| Biographical Non-Fiction posted April 6, 2021 | Chapters: |
...111 112 -113- 114... 
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Another Fall in the life of the Shelby family.
A chapter in the book Remembering Yesterday
The Fall of `89
by BethShelby
For new readers, who may not have read my author notes, this is written in a conversational way as I talk to my deceased husband. When I refer to someone just as "you" this means I am addressing my husband, Evan.
When school started in September, Connie was surprised to learn that Lenny, now in his senior year, was in all honors classes, and that he seldom made below an A+ grade. It gave her a greater appreciation of her boyfriend and made her take a little more interest in her own grades. She was convinced that Lenny would be able to do anything he wanted to with his life. She joked that she might have to marry him, so that he could make a living for her. They continued to spend almost all their free time together. Her own grades improved dramatically in everything except history. Lenny assured her that it was only because she had one of the hardest teachers at that school.
Sometimes, when his mom was out of town, we let him stay in our guest room, and on a few occasions with his mom’s permission, Connie stayed there. She and his sister had become good friends. We were concerned that maybe they were together too much, but Connie was so much more pleasant to be around, that we dared not rock the boat. At times when she didn't feel well, he waited on her like he was her personal servant. Connie wasn’t always truthful, but it always sounded like the truth. With our older children, we could always tell if they were trying to pull the wool over our eyes. We found out quickly that Lenny was incapable of lying. As a result, we trusted him probably more than we should have. If asked a pointed question, he would never lie, but we realized that he was still young and capable of making bad decisions.
One of Connie’s friends gave her a kitten. She'd been wanting a kitten ever since we moved from New Orleans. You weren’t thrilled with the new addition and claimed we kept saddling you with animals you had to take care of. I’d thought the two grown Himalayan cats would make Connie happy, but those cats were snobs and not interested in being petted. Connie named the new kitten “Stinky”, which was an apt name since he had a foul-smelling gas problem. She hadn’t had him long when someone accidentally let him outside. He ran away, and Connie’s heart was broken. She and Lenny made signs and put them out all over the neighborhood. Four days later, someone in the subdivision behind ours found him in a culvert. He was half starved, but Connie was thrilled to get him back.
**********
Christi completed her massage therapist training, and went to Atlanta, along with the other students, for the certification test. Unfortunately, only five students out of the large class passed. The instructor, who had never taught the class before, blamed herself for not preparing them. Christi did well with the massage portion, but the written portion required that students know all the bones and muscles in the body. Christi was disappointed and determined to be prepared the next time there was an opportunity to take the test.
Christi had been talking about going to California to visit her friend, Jay, ever since she had returned from Australia, but now she was more anxious than ever to make the trip. Her best friend, Connie Williams, was living there and taking some college courses. Over the past couple of years, Christi had gone out with too many guys to keep up with, but she refused to allow herself to have serious feelings for any of them, until she could see if things would work out between her and Jay.
In those days, calling someone outside the immediate area meant an expensive long-distance phone call. Christi ran up our phone bills by talking for hours with her friends in California. Every time you mentioned needing the money for the phone calls she had made, she would start hyperventilating. One day, it was so bad that she was lying in the floor, inhaling rapidly and insisting that she was dying. You were trying to get her to breathe into a paper bag, and she was screaming that she needed more air, not less. She yelled for you to get away, because you were trying to kill her. She had you so upset, it’s a wonder you didn’t have a stroke. Connie even thought she was dying. Our daughter was a drama queen, and she was keeping our household on edge. We were beginning to suggest that she needed to find another place to live.
She couldn’t find anyone to go to California with her, so she finally bought a ticket and went alone. The plan was for Jay to pick her up and take her to her friend Connie’s place. When she returned from California, she was disappointed that Jay had changed since she saw him last. He and his friends all wore black clothes and dark eyeliner and were into the Goth subculture that started in the eighties. They made fun of Christi because she was dressed too conservatively for them. She did have fun with her friend, Connie. They went to San Francisco and to Lake Tahoe and did other things that she enjoyed.
Don and Kimberly decided to go to Florida to visit Carol and Glen. We didn’t think Don should go, because he was struggling to have enough money to go to school. Because his grades had fallen behind, he wouldn’t be getting any grant money until he could get his grade point average up. He claimed he had to have a break because he was stressing out. Nothing we said could change his mind. They did go down for a few days.
When I talked to Carol later, she was stressed as well. They had had company ever since they had gotten into the new house. She had looked forward to seeing Don, because the two of them always had long, serious talks about deeper subjects than those that interested most young people. Kimberly monopolized Don’s time while they were there, leaving Carol feeling as if she and Glen were being used as a cheap vacation spot.
**********
Looking back, it seems the children were causing our lives to be in constant turmoil, but that was, by no means, the whole story. In some ways, life was better than it had ever been. Without the stress of working full time, you were more relaxed, and the physical side of our relationship also improved. Now that the children were older, we had the house to ourselves much of the time, and once I went through menopause, we didn’t have the worry of getting pregnant. When you visited your doctor, he inquired as to your libido, and you assured him, proudly, that this was one area where you had no problem.
You never regretted having retired early. You and I spent a lot of time sightseeing, after we moved to Chattanooga. We hiked in the area parks and trails and visited all the tourist areas in North Georgia and surrounding towns. There were so many things to see and do. We both loved this area more than anywhere we had lived before. In New Orleans, we rode bikes on the flat streets. Here, there were bike trails that ran for miles on flat surfaces. We enjoyed frequent trips to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains.
Not everything ran smoothly, but you and I agreed on most things. Other than concerns about our children, the main problem, still unsolved, was what to do about our place in the country, in Mississippi.
This is Us:
Evan is 60 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
Beth is 52 and has had a variety of jobs. She is presently working a new job with a local printing company.
Carol is 29, a nurse at Florida Hospital in Orlando. She is married and living in Florida.
Glen Egolf is Carol’s husband. He is 26 and soon will get his nursing degree from Southern College in Orlando.
Don is a twin. He is 27 and at Life Chiropractic College.
Christi is Don’s twin. She works as a receptionist for a chemical company and is working toward becoming a massage therapist.
Kimberly Dye is Don’s girlfriend. She is a nurse working in Atlanta near Don's school.
Connie is our youngest daughter. She is sixteen. She has finished her second year of high school.
Lenny is Connie's boyfirend.
Other's mentioned: Connie Williams and Jay are Chirist's frineds who are in California.
For new readers, who may not have read my author notes, this is written in a conversational way as I talk to my deceased husband. When I refer to someone just as "you" this means I am addressing my husband, Evan.
When school started in September, Connie was surprised to learn that Lenny, now in his senior year, was in all honors classes, and that he seldom made below an A+ grade. It gave her a greater appreciation of her boyfriend and made her take a little more interest in her own grades. She was convinced that Lenny would be able to do anything he wanted to with his life. She joked that she might have to marry him, so that he could make a living for her. They continued to spend almost all their free time together. Her own grades improved dramatically in everything except history. Lenny assured her that it was only because she had one of the hardest teachers at that school.
Sometimes, when his mom was out of town, we let him stay in our guest room, and on a few occasions with his mom’s permission, Connie stayed there. She and his sister had become good friends. We were concerned that maybe they were together too much, but Connie was so much more pleasant to be around, that we dared not rock the boat. At times when she didn't feel well, he waited on her like he was her personal servant. Connie wasn’t always truthful, but it always sounded like the truth. With our older children, we could always tell if they were trying to pull the wool over our eyes. We found out quickly that Lenny was incapable of lying. As a result, we trusted him probably more than we should have. If asked a pointed question, he would never lie, but we realized that he was still young and capable of making bad decisions.
One of Connie’s friends gave her a kitten. She'd been wanting a kitten ever since we moved from New Orleans. You weren’t thrilled with the new addition and claimed we kept saddling you with animals you had to take care of. I’d thought the two grown Himalayan cats would make Connie happy, but those cats were snobs and not interested in being petted. Connie named the new kitten “Stinky”, which was an apt name since he had a foul-smelling gas problem. She hadn’t had him long when someone accidentally let him outside. He ran away, and Connie’s heart was broken. She and Lenny made signs and put them out all over the neighborhood. Four days later, someone in the subdivision behind ours found him in a culvert. He was half starved, but Connie was thrilled to get him back.
**********
Christi completed her massage therapist training, and went to Atlanta, along with the other students, for the certification test. Unfortunately, only five students out of the large class passed. The instructor, who had never taught the class before, blamed herself for not preparing them. Christi did well with the massage portion, but the written portion required that students know all the bones and muscles in the body. Christi was disappointed and determined to be prepared the next time there was an opportunity to take the test.
Christi had been talking about going to California to visit her friend, Jay, ever since she had returned from Australia, but now she was more anxious than ever to make the trip. Her best friend, Connie Williams, was living there and taking some college courses. Over the past couple of years, Christi had gone out with too many guys to keep up with, but she refused to allow herself to have serious feelings for any of them, until she could see if things would work out between her and Jay.
In those days, calling someone outside the immediate area meant an expensive long-distance phone call. Christi ran up our phone bills by talking for hours with her friends in California. Every time you mentioned needing the money for the phone calls she had made, she would start hyperventilating. One day, it was so bad that she was lying in the floor, inhaling rapidly and insisting that she was dying. You were trying to get her to breathe into a paper bag, and she was screaming that she needed more air, not less. She yelled for you to get away, because you were trying to kill her. She had you so upset, it’s a wonder you didn’t have a stroke. Connie even thought she was dying. Our daughter was a drama queen, and she was keeping our household on edge. We were beginning to suggest that she needed to find another place to live.
She couldn’t find anyone to go to California with her, so she finally bought a ticket and went alone. The plan was for Jay to pick her up and take her to her friend Connie’s place. When she returned from California, she was disappointed that Jay had changed since she saw him last. He and his friends all wore black clothes and dark eyeliner and were into the Goth subculture that started in the eighties. They made fun of Christi because she was dressed too conservatively for them. She did have fun with her friend, Connie. They went to San Francisco and to Lake Tahoe and did other things that she enjoyed.
Don and Kimberly decided to go to Florida to visit Carol and Glen. We didn’t think Don should go, because he was struggling to have enough money to go to school. Because his grades had fallen behind, he wouldn’t be getting any grant money until he could get his grade point average up. He claimed he had to have a break because he was stressing out. Nothing we said could change his mind. They did go down for a few days.
When I talked to Carol later, she was stressed as well. They had had company ever since they had gotten into the new house. She had looked forward to seeing Don, because the two of them always had long, serious talks about deeper subjects than those that interested most young people. Kimberly monopolized Don’s time while they were there, leaving Carol feeling as if she and Glen were being used as a cheap vacation spot.
**********
Looking back, it seems the children were causing our lives to be in constant turmoil, but that was, by no means, the whole story. In some ways, life was better than it had ever been. Without the stress of working full time, you were more relaxed, and the physical side of our relationship also improved. Now that the children were older, we had the house to ourselves much of the time, and once I went through menopause, we didn’t have the worry of getting pregnant. When you visited your doctor, he inquired as to your libido, and you assured him, proudly, that this was one area where you had no problem.
You never regretted having retired early. You and I spent a lot of time sightseeing, after we moved to Chattanooga. We hiked in the area parks and trails and visited all the tourist areas in North Georgia and surrounding towns. There were so many things to see and do. We both loved this area more than anywhere we had lived before. In New Orleans, we rode bikes on the flat streets. Here, there were bike trails that ran for miles on flat surfaces. We enjoyed frequent trips to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains.
Not everything ran smoothly, but you and I agreed on most things. Other than concerns about our children, the main problem, still unsolved, was what to do about our place in the country, in Mississippi.
This is Us:
Evan is 60 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
Beth is 52 and has had a variety of jobs. She is presently working a new job with a local printing company.
Carol is 29, a nurse at Florida Hospital in Orlando. She is married and living in Florida.
Glen Egolf is Carol’s husband. He is 26 and soon will get his nursing degree from Southern College in Orlando.
Don is a twin. He is 27 and at Life Chiropractic College.
Christi is Don’s twin. She works as a receptionist for a chemical company and is working toward becoming a massage therapist.
Kimberly Dye is Don’s girlfriend. She is a nurse working in Atlanta near Don's school.
Connie is our youngest daughter. She is sixteen. She has finished her second year of high school.
Lenny is Connie's boyfirend.
Other's mentioned: Connie Williams and Jay are Chirist's frineds who are in California.
When school started in September, Connie was surprised to learn that Lenny, now in his senior year, was in all honors classes, and that he seldom made below an A+ grade. It gave her a greater appreciation of her boyfriend and made her take a little more interest in her own grades. She was convinced that Lenny would be able to do anything he wanted to with his life. She joked that she might have to marry him, so that he could make a living for her. They continued to spend almost all their free time together. Her own grades improved dramatically in everything except history. Lenny assured her that it was only because she had one of the hardest teachers at that school.
Sometimes, when his mom was out of town, we let him stay in our guest room, and on a few occasions with his mom’s permission, Connie stayed there. She and his sister had become good friends. We were concerned that maybe they were together too much, but Connie was so much more pleasant to be around, that we dared not rock the boat. At times when she didn't feel well, he waited on her like he was her personal servant. Connie wasn’t always truthful, but it always sounded like the truth. With our older children, we could always tell if they were trying to pull the wool over our eyes. We found out quickly that Lenny was incapable of lying. As a result, we trusted him probably more than we should have. If asked a pointed question, he would never lie, but we realized that he was still young and capable of making bad decisions.
One of Connie’s friends gave her a kitten. She'd been wanting a kitten ever since we moved from New Orleans. You weren’t thrilled with the new addition and claimed we kept saddling you with animals you had to take care of. I’d thought the two grown Himalayan cats would make Connie happy, but those cats were snobs and not interested in being petted. Connie named the new kitten “Stinky”, which was an apt name since he had a foul-smelling gas problem. She hadn’t had him long when someone accidentally let him outside. He ran away, and Connie’s heart was broken. She and Lenny made signs and put them out all over the neighborhood. Four days later, someone in the subdivision behind ours found him in a culvert. He was half starved, but Connie was thrilled to get him back.
**********
Christi completed her massage therapist training, and went to Atlanta, along with the other students, for the certification test. Unfortunately, only five students out of the large class passed. The instructor, who had never taught the class before, blamed herself for not preparing them. Christi did well with the massage portion, but the written portion required that students know all the bones and muscles in the body. Christi was disappointed and determined to be prepared the next time there was an opportunity to take the test.
Christi had been talking about going to California to visit her friend, Jay, ever since she had returned from Australia, but now she was more anxious than ever to make the trip. Her best friend, Connie Williams, was living there and taking some college courses. Over the past couple of years, Christi had gone out with too many guys to keep up with, but she refused to allow herself to have serious feelings for any of them, until she could see if things would work out between her and Jay.
In those days, calling someone outside the immediate area meant an expensive long-distance phone call. Christi ran up our phone bills by talking for hours with her friends in California. Every time you mentioned needing the money for the phone calls she had made, she would start hyperventilating. One day, it was so bad that she was lying in the floor, inhaling rapidly and insisting that she was dying. You were trying to get her to breathe into a paper bag, and she was screaming that she needed more air, not less. She yelled for you to get away, because you were trying to kill her. She had you so upset, it’s a wonder you didn’t have a stroke. Connie even thought she was dying. Our daughter was a drama queen, and she was keeping our household on edge. We were beginning to suggest that she needed to find another place to live.
She couldn’t find anyone to go to California with her, so she finally bought a ticket and went alone. The plan was for Jay to pick her up and take her to her friend Connie’s place. When she returned from California, she was disappointed that Jay had changed since she saw him last. He and his friends all wore black clothes and dark eyeliner and were into the Goth subculture that started in the eighties. They made fun of Christi because she was dressed too conservatively for them. She did have fun with her friend, Connie. They went to San Francisco and to Lake Tahoe and did other things that she enjoyed.
Don and Kimberly decided to go to Florida to visit Carol and Glen. We didn’t think Don should go, because he was struggling to have enough money to go to school. Because his grades had fallen behind, he wouldn’t be getting any grant money until he could get his grade point average up. He claimed he had to have a break because he was stressing out. Nothing we said could change his mind. They did go down for a few days.
When I talked to Carol later, she was stressed as well. They had had company ever since they had gotten into the new house. She had looked forward to seeing Don, because the two of them always had long, serious talks about deeper subjects than those that interested most young people. Kimberly monopolized Don’s time while they were there, leaving Carol feeling as if she and Glen were being used as a cheap vacation spot.
**********
Looking back, it seems the children were causing our lives to be in constant turmoil, but that was, by no means, the whole story. In some ways, life was better than it had ever been. Without the stress of working full time, you were more relaxed, and the physical side of our relationship also improved. Now that the children were older, we had the house to ourselves much of the time, and once I went through menopause, we didn’t have the worry of getting pregnant. When you visited your doctor, he inquired as to your libido, and you assured him, proudly, that this was one area where you had no problem.
You never regretted having retired early. You and I spent a lot of time sightseeing, after we moved to Chattanooga. We hiked in the area parks and trails and visited all the tourist areas in North Georgia and surrounding towns. There were so many things to see and do. We both loved this area more than anywhere we had lived before. In New Orleans, we rode bikes on the flat streets. Here, there were bike trails that ran for miles on flat surfaces. We enjoyed frequent trips to Gatlinburg and the Smoky Mountains.
Not everything ran smoothly, but you and I agreed on most things. Other than concerns about our children, the main problem, still unsolved, was what to do about our place in the country, in Mississippi.
This is Us:
Evan is 60 and a retired drafting supervisor from Chevron Oil.
Beth is 52 and has had a variety of jobs. She is presently working a new job with a local printing company.
Carol is 29, a nurse at Florida Hospital in Orlando. She is married and living in Florida.
Glen Egolf is Carol’s husband. He is 26 and soon will get his nursing degree from Southern College in Orlando.
Don is a twin. He is 27 and at Life Chiropractic College.
Christi is Don’s twin. She works as a receptionist for a chemical company and is working toward becoming a massage therapist.
Kimberly Dye is Don’s girlfriend. She is a nurse working in Atlanta near Don's school.
Connie is our youngest daughter. She is sixteen. She has finished her second year of high school.
Lenny is Connie's boyfirend.
Other's mentioned: Connie Williams and Jay are Chirist's frineds who are in California.
 Recognized |
I'm continuing to recall memories of life with my deceased husband, Evan, as if I am talking aloud to him. I'm doing this because I want my children to know us as we knew each other and not just as their parents.
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