgia. Homesickness and no more money brought me back home. I later
went to a junior college in Gainesville, Florida to almost complete one year of
college. The rest of my education has been life.
I have worked at enough jobs to be knowledgeable about a number of things.
Until age 22, I never stayed at a job long enough to get a vacation. I was an
overseas operator for Southern Bell, an answering service operator, a clerk in a
plant store, a cage cleaner at a vet's office, a clerk at an exterminating
company, and a clerk in the data processing department for 1st National Bank of
Miami, where I worked for 7 years. I was there when the first computers came
in, and got my first picture of how the future would look with computers. I
worked the day shift the first year, then went to nights. We processed checks
for most of the banks in Florida because they didn't have computers, balanced
their accounts while trying to manage our own personal accounts, which was a
perk of the job.
The data processing center was moved from the bank building to the Old Miami
News building. The Master Charge center was also in this building, and the
charge cards were made there, hence the need for guards. We all had to have ID
badges. I met my husband there. We moved to Hollywood, and commuted to work
every night. In 1972, we gave notice, got married at the courthouse, packed up
what little we had and moved to Gainesville to work and save money for Doug to
go to the University of Florida. Doug
got a job driving a garbage truck. I wasn't so lucky. Back to different jobs
again. To get into commercial banking was not happening. I got a part-time job
as a radio dispatcher for the Alachua County Sheriff's office. Nothing
permanent was coming.
I finally got permanent work at Copeland Sausage, cutting up hogs and slicing
meat. I met a woman there who owned two residential lots in Newberry, Florida
that she wanted to sell. Living in Miami, and knowing the value of property, we
snapped up her asking price of $600 for both lots. We bought a repossessed
trailer and had it moved to one of the lots. We were bad! Doug got a better
job delivering donuts for Krispy Kreme, and we were on our way to saving money
for college expenses.
We had two children while Doug was going to school. Both were born at Shands
Teaching Hospital in Gainesville. Doug was going to school on the GI Bill,
which made finances easier. We got through 5 years, which included graduate
school. When children came along, we decided to make me a stay at home Mom, and
I kept children during the day in this trailer. I had 7 at one time, including
ours.
Doug graduated in 1977, and got a job with Burroughs Corporation, which created
a move to Jacksonville, Florida. Trailer and all, we picked up and went.
Stupidly, I went to work at Florida National Bank. Our oldest son was sick a
lot, one of our vehicles was vandalized, money was tight, we were in a
not-so-nice trailer park, and not happy. We saw a house near the day care where
we were taking the children, and were able to sell the trailer, and buy the
house. After the car was vandalized, and the oldest boy in the hospital again
with pneumonia, and trying to get to jobs with one car, and Doug out of town so
often for his job, it became stupid for me to work. So, back to a stay at home
Mom. Until the boys went to high school, I supervised their day to day
activities, and all the other things that go with being a Mom.
In 1983, Doug got a very good job with Coca Cola in Daytona Beach, Florida. We
were there and in Ormond Beach until 1991, when Doug was transferred to Atlanta.
I worked while the children were in school during the day, doing various things,
including being the Environmental Director at a nursing home, and later a CNA at
the same nursing home. We left there in 1996 to move to Durham, North
Carolina, for Doug to be president of a software house, whose only customers
were Coca-Cola bottlers. So for most of our marriage, Coke has put food on our
table.
We are now retired from business except our own. We recently sold our house, and
after the closing at the end of this month, will be homeless; self inflicted
types. We will live in our camper on the road. Trailer Life Magazine calls us
who have decided to do this FULL TIMERS. This means we live nowhere, have no
taxes, flit from place to place, and wave our gypsy flags. We have a mailing
address for a residence, and not much else.
Do not pity us!
This is what we and many others want. No upkeep on a house, no taxes for that
house, no utility bills for that house, and no grass to cut at that house.
So my life, up until now, has been busy. I've had more jobs than I can count,
lived in 8 different cities in 8 different houses, had about 10 cars, and one
camper. I'm older and wiser. I enjoy good health, have two children and 4
grandchildren, and no house. Life couldn't be sweeter!
See you out there! I'll be reporting from the road, so look for stuff in the
forums.
