I wore a two piece uniform. The blouse was white, and the jumper was light blue. I wore white stockings and white nurse's shoes. My name tag with my first and last name, and the initials, NA after, was pinned on my uniform. I worked on the 6th floor (Arthritics), at first; but sometimes I worked on the 5th floor (Pediatrics). I walked to and from work every day, even when it was below zero. There was once that I got a ride to work, though, from the guy in the apartment next to mine. Sharon lived on the other side of his apartment; and worked with me. She got a ride too, that day. I always ate lunch in the cafeteria, and the food was good. I would always find someone I knew, to eat with there. I was getting to know some Nurses, Nurses Aids, and other people who worked there. One day one of the other Nurses Aids invited me to go to the Avante Guarde with her and her friends. It was a coffee house on Prospect Ave.. I had been there before. It was upstairs in what looked like an old abandoned apartment building. The coffee was very strong. It was very dark in the coffee house; but the stage was very bright. We sat at one of the many tables there, slowly sipping coffee. The entertainment was very good, compared to the other coffee houses that I had been to. If you liked jazz and blues, that was the place to go. After closing time, I was invited to go to a party that some of the singers and musicians were going to. I went, but didn't stay long! Turned out; the place was just a couple of blocks from where I lived. When I saw people taking drugs, I couldn't get out of there fast enough! Lucky for me, I did. I ran home! I never partied with them again!

Prospect Manor Nursing Home was walking distance from where I was living, on Cambridge. I was happy with my job at Fishers, but I wanted to take another job to earn more money, so I could get my own apartment. The people I was living with were real nice, but I just wanted my own place. Part of the problem was that my boyfriend, Art was getting interested in someone else who lived closer to his house. He could see her every day; and her mother was best friends with his mother. He lived with his mother. I really ought to have seen there was no way I could win. I got the job as a Nurse's Aid at the Nursing Home. I had two full time jobs. One day at about 2:30 or 3:00 A.M., I was awakened by Gary H.. I had fallen asleep on the doorstep. He let me in the apartment. I went to my room and fell asleep right away. The neighborhood was not a safe one at that time of the day! I'm glad Gary came home and found me. I was not getting enough sleep. I was able to save enough money to move into an apartment. Gary's cousin, Sharon E., from Northern WI, came to visit; and had to sleep on the couch. She planned to look for a job and stay with Mr & Mrs H.. I decided it was time for me to move; and I moved to the apartment just down the block. I was working hard, and saving money; hoping to go back to school again. Just about that time, Art decided to ask me out again. He liked to buy beer, and drink. Sometimes he borrowed money from me. He told me that I had to quit one of my jobs, or he wasn't going to see me any more. When I saw his mother, she said that he was seeing Joanne a lot. So I quit my job at Fishers. Mr & Mrs H. told me about a job that was available at Weinburg Shoe Company. It was in the Credit Department. I used their Daughter in Law for a reference. I got the job; and it was a good one. That's why I quit the Nursing Home Job. I got up early every morning, and took the bus on Cambridge (practically in front of my place) to work every morning. The bus took me west on Brady, & across a bridge to Holton. There I changed buses, and got off the bus a couple blocks from work. I walked the rest of the way, having my morning cigarette. I was doing very well. I didn't see Art much. I was starting to make new friends; but just as I was doing well and making friends, something would happen to ruin everything. I was very good friends with Mr & Mrs H. and their family, and with people at work. My boss took me out to lunch. Sharon E. used to come over to my apartment; and I tried to cook. I was just learning. We became good friends. She moved in the apartment just down the hall from me. The guy in the apartment next door played on his guitar the same song over and over, and I pounded on the wall; and played my Clarinet. Sharon was in the apartment on the other side of him; and when he played guitar, she pounded the wall also. That's how we got to know our neighbor. Sharon had found a job in the neighborhood. I was liking my apartment. I was happy with my new job. I just wasn't happy with how Art and I were getting along. He didn't come over much. When he did, it meant lots of drinking, and wild rides that scared me. He also got to fighting a lot. I didn't like that at all. Sometimes we went over to Mac's house; and we saw some of Art's old buddies. One of them was Al, an ambulance driver. Al sometimes got drunk with Art. One night Art and I stayed over night with Al and his girlfriend, at Al's apartment. I didn't like that at all. Everyone treated me like they thought I was a prude, and no fun. That is when I was realizing that maybe Art wasn't a Christian, even though he said he was a Luthern like I was. Al started coming over, and wanted to come in my apartment; but I never let him in, even when he fell asleep against my door. With all the late hours that I was being kept up, or woke up; it was getting difficult for me to do my work. Then one day I had to have surgery on my wisdom tooth to get it out. I missed a day of work. When I came back to work, I found out that they were going on strike. I would be out of work. I didn't want to be out of a job, so I went and got a job as a Nurse's Aid at St. Mary's Hospital on North Avenue, at the East end, overlooking Lake Michigan. I had to go through training. I received money for going to classes. When I was done with classes, I was a Nurses Aid.

One night when I went on break at my job at the Oriental Theater, the place on the corner where I usually ate was closed. I decided to go eat at Fishers Restraunt. It was right next door to the theater. I don't know why I hadn't tried eating there before. The prices were lower, and the food was better. Maybe the reason I hadn't eaten there before was because they were always so busy! I figured that if they were so busy, they might need another waitress. I applied for a job there, and got it. That made all the difference to me. What a change in my life! I loved being a waitress. I left the job at the Oriental. Working at Fishers was the best! The place was busy all day and all night. The owner of the place was Jackie, a blond lady about in her thirties. She was the best cook! Everyone liked working for her; and everyone I worked with was very nice. I learned a lot from Jackie, and the other people who worked there. I got a free bowl of soup every day there. To me, a bowl of Jackie's soup was a dinner! I worked as many hours a day as I could, and earned enough money to move out of that awful place that I was in. When I say awful, I mean the worst! One night when I was in bed, someone came into my room and searched through all my belongings, using a flashlight. I knew they were there, but was so scared that I pretended that I was asleep. I don't know what they wanted. I was so glad to move out of there! I saw an ad in the paper for a room. I went to see it, and found that it was in a large apartment with a family. They seemed nice, so I moved in. Mr and Mrs H. had three kids. Judy H. was just out of school, and expecting a baby. The two boys were still in school, one in grade school; and Gary was in the last year of High School. I'm not real sure, though, if Gary was maybe out of school. He played guitar in a rock band. The family had lots of relatives living in various places in the area. I got to know lots of them. They all treated me like family.

I had been so busy working, taking somebody's place; that I forgot that I needed a job of my own. Finding out that I had no real job was devastating for me! The reality set in when I ran out of money! Of course, I phoned my Dad. My wonderful Stepmother answered the phone, and said that he was busy. I kept calling him, but I could never talk to him. That was when I realized how really alone I was. If I was going to have a place to live, and food to eat; it was up to me to find a job right away. While walking the streets, looking for a job, I kept walking past the house a block away from my place, where a huge German Shepherd came running out to meet me. He got to know me; and would walk with me the length of the yard. Finally one day, his owner came out to say hi to me. He said that he noticed that his dog liked me; and would I walk him for him. He invited me to dinner after the walk. It turned out that he was a gourmet cook. I'm sure that he was a musician by trade, though. I heard him practicing, and he was a professional, for sure. I kept looking for a job; even going back to the theater and working for awhile. I didn't earn enough to live on at the Oriental Theater, so I kept looking. During all that time, I kept going over to Bill W.'s house for dinner; and walking his dog. I got to know his sister, Kathy W., and his sister's best friend, Cathy L.. Cathy L. worked at Big Boy down town on Wisconsin Ave.. She needed extra money, so she worked many nights after work. I babysat for her. She had a two year old girl, and a tiny baby. She didn't pay very well; and I worked hard babysitting and answering the phone, and setting up appointments for Cathy L.. I was totally surprised when I found out what those appointments were for. It seems that her husband, Rich L., was also her boss; and he was someone that I knew from High School. He was a member of a rock band. I think that he and his wife were into drugs. No wonder they couldn't afford to pay me enough for babysitting! He was one of the guys that gave me a ride home from the graduation beach party that I went to on Oklahoma Beach. Small world, huh!

I checked the Newspaper to see if there was someplace I could move into right away, where the rent was affordable for me. I was planning to get a place to rent just for a short time, and get a better place when I was making more money. I found a place that someone was subletting. Jean K. was moving out right away. The place seemed O.K. . The rent was low. It was a one room place with a Kitchen area. I would have to share the bathroom in the hall. I also had to share the fridge in the hall. I carried all my belongings in a box on foot to the place. I didn't have much. Jean was there to give me the key. She worked at the drive in at Bradford Beach. She said that she also was a model for an art class at the University. She seemed nice. I used to go to the drive in when she was working, and talked to her when she wasn't busy. Sometimes she gave me food when she was closing up at night. One day while I was there, she asked me if she could borrow my suitcase. It was part of a set that I had gotten from my Dad for a Christmas gift. It was about the only thing, except my Clarinet, that I had had for a long time, that hadn't gotten stolen. I trusted her, so I borrowed it to her. Then I heard that she was using it to go on a trip for a few days with her boss. I was wondering if I was ever going to get that suitcase back! One day a guy came over and said that Jean used to pose for him, and that she still hadn't come back; so he needed a model. He wanted me to take her place; and that they needed to replace her at her job at the University also. I had to tell him no; because that would be against my principles. I just couldn't do that! I knew there would be other jobs for me.