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Pastimes : Letters Home -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: MSB who wrote (8)	7/16/2000 11:39:46 AM
From: MSB	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 41

Bubbles Always Pop, pg. 5. During the season of '94, Ed quit his job because he wasn't making the kind of money he felt he deserved to make given his tenure at the place where he worked. It was upon hearing he was unemployed that concern was beginning to set in. I couldn't understand why someone would quit a job for the sake of feeling like they weren't being paid their worth, and yet have no job to go on to. One spring evening just after the sun had set, I got a call from Ed. He was crying and very upset. I had never heard Ed cry before, although I knew he had some emotional problems which I had pretty much attributed to the situation he had placed himself in, so I wasn't necessarily taken aback. His volkswagon had broken down, and he was calling from a phone near the edge of town which was about a mile and a half from our home. When I arrived at the place from which Ed had called, he had pulled himself together a little bit. The problem with the car wasn't something minor which might make travel inconvenient for a few days because the entire motor had fallen from its moorings and onto the ground. In one fell swoop, Ed was faced with the sudden reality of knowing his beloved vehicle was just plain worn out. Adding to the emotional devastation was the fact that he had only a few short months prior, spent a lot of money fixing the car in anticipation of using it for quite a bit longer. Now Ed was both jobless and without transportation. It was very difficult to see Ed in his current state. He was clearly aggravated by the unfortunate timing, but did his best to regain his composure. We drove back to the house and sat and talked for awhile. He had managed to come to some sort of terms with his situation while he was with us that evening, and I was of the opinion things would work out for the best. Had our finances been in better shape, SJ and I could have helped Ed with his transportation problem. It seems to me Ed left the house about an hour or so later, insisting on walking to the location of another friend. About a week later, Ed was driving a brand new economy size pick-up truck. I didn't say anything to Ed beyond the usual comments one would make to a friend who had gone from old and worn out to brand, spanking new, but I did talk with SJ about it. I couldn't possibly see how Ed was going to be able to make his truck payments, land payments, and still be able to pay for utilities and food. She and I were both concerned especially when we knew that Ed was making about half of what we were bring home via our own pay checks (Ed did manage to find employment about a month or so after quitting his night auditor position). I tried to tactfully ask Ed how he was going to swing it, and he did his best to try to assure me he could make all of his committments, but admitted he was going to have to be very careful about how he spent his money. Shortly after Ed purchased the truck, his sporadic visits were few and far between. I didn't see Ed very much after our get together on the 4th of July in '94 because he was working during the day and would usually go directly home, an eight or so mile drive from town. He simply couldn't afford to spend the extra money for gas to make any unnecessary visits. His home was located at the end of a narrow, bumpy road, not to mention rather unsuitable for visitors, so going out to visit on any given evening was pretty much out of the question. Any contact with Ed was usually via phone when I would remember to try and call on a weekend.