Contributors
Bev Avery  
(Former Allapattah Resident)
(Click photo to enlarge.)

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.

Copyright April 17, 2004

Index to Bev's Contributions