Phoenix
Only Jeff and Nancy were home now. David was on his own servicing mobile homes and Jeanie was in college. Bill had driven to Phoenix in March and we had to finish out the school year. It sounds impossible to me now but we had to close out the house, drain the water heater, etc. A good neighbor said he would finish up draining the heater and last minute things. We had an electric fence in the back yard to keep Clem in and a neighbor to feed him. Another neighbor took us to the air port in Raleigh, where I asked the man, “We will know when to catch the plane?” When it was time to get on the plane, he called out, “Mrs. Myers and children!” We walked first down a long walkway to the plane! Family joke from then on, my first airplane trip - I actually enjoyed it. Fifteen year old Jeff was embarrassed at everything I did. Chicago Airport was a nightmare with a lot of fast walking and searching.
Bill had rented an economical room in a boarding house in order for us to have a nice apartment. It was pleasant enough, but without one’s books, projects and sewing machine, I felt like I couldn’t sink into living. We did have a TV and Jeff and I watched a lot of Star Treck. On week-ends we decided to travel. One week-end we went to San Diego, CA. The drive along the beach cliff was so beautiful. Then, Nancy, who’s friend had recently been to Canada, wanted to “get out of the country” so we dipped down into Mexico; it was the very poor city of Tijuana. Not knowing their language made my heart go out to Mexicans living in the US.
In the church, we met the Eanes family who were so nice, suggesting what to see and where to stay inexpensively when traveling. We exchanged cards for a while but, sorrowfully, lost touch.
An 1890’s theme restaurant, “Ferrel’s” was a favorite. Whenever you had a birthday, you were served a BIG ice cream sunday and sang to. Fifteen year old Jeff didn’t like that attention.
Jeff and Nancy liked to hang around the “Metro Center” shopping mall which even included as ice skating rink. Some neighbors in the apartment complex were the Huggins who’s children were close to the ages of Jeff and Nancy - so they stayed busy.
The fourth-of-July, we traveled to the Grand Canyon. The best part of the trip was the “Montezuma Well” on the way to the Grand Canyon. This was down many steps to a cool well that the Indians had used to irrigate their crops. In that hot climate, the coolness was wonderful.
The children and I had to go home in August so Jeff could take Driver’s Ed. Honeywell paid for all of these trips, bless them. A teacher just let Jeff off after only two weeks of driving. I went ahead and planted green beans and squash and Nancy got busy with, as usual, the swimming pool.
Then when September came, time for Bill to drive back home, I flew out to drive back with him. Our neighbor, Lois Page, kept Jeff and Nancy. Labor Day week-end, we traveled home; the only big traffic we saw was in Winston-Salem, NC!
Later, when Bill had to go back to Phoenix for two weeks, Mama and daddy came to stay with Jeff and Nancy. Traveling across the desert in a rented car, we were puzzled when the air conditioner stopped working. We saw a welcoming sign inviting us to have a date milk shake. When we returned to the car, the air conditioner was fine - the overworked thing had thawed out!
After Bill & I returned from Phoenix in September, I remember so well taking my coffee out to the back porch to enjoy the morning and the peace. Just to be home and not in the classroom was pure joy. On top of that, each morning a huge flock of robins would come to the yard - it was wonderful. Not before or since have I seen so many robins.
After returning from Phoenix, we ended up playing cards a lot with our neighbors, Martha and Smitty Smith. They has a deaf daughter, Beth, and had moved to Elm City for her to go to the deaf school. She was smart and ended up with a job with Branch Bank. Martha and I had a lot of fun over the years. Once when I was traveling home from Rocky Mt. through some road work, I pulled out the flasher button on the side of the steering wheel. When I reached home, I couldn’t, for the life of me, turn that button off. I ran over to ask Martha’s advise; when she pulled out the button on her car, she couldn’t turn it off either Finally, after calling the car place, we learned all we needed to do was push it in!!
In the eighty’s or early ninety’s, I decided to control the dandelion problem by digging each plant out. When Martha came out of her house, she exclaimed, “Every time I see you, you are on your knees!”
Whenever I saw a snake, she killed it for me; thankfully, that was very seldom. It’s a good thing we moved before she died - I would have missed her terribly.
Then, there was the neighbor on the other side of us, Lois Page, Everybody loved her and she had many friends; Nancy and Jeff confided in her as a special friend.
On Sunday morning, I would run over for her to fix my hair. She eventually went to Beauty School. I went to the school once for her to give me a permanent. It absolutely took all day because the teacher had to inspect every thing she did. Not certain of the way, I left for home shortly before Lois did. Thinking I had taken the wrong road, I drove into a driveway to turn around. Traveling right behind me, Lois stared with her big blue eyes, “What in the world was I doing!?”
Lois did so well in beauty school, her teacher hired her to work in a shop in the teacher’s home.
Bill ended up closing in her car-port as a shop for her. It was nice and we were paid quite a while with my “hair-dos”.
While we were in Elm City, Bill made many improvements. For one thing, the water in the area had acid which made the ice-maker corrode. Bill installed a soda-ash dispenser at the well and a tank to blend the chemical. The replaced ice-maker lasted OK.
Another fun thing he did; beside the back porch, he dug deep enough to make an above-ground swimming pool. A door from the back porch opened to a deck around the pool. He also put up a colorful fence around the pool. Later, when we anticipated our neighbor selling his house, we found that the pool was six feet over on his land! The pool was beautiful but we didn’t really use it that much. By then Jeff and Nancy had many other interests. Actually, by the time the neighbor was ready to sell, the pool was old enough to dissemble.
One year, for my birthday, Bill gave me a dozen rose bushes! I was very pleased. We planted them in front of the house and I very religiously sprayed and cared for them. Eventually though, we decided we didn’t want to use all that poison.
We moved to Elm City in August 1968. The nominating committee at church was busy looking for people to work in Sunday School. I have said many times, new church members shouldn’t be given a job immediately. I began to teach Jr. High class when I really preferred smaller children - I did like it, the material was good. On Sunday afternoons, while the children played ball, etc. in the back yard, I was in a lawn chair near by studying my lesson for the next Sunday.
Not being pushy, I took a lot longer to make friends. In the early seventies, the VBS director had a family wedding so they asked me to lead VBS. Doris Webb was one of the teachers & had girls Jeanie’s and Nancy’s ages. We quickly became good friends. Although she had a lot of family near by as most Elm City people did, she had time for me.
When I gave up teaching Sunday School in 1980 and joined an adult class, I made many more friends. Doris, Louise Garner, Emma Lanier and I started taking each other out for birthdays - gave a little present and paid for their lunch. Thus, all my pink china roses. These “eat-outs” finally turned into monthly gatherings for the whole Sunday School class. It was such fun. Dear Emma Lanier, who was about eighty by this time, had a claw cane that she usually left sitting in a corner. She was the one who helped me move tables so we could all sit together.
Another special Sunday School teacher moved because of divorce. She was everyone’s supporter and encourager - the ideal church friend. Her husband was so different, some said shell-shocked while in the service. We felt he was lucky to have her and she put up with him more than anyone else would. Anyway when she moved, I volunteered to teach with four people taking one Sunday a month which worked well. That was a precious little group - comfortable to teach.
Back to Mrs. Lanier; she was another encourager and supporter which meant so much. Even up to age ninety seven she was still fun and young spirited. Every body loved her.
Then, there was Louise Garner - she was sort of “scatter brained”. She was best friend with Louise McKell. Once when Louise M. wasn’t home yet, Louise G. entered her house to wait for her. Louise M.’s security system asked her to identify herself. She said, “I just want to use the bath room!”. Officers met her at the end of the street - no problem - Louise M. came home.
Once, when the four of us were eating out, Louise had met us from her temporary sewing job. The food was slow coming and Louise had to get back to work. We gave her money for our food so she could pay as she left. Then, the food did come and the manager gave us free dessert. Louise stayed to eat BUT didn’t give us our money back! She had a hard time living that down.
Some of us gathered at one of our houses on Sunday afternoon to play “Skip-Bo”. Each person had a bank of cards to get rid of in order to win.; once Louise played off my bank! I hated to stop her.