And on it goes . . .
The trip from Grand Junction to Salt Lake City was uneventful and a fairly long trip, but seemed to go by quickly (quicker than this story, anyway <g>) as it was all new to me. It wasn't until we started to reach the surrounding communities of SLC that I realized a feeling of being very small in such a huge place, not to mention that I had placed a lot of trust in the person with whom I was traveling. SLC is, for the most part, a combination of municipalities whose city limits bump up against one another. In addition to SLC there was Ogden, Provo, West Jordon, and probably a few others I have long since forgotten. For miles it seemed like nothing but city. The closest place I could ever remember SLC being compared to was a couple of times I'd traveled through Kansas City, but it was all by-passes and major hiways. There was nothing to see but thousands of other cars. But SLC, to the contrary, was scenic.
It was a beautiful area especially with the mountains surrounding all but the southern (if I remember correctly) part of the city. Because it was mid to late March there was still plenty of snow on the peaks and slopes. The views of the mountains were simply exquisite. This was a totally new experience for me. Having been small town all of my life (and still am) traveling is such a big place let alone living for a span of time was like living on another planet with one distinct difference. For the whole period of about 3 - 4 weeks that I was in SLC, I don't remember hearing of the many problems associated with larger metropolitan areas.
I don't ever remember there being gangs, there were few murders (I really don't remember there being any while I was there, but thin I probably just don't remember), and the most distinctive thing I remember about SLC was that it was clean. There wasn't a lot of litter laying along its roadways, in its public parks or other public areas, or in places at or near businesses where lots of throw-away packaging is seen surround such places. It was, in my memory, a very beautiful city, surrounded by very beautiful scenery.
We arrived at Tom's little one bedroom cottage sometime in the late afternoon. Of course, Tom was surprised to see me as he had no prior knowledge that I was going to be meeting Quik in Grand Junction let alone coming with him to SLC. We got reaquainted pretty quickly, unpacked the car, settled in, and rolled one. The small abode, now that I think of it, was probably a garage at one time which was turned into a living unit. The address for the residence was even a half number such as 3415 1/2 S. 37th Ave., 3415 belonging to the residence which was still occupying the lot forward of the residence I was staying at.
Tom had some kind of job helping another guy, also named Tom, do some type of remodeling job. The whole time I was there though, I don't ever remember Tom the employer paying Tom the employee a dime. The employer would come by each morning and pick Tom up and they would go to their job site. Quik and I lazed around for a couple of days before going to look for work. We scored a couple of jobs where we could both work at the same place. It was a company housed in a large metal building behind a lumberyard in West Jordon. The company made roof truss connecters. It was easy work, mostly sit down, but only paid minimum wage which was about $4 an hour at the time.
Money was tight for about a week or so before we got paid. I was getting low on cash, so the money I did have was saved to buy gas to get to and from work which was about a 20 - 25 min. drive from where we lived in South SLC. Quik even wen and gave blood a couple of times just to earn some money, and I did a night job for a temp company doing office clean up work. I even called my aunt in CO and asked for money which she wired to me via Western Union. I paid it back about a week later when we got our first checks. The times were lean, but oddly enough, there were times when it was quite fun. |
